Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM A) is a business school located in

the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat in India. It consistently ranks amongst the leading
business schools in Asia-Pacific region and is considered as one of the “world’s
toughest business school to get into”. It is fondly referred to as Well-known Institute
of Management in Western India or WIMWI.

IIM Ahmedabad was established on 11 December 1961. The institute currently offers
Post Graduate Diploma Programmes in Management and Agri-Business
Management, a Fellowship Programme, and several executive training programmes.

Major Courses Offered

1. Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP): IIMA’s flagship

programme, the PGP is a 2-year full time residential management
programme. Admissions to PGP are primarily through the Common
Admission Test conducted jointly by the IIMs. Of the 1.7 Lac+ applications
received, the Institute admits 385 students, making it one of the world’s
toughest programmes to get into. Students from different backgrounds
and professions get admitted, which brings about enormous diversity.
Please visit below link to understand the selection process in detail :

https://www.iima.ac.in/web/pgp/apply/domestic/admission/selection-process

2. Post Graduate Programme in Food and Agribusiness Management

(PGP-FABM): The Programme has been ranked as the best food and
agribusiness programme in the world by Eduniversal Best Masters ranking.
The programme has been constantly evolving, starting as a special program
in Agriculture (SPA) in 1974, becoming a Post Graduate Program in Agri
Business Management (PGP-ABM) to a Post Graduate Program in Food & Agri
Business Management (PGP-FABM) in 2014.

Please visit below link to understand the selection process in detail :

https://www.iima.ac.in/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=9dd6691f-8e23-4ebe-
b269-5e78720e9e50&groupId=59276&filename=PGP-FABM%20CAT%20Write-up
%20valid%20from%20December%2027,%202019

3. Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX): The

PGPX is a one-year full-time programme residential for executives with
substantial work experience. The programme allows students to bridge the
gap between their current skill level and the desired skill level and provide an
opportunity for them to make a career shift. Students are admitted to the
programme through the GMAT.
Please visit below link to understand the selection process in detail:
https://www.iima.ac.in/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=f53282cc-d34e-4d6f-
8cb5-5dfec4c9e428&groupId=169420

4. Fellow Programme in Management (FPM): The doctoral programme of

IIMA, FPM seeks to provide students with necessary skills to identify and
research complex issues in the field of management. FPM students
typically spend a little over four years at the Institute, including 2 years of
course-work. Students admitted to FPM receive a comprehensive
fellowship which covers all costs of education in addition to an allowance
for living expenses.
5. Armed Forces Programme (AFP): The AFP is a six-month full-time
business management course designed to equip officers of India’s armed
forces with contemporary management skills through IIMA’s time tested
pedagogy.
6. Exchange Programmes: IIMA has affiliations with 100+ leading business
schools across the world. The Institute has a Dual Degree programme
arrangement with a few business schools such as HEC Paris, University of
Bocconi, ESSEC Paris, University of Cologne and ESCP Europe. Some of the
students going on exchange receive scholarships from the Institute, DAAD
Germany, the French Government and participating schools.
In addition to the above, the Institute conducts several executive education and
faculty development programmes through the year. In January 2017, IIMA launched
India’s first online management course called e-Post Graduate Programme in
Management targeted towards working executives and entrepreneurs.

Placements

The placement process at IIM Ahmedabad is a student driven process that

institutionalises placements for the entire batch. The Placement Committee elected
by the students liaises between the institute administration, students, and
recruiters. Placements for the PGP and PGP-FABM courses are characterised by two
phases – summer placements for the first-year batch and final placements for the
graduating batch. The placement process for the graduating is conducted in two
stages:

The first stage is the laterals process where firms interview students with prior work
experience and offer them mid-level managerial positions.

The second stage is the final placement process. Companies from multiple sectors
across different geographies hire candidates for a wide range of functions.
Top firms from diverse sectors such as Analytics, Banking & Financial Services,
Consumer Services, Internet & E-commerce, Management Consulting,
Pharmaceuticals and Technology participate in the laterals process. The campus
witnessed recruitment participation from top firms in cohorts like Strategy and Niche
consulting, Banking & Financial Sector, PE/VC, Sales and Marketing, General
Management and Leadership, Internet and E-commerce, and Technology sector etc.

Placements for 2017-19 Batch (Audited & verified)

Highlights as seen in the Press Release:

1. About 123 firms participated for 184 roles in the placement process across
different sectors.
2. 143 dream applications were witnessed this year.
3. Accenture was the top recruiter with 23 offers, followed by BCG with 17
and PWC with 14 offers
4. 2 students opted out of the placement process to work on their own
ventures under the guidance of Centre for Innovation, Incubation and
Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad.
5. The average domestic salary for the batch was 25.83 Lacs

Job offers across major sectors

Domestic International
BFSI 52 1
Consulting 129 7
FMCG 45 1
e-commerce 44 0

Job offers across major functions

Domestic International
Business Development 17 0
Consulting 130 7
Finance 50 2
 General Management 50 2
Marketing/Sales 42 1
Product/ Category Mgmt. 50 1

Summer Placements for 2018-20 Batch (Audited)

Highlights as seen in the Press Release:

1. BCG was the top recruiter with 23 offers followed by HUL and Amazon with
14 and 10 offers respectively
2. Samsung electronics offered most roles across consumer electronics
section
3. More than 100 firms participated to offer roles for 386 students across
sectors
Internship offers across major sectors

Offers
BFSI 77
Consulting 131
FMCG 55
e-commerce 31

Internship offers across major functions

Offers
Business Development 9
Consulting 129
Finance 81
General Management 34
Marketing/Sales 72
Product/ Category Mgmt. 27

Notable Alumni of IIMA

There are plenty of notable alumni from IIM A with many being the CEOs of Top BSE
500 firms. Many alumni have also become part of diverse fields like literature, arts,
entrepreneurship etc. Below are a few of those alumni:

 C. K. Prahalad – Author of ‘The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid’

 Raghuram Rajan – Former RBI Governor and economist
 Shekhar Chaudhuri – Former Director, Indian Institute of Management
Calcutta
 Atul Tandon – Former Director, MICA
 Samir Barua – 10th director, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
 Deep Kalra – CEO, MakeMy trip
 Ajay Singh Banga – Global President and Chief Executive Officer,
MasterCard
 Shikha Sharma – Former MD & CEO, Axis Bank
 Mahendra Mehta – Former CEO, Vedanta Resources plc.
 Harsha Bhogle – Cricket Commentator
 Rajesh Gopinathan – Chief Executive Officer, TCS
 Chetan Bhagat – Author and speaker
 Arvind Subramanian – Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India
Financial Assistance/Scholarships, Housing and Fee structure

Housing– There are 25 student dormitories with a total capacity to hold about 740
occupants. Apart from the dormitories there are 120 flats for married students. The
dorms have ten single rooms on each floor arranged around a stairway and a
tearoom. Stay in the dormitories is compulsory for students. Both vegetarian and
non-vegetarian meals are served. The rooms are fully furnished including a
telephone connection. The dorms also have a T.V., washing machine and
refrigerator.

Fee Structure– The Fees and other charges payable by the PGP students of the
2018-2020 batch for their 2-year course is approximately Rs.23 Lacs. Laptop,
personal expenses ,on boarding expenses travel, clothes, and laundry is not
included.

Financial Assistance/Scholarships IIMA gives an opportunity to pursue its PGP &

PGP-FABM programmes to all the eligible applicants, who are in need of financial
assistance and have thus instituted a Need-Based Scholarship Scheme to
complement the various scholarships provided by the industry and government. The
scholarship amount is decided based on several criteria such as annual gross family
income, ownership of assets, and the number of dependents in the family. The
applications for these scholarships are invited every year in the month of
July/August. There are many commercial banks and financial institutions which
provide educational loans to students.

Student Bodies of IIM A

The Student Affairs’ Council (SAC) is the umbrella student body at IIMA that helps in
the administration of the 40+ clubs and committees on campus. Below is a partial
list:

1. Abacus – The Quant Club: Also known as the “club that counts”, Abacus
conducts several games, workshops and lectures with an aim to generate
interest in mathematics

2. BETA – The Finance Club: IIMA’s Finance and Investments Club aims to
cultivate interest in finance careers.

Cultural Committee – The Student Cultural Committee (Culcom) has the pulse of
campus life. Be it festivals or parties, Culcom adds color to events. ‘Unmaad’, one of
the most popular cultural fests in the country, is organized by Culcom.

3. Consult Club: The Consult Club seeks to help interested students pursue a
career in management consulting.

4. Eloquence: The Club seeks to help members of the IIMA community to

improve their communication skills. Eloquence uses panel discussions,
debates, creative games, book and movie reviews, press interviews and
extempores in a supportive environment to enhance students’ public speaking
skills.

5. Entre Cell: The Entrepreneurship Cell promotes and supports

entrepreneurship among students at IIMA. They organise an Entre Fair
annually to connect start-ups with students interested in pursuing
entrepreneurship.
6. Equipoise – The Economics Club: This club focuses on cultivating an
interest in economics among the student community at IIMA.
7. Finesse: An interest based club, Finesse promotes several forms of art on
the IIMA campus. It seeks to create a platform for members of the IIMA
community to be in touch with their creative side and organises a number
of activities to hone their skills in arts and crafts.
 8. Forum for Industry Interaction: FII acts as a link between students of
IIMA and industry and comprises India’s largest student consulting body.
Students form teams and provide solutions to problems faced by a number
of companies across sectors, both domestic and international. Students
also increasingly assist startups and social sector organisations.

9. General Management and Leadership Cell: The GMLC creates awareness

about a career in general management for students at IIMA. It also organises
industrial visits for students across a number of sectors.

10.Heritage Club: The Heritage Club is a platform for exploring Ahmedabad’s

heritage, culture, food and art forms. It organises heritage walks, picnics and
visits to local fairs and nearby sanctuaries among other things

11.IIMA Cultural and Theatrical Society (IIMACTS): One of the oldest clubs
on campus, it produces a number of street and stage plays every year for the
IIMA community, encompassing a range of ideas and themes in Hindi and
English.

12.Literary Symposium Desk: It is mostly referred to as LSD, is IIMA’s

quizzing, debating and literary club.

13.Niche – The Marketing club: It provides a common platform for faculty,

IIMA alumni in marketing roles across the world and students interested in
the field of marketing.

14.Optima – Operations Club: It is aimed at creating awareness about

operations among students and discuss new opportunities in sectors like e-
commerce.

15.Prakriti – The Nature Club: It was established with the objective of

providing a meeting ground for nature lovers. It is now a hub for nature
appreciation and environmental consciousness in the IIMA community.
Events Organised by IIMA

1. Confluence- Annual International Management Symposium – This

flagship event was started in 1999. The primary events at Confluence
include Masterplan, the business plan competition; a business quiz event;
a business simulation event and a business strategy simulation event. The
speaker series at Confluence has seen eminent speakers in the
past including Ratan Tata, Vijay Mallya, Mukesh Ambani, Kiran
Bedi, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chandrababu Naidu, Rakesh Sharma etc.
2. Chaos- Annual Cultural Festival – Chaos is one of the biggest in the
region. Its yearly editions have been centred on themes like diversity,
colour or going green. The cultural festivities draw footfalls of around
50,000 visitors from Ahmedabad over four days and participation from
institutes across the country. ProNites are especially a huge success with a
large number of top artists coming and performing on one stage. In the
past, Chaos has witnessed musical performances by Jagjit Singh, Amit
Trivedi, Raghu Dixit, Mohit Chauhan and Shankar Ehsaan Loy to name a
few.

3. Insight- Annual Market Research festival– It is one of the oldest events

organised by the institute. Insight is known for its application of innovative
marketing research tools.

4. ConneXions- Knowledge Summit – ConneXions is the flagship event for

the PGPX program at IIMA. It is an event that epitomizes the vibrancy and
buzz of a business school. ConneXions has seen a lot of eminent speakers
from the industry including Suresh Prabhu, Kiran Karnik, Ramaswami
Balasubramaniam, Ram Sewak Sharma, Tamal Bandyopadhyay, Shyam
Srinivasan etc.

In addition to the above, the Institute organises:

Amaethon- an international food, agribusiness and rural summit.

Convergence- a management conference organised by the Armed Forces

Programme; Sangharsh (on a rotational basis with IIM Bangalore, Calcutta and
Lucknow) and Shaurya – the two sport fests.
IIM A Alumni Reviews

1. Academics and Faculty -The intensity of the academic rigor at IIM

Ahmedabad is not one of those old wives’ tales. The pedagogy is
completely based on case studies, and these cases gives students an
insight into management ideas involved in running a small grocery shop to
a big corporate firm. They are challenging and daunting, and the decisions
you are forced to make builds or destroy corporate empires. They make
you think, they make you sweat and they make you introspect. They
prepare the student for the real world. It is not just the things you learn at
IIM-A which make the difference but the way those things are taught. One
day you will have all the time in the world and on another you will find
yourself with a short deadline for virtually impossible tasks, ranging from
dozens of assignments to endless quizzes. You are taught to survive in a
realistic managerial atmosphere even when you are only learning what it
takes to be a CEO one day. The faculty at IIM-A are one of the best and
having handled the best minds of India every year through and through,
they know how to keep us on our toes. Their research credentials are
impeccable, and each faculty has their own approach to introducing
management concepts, which makes everything more interesting. –
Suresh, MBA/PGDM, batch of 2017

Most of the academic rigor is only in the first year where there are so many courses
and pop-quizzes. But overall, the curriculum is quite manageable. In fact, it gives
ample time to pursue your interests. No lectures post 1 PM during the first year
means that you have the remaining part of the day for assignments, group activities
and preparing for the next day. Second year is a little more relaxed (if you want it to
be). Assignments are more fun assuming that you choose courses that you are
interested in. Faculty seems a bit more relaxed (some were deemed very strict
during our first year, but I personally have never faced any issue). Faculty members
are excellent and very understanding. – Anil, PGDM, batch of 2011

The academic schedule at IIMA is rigorous and trains us to think on our feet. The
entire curriculum is case study based which gives us good insights into what had
happened in the past and what are the current trends in the industry. The professors
at IIMA are very knowledgeable and provides us food for thought. they are very
approachable and are just an email and some just a call away – Ashar, MBA/PGDM,
batch of 2016
 2. International Exposure IIM-A has tie ups with nearly a hundred foreign
universities from all parts of the world, including many in the top 100 of the
Financial Times. One in every three students usually travels on exchange
programs, and the selection criteria involves academic performance and
choice of interest. English is the sole medium of teaching, and students
commonly communicate with each other in English and Hindi, though some
also use more regional languages like Telugu and Tamil. An average cost of
two to four lakh rupees is common for student exchange programs, and it
depends on the student’s personal preferences. IIM-A has excellent exposure
in the global scene of international MBAs, and has many students coming
from top business schools abroad to study in exchange programs. Students
living abroad also apply to join IIM-A, which increases the diversity of
students in the courses. – Suresh, MBA/PGDM, batch of 2017

3. College Infrastructure IIMA is the best B-school in India and its

infrastructure lives up to its reputation. The campus is a green campus and is
split into two – old campus and new campus. Campus has all kinds of facilities
and amenities from a 4-story library to huge auditorium. There are courts for
all sports enthusiasts. Situated in the heart of the city, the campus is very
close to the airport, railway station, bus stops and is surrounded by many
nice eating joints. – Ravleen, MBA, Batch of 2011
I was dazzled at first (simply due to the hype of the architecture of the campus
buildings); after a point I thought the campus was quite small. Other campuses
have bigger and better (newer) facilities for sports and leisure activities, but that is
mainly due them being located at the outskirts of the city. The new campus although
has good facilities. AC rooms were also being planned, but I had already graduated
by then. For sports: no ground big enough to hold a proper Cricket Match (it is too
small), same goes for football as well. New badminton courts were being planned,
but until then we had only outdoor courts. Basketball and Tennis courts were decent
enough. But I guess not many were using it, so no harm done. – Anil, PGDM, batch
of 2011

4. Societies and Associations College life is full of fun, enjoyment, celebration

etc. at IIM A All festivals are celebrated in the campus. -Sachin, MBA/PGDM,
Batch of 2016
Life at campus is fantastic. There are clubs for literally everything. From Anime to
Astronomy and Zen philosophy to Zumba, there is a club for everything. Students
play, sing and dance. There is regular activity in all clubs and interested students
participate religiously by maintaining an excellent balance between their academics
and hobbies. Students manage to play cricket, football, badminton, tennis, and
other sports in the campus, although the requirements of their courses do not give
them a lot of leniency for sports activities. – Suresh, MBA/PGDM, batch of 2017