To an everyday person, the very mention of the word ‘IIM’ evokes feelings of intense respect. They know not about the differences that are perceived based on the word that follows after the word ‘IIM’. So, are all IIMs the same or different?
Having
been at two IIMs by now,
a drop out from a new IIM i.e. IIM Trichy and a student at one of the old IIMs i.e. IIM Lucknow, I can attest to the fact that even though the two institutes share the same umbrella brand, they are worlds apart in many aspects and yet very much alike in others.
IIM Trichy is like a start-up:
volatile, uncertain and still fighting to find its place and make a mark for itself.
IIM Lucknow, on the other hand, is like a
well-established organization, with
structures and bodies in place to shape and fix things as and when required. One of the first encounters a student about to begin his exciting journey at IIM Lucknow has is with Team Disha, a committee that helps students prepare well for their Summers, aiding from CV preparation to Domain preparation and much more. This sort of system is absent in IIM Trichy. A new student finds his place on his own, does his own prep and fights his own battle for Summers, mostly. Well, a student is not so much alone as it sounds. One does have one’s batchmates fighting along with one but the extensive support that seniors offer at an old IIM like IIM Lucknow was manifestly absent at IIM Trichy.
Another big difference is the opportunities, as regards the companies that hire from the two campuses. While IIM Lucknow enjoys a string of top-notch companies vying to recruit the talent at IIM Lucknow, IIM Trichy, for the most part, has to make do with start-ups. Also, while IIM Lucknow winds up its placement process in 3 days, for IIM Trichy it is straddled across many months.
One aspect where IIM Trichy scores hands down but is the infrastructure. Being a new IIM, it has had the luxury of incorporating state of the art technology while erecting its infrastructure. Its hostel rooms are cozy and the students are privileged with ACs. This is something that IIM Lucknow students crave but just won’t get.
But despite these differences, an aspect where the two institutions are quite similar is the aspirations of the students. Both institutions have students with untapped caliber who have unfulfilled dreams and aspirations and are willing to put up intense fights to fulfill those. Students at neither of the institutions balk in the face of a challenge but rather put up a show of defiance and fight vigorously to achieve what they want.
So, this, in a nutshell, are the differences between the two IIMs, set apart by their ages and culture yet brought together by the ambitions of its students.