It was in the month of May that I got calls from IIM Kashipur and other new IIMs and I found myself in a dilemma over which one to choose. Finally, I selected IIM Kashipur. After a lot of thought process, I gave importance to following factors to take a decision.
Publications- When I started visiting the official website of IIM Kashipur I got to know about the research publications of the professors. They varied from supply chain management to financial problems. This caught my attention as such an experienced and talented faculty would provide a good learning in the institute.
Industry- Although IIM Kashipur is in a rural area, it is surrounded by a lot of small and medium scale industries. Thus, it is easier to find some live projects in the institute which are extremely important for learning and applying the knowledge learned in the classrooms. So, people looking for some real work in marketing a brand, managing finances and finding real-life solutions to real problems would get a lot of live projects. This opportunity to learn practical things attracted my attention.
Academic rigor- As IIM Kashipur is mentored by IIM Lucknow, it has a very rigorous academic schedule. IIM Lucknow is famous for its academic rigor. A student faces so many challenges in these two years that it mentally prepares him to work under any circumstances without losing his mind. It also prepares him for future corporate life.
Events organized- I also liked the concepts and ideas behind certain events organized by the institute like TED X talks, Parivartan and leadership conclave. These are great platforms to learn from the experiences of the guests. The social angle of Parivatan also talks a lot about the culture developed by the previous students in the institute. This is the thing which I liked.
Centers of Excellence- IIM Kashipur has established three Centres of Excellence with the aim to encourage and facilitate the faculty from different areas to work together by associating them in projects and programmes on regular basis, by cutting across area or discipline barriers. This focus on research caught my attention.
These centers are as follows
Centre of Excellence on Competitiveness
Centre of Excellence in Public Policy and Government
Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Development
World bank- IIM Kashipur gets a set of elective courses in management funded by the world bank. These courses get you credit points and a certificate from the World Bank. World Bank periodically visits IIM Kashipur and updates its programme to keep the courses relevant. This was also a thing which I considered as it is unique to IIM Kashipur.
Places to visit- The place also offers a lot of places where you can relax and calm down after a very hectic schedule. There are a lot of places which one can explore around IIM Kashipur. There is no dearth of a quick getaway during the weekends. Delhi or Dehradun, Jaipur or Jim Corbett, one can get there easily. It was an attractive bet for nature loving person like me.
Apart from these I also liked the campus of this institute which is no less than any other b-school campus in India. In fact, it is a notch better than other b-schools. There are a number of students from this institute who have won a number of competitions in the past. This talks a lot about the competitive spirit and culture developed by the institute. After evaluating all these points, I felt that this is the institute which would help me achieve my dreams in a better manner.
Which ABG company would you want to join and why?
I would like to work for Aditya Birla Capital Limited. As I am interested in Finance domain, working in ABCL would give me a lot of opportunities to learn from diverse fields of financial services ranging from asset management to corporate lending. As it has a presence in more than 400 cities, it would give me an opportunity to study the spread of financial literacy among people throughout India, the investment choices they make and factors influencing their choices. I can study practical things about wealth management and stocks and securities as I have an interest in these fields.
-Rohit Shedge
