IIM Shillong - IIM In The Clouds Or Much More

Indian Institute of Management, SHILLONG is known to most people in the country as the seventh IIM of the nation. Also known as the ‘Campus in Clouds’, it was established in 2007 with a vision of providing good quality management education and research in the North Eastern region of India. Previously the only IIM named after a former Prime Minister of India, the ‘Rajiv Gandhi’ was dropped from the name of the institute after the IIM Bill came into force as a law. As stated by the Director-in-charge of the institute, Prof. Keya Sengupta, “ We identify ourselves as the youngest among the old IIMs ; and the oldest among the new IIMs. As such, we consider it as our responsibility to gather knowledge and experience from the older ones and act as torchbearers for the newer ones, imparting that knowledge and sharing our experience with them”.

Being an IIM, there are some common perceptions attached to the institute, some of them being a ‘placement hub’, a ‘center for excellence in management education’, a ‘foolproof pathway to success’ etc. The question that lies however, is whether all this sums up what IIM Shillong is or does it have something unique to offer . Is it just another IIM or does it have in itself to transcend these limits and become something more ?

There are some fundamental things that set IIM Shillong apart from its counterparts. For starters, the decision of establish IIM Shillong was unanimously taken by the Union Minister, HRD along with the Chief Ministers of the North Eastern States and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER). So the institute is important not only from an academic perspective, but also holds significance from an economic and political point of view. Established with an objective of promoting economic development in the North Eastern region along with the usual academic objectives, the institute boasts of the Center for Development of the North Eastern Region(CeDNER) that organizes both short-term and long-term programmes relevant to the local community and society of the state and the region & provides assistance to the locals with business and entrepreneurial activities.

We also enjoy a certain sense of ‘Royalty’, coming from the fact that the current campus lies in the Mayurbhanj Complex, the erstwhile summer palace of Mayurbhanj Kings. One of the prime areas of focus of the institute is ‘Sustainable Development’, and as such it has a foundation course and an annual international sustainability conference (SUS-CON). What makes the foundation programme unique is that it not just focuses on imparting knowledge and creating awareness about sustainability, but also provides with first-hand experience of how it can be practised via a trek through the ‘Mawphlang Sacred Forest’, a perfect example of respecting nature and carrying out activities without jeopardizing with the surroundings.

Talking about uniqueness. How can one miss the annual flagship event of the institute, the ‘Golf Cup’. IIM Shillong takes pride in being the only Indian institute to organize a golf event, which witnesses the confluence of eminent business personalities and government officials to create ideas and policies that hold importance in both regional and national perspective.

Sushain Bhat

PGP 1st year

IIM Shillong