IIPM Reviews

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON IIPM

IIPM Review on its Courses

1 .What are the courses offered by IIPM?
IIPM offers a Full Time Programme in Planning and Entrepreneurship. Students who typically join the same after graduation do a 20 month (18 month Programme + 2 month of Project) programme at IIPM while students who want to join the same after 10+2, do the three year programme.

2. Are the IIPM programmes similar to MBA/MBE programmes offered by other business schools?
No. IIPM from the very beginning has maintained that its programmes are far superior in content and intellect to MBA/MBE programmes offered by other business schools. IIPM programmes are a globally unique combination of entrepreneurship, economics (with focus on national and international economic planning), management and marketing. Even in rigor the IIPM programme is far ahead of MBA programmes taught anywhere else in the world. The IIPM programme is a 200 credit programme, while MBA programmes across the world are typically 66 to 120 credits maximum. To know more about IIPM courses we highly recommend that you read the course content link on our website.

IIPM Reviews on its APPLICATION PROCESS

1. How does one apply to IIPM?
IIPM advertisements come out regularly in all the leading newspapers in India. Once you see the ads. You decide which session to join i.e., Fall- Winter or Spring Summer. Accordingly one can obtain the IIPM prospectus from IIPM offices by hand or by post. IIPM highly recommends that prospective students visit IIPM branches themselves, talk to the counselors/ Deans and also speak to existing students to find out about the world-class education imparted at IIPM.

2. Does it cost to buy an application form?
No. IIPM application forms are available for free whether by hand or by post.

IIPM Review on its ADMISSION TESTS

Is the IIPM admission test similar to the CAT or the GMAT?
No. IIPM admission test is a unique composition of a written test followed by a group discussion and a personal interview. All students have to go through all the three. This difference is there since IIPM believes – and world wide studies prove the same- that to become a great future entrepreneur or manager a high EQ is far more important than just high IQ. Therefore while the written test tests the IQ as well as EQ, the group discussion and personal interview are focused more on an applicants EQ. For more details please refer to the selection process link on the website.

IIPM Reviews on its FINANCIAL AID

Does an IIPM student get bank loans.
Yes. Most banks in India accept an IIPM admission letter as ground for its education loans. However IIPM has its financial partners as well, who guarantee loans to all students who get selected at IIPM. So basically it means that if you get selected at IIPM then you can study at IIPM regardless of your financial condition.

IIPM Review on its GLOBAL EXPOSURE

1. Do all IIPM students go for the global internship programme of IIPM (GOTA) to various countries abroad?
Yes. All students who join IIPM go for its global internship programme to various developed countries of the world.

2. For how many days does the programme last?
Students joining the 20 month (18 month Programme + 2 month of Project) programme are taken for a fortnight (it may last even for 12 days depending on connectivity and ticket availabilities. For students joining the Three Year Programme it lasts for a week in their first year of studies and for an additional fortnight in their 2nd/ 3rd year of studies.

3. Do the students need to pay additionally for anything?
Yes. For their personal shopping!! All other expenses (minus the passport making and visa expenses) are borne by the institute. That actually includes airfare, boarding, lodging, tuition, inter city transport for various classes and industry visits.. almost everything one can possibly think of!!

4. Do foreign faculty from leading business schools abroad come to take classes at IIPM?
Yes. Faculty from almost all of the top twenty B- schools have come to teach at various branches of IIPM. A shortlist of faculty who have taken classes at IIPM is there in the Global Faculty link in our website.

5. Do they come only to take lectures on individual topics or they also take the entire subject?
Yes they come primarily to share their thoughts on topics closest to their hearts and topics they have mastered in. However, they also come at times to take the entire subject as well. An example of the same is Investment Banking Course at IIPM. The entire course is taught by faculty from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

IIPM Reviews on its CREDENTIALS

1. Does AICTE/UGC recognize IIPMs programme in planning and entrepreneurship?
No. IIPM has never sought recognition from any statutory bodies and is proud of its world class course contents. Students bothered about statutory recognition of IIPMs programmes need not apply to IIPM. The exceptional education that IIPM imparts and the excellent placements offered to IIPM graduates year after year is proof of the massive industry recognition of IIPM’s courses.

2. Does IIPM award an MBA/BBA degree?
No. In India degrees can be awarded only by universities and therefore just like the IIMs, even IIPM (which is not an university) does not offer an MBA/BBA degree. Our courses being superior in contents to regular MBA programmes does not merit the same either. In fact IIPM has never sought any kind of statutory recognition from any government body ever. The value of the IIPM certificate lies in the excellent Course content and also placements that IIPM students get year after year and in the no. of students who put their faith in the IIPM programme every year. However students who do the IIPM programme in Planning and Entrepreneurship become eligible for a Post Graduate Degree in Management (comparable to MBA) / Graduate Degree in Management (comparable to BBA) from the International Management Institute in Brussels, Europe. For further details on IMI please log on to www.timi.edu . IMI gives the same to IIPM students in recognition of the excellence of IIPM programmes independently to those students who apply for it.

IIPM Review on its PLACEMENTS

1. When do placements start and how long do they last?
Placements for the spring summer batch typically starts in October and gets over by the end of February. Placements of the Fall winter batch starts by December and gets over by end of april. Most of the students are of course placed at least two months before the end of the placement season. The IIPM placements last a little longer than normal business school placements because a majority of companies who visit IIPM go to more than one campus and since during placement season as well as because while most institutes have only about 100 students, IIPM has more than 2000 students joining in all its branches put together.

2. Does IIPM guarantee placements?
No. Even the Prime Minister of the country cant guarantee jobs. Jobs depend upon the economic situation of the country at a given point of time. However past experience suggests that about 70 percent of students joining IIPM every year opt for placements as the others end up joining their own businesses or start their own ventures or go for further studies. Almost hundred percent of these 70 percent students who opt for placements every year get placed before they pass out of IIPM. IIPM does not have a maximum interview criteria for any student. Students are given a chance to sit for interviews till they get placed. Zee News termed the IIPM placements as a ”national record” in terms of the numbers in 2008. That’s IIPM’s commitment to placing students.

3. Does IIPM have global placements?
Yes. In all probabilities after the IIMs, IIPM is the institute that places maximum no. of students globally every year now. In the year 2008 the total no of students placed by IIPM internationally stood at 165. This figure did not include any inter group placements within IIPM or its associate companies.

IIPM Reviews on its INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES

1. Does IIPM provide similar infrastructure in all its branches?
No. IIPM has a 5 acre campus in Delhi. The Delhi campus has facilities of sprawling greens and a swimming pool etc . All other IIPM branches operate out of modern IIPM towers. They look and feel similar. They are multi storied beautiful and extremely spacious glass towers. All IIPM towers as well as the Delhi campus has facilities for sports like billiards/ pool, gymnasiums etc. However IIPM Tower in Mumbai additionally also has a roof top swimming pool. Its obvious that all IIPM branches have huge libraries, lovely cafeterias and are Wi-Fi.

2. Do students have to buy their own laptops at IIPM?
No. IIPM provides all students with FREE laptops because laptops have become a necessity for modern day world- class education.

IIPM Review on its MISCELLANEOUS

What are the other aspects of IIPM that IIPM stands proud of?
IIPM is extremely proud of the quality of its permanent faculty and their research and publication work. It takes out 5 of the most world class management and economy journals that come out of India. They are highly respected, sought after and leading authorities of various subjects contribute regularly for them. IIPM faculty members also give research and editorial inputs for leading business magazines of India BUSINESS AND ECONOMY and 4Ps BUSINESS AND MARKETING as well as the leading technology magazine THE INDIAN PC MAGAZINE and the worlds largest language edition news weekly THE SUNDAY INDIAN. For more information on the same please go to the Research and Publications link on the IIPM website or better still log on to www.iipmthinktank.com. It will prove beyond doubt IIPM’s superiority in this sphere as well.

Read also: IIPM Review Ranking/Rankings Across India 

THY SPIRIT TO IMPROVE.. THOU SHALL NOT STOP...!!!!

PROF. JK MITRA SPEAKS ABOUT HIS FABULOUS JOURNEY OF LIFE AND CAREER HIS TEACHING METHODS, AND THE GLORIOUS PAST OF IIPM, TO PROF. JAYDIP DUTTA GUPTA AND ARCHANA SHARMA.

Simplicity is the most powerful yet harmless weapon one can have. Prof. JK Mitra is one such man and his life's gaph is truly exponential by nature. Determination and dedication are adundant in his educational background which includes BA Hons., MA Hons, and PhD in Psychology. Prof. Mitra got associated with IIPN in 1982 and is adored by one and all for his immaculate teaching methodologies which appear elusive to many a modern day professors. A legend by every sense of imagination, Prof. Mitra is living proof that, with spirit and belief, there is nothing that cannot be done. He recalls his days of youth when he was a typical Bengali, much in lines with the inspirational Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Anand.'

Robert Frost's poem in the year 1915 ended with the words, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”. Similarly, Prof. Mitra has trailed a trek that needs immense determination and it is not for people who choose the path that has been trailed by many people before. Dr. J.K. Mitra got into RK Mission in West Bengal which was one of the best schools back then housing the Xth toppers from across the state. “RK Mission had the reputation of putting people into streams that suit their attitude”, he iterates. His mother wanted him to become a doctor, and his father wanted an engineer, but in accordance with Robert Frost, Prof. Mitra opted for psychology. At St. Xavier's College he pursued his BA. Hons in Psychology. This was also the college where Dr. JC Bose studied. “I topped the batch, won a gold medal, and received national scholarship”, he reminds us with joy. He then adds, “Those days were a different kind of time”.

Prof. Mitra then moved to Delhi for his MA. “I also got the job of research associate at the University of Delhi”. After completing that, Prof. Mitra pursued his PhD from Calcutta University and worked as lecturer there in the Department of Advanced Psychology. He spent four years there. After his marriage, he finally got back to Delhi in 1982. He remembers how Prof. NR Chatterji used to cajole him to start teaching at IIPM. “I also remember how Dr. MK Chaudhuri used to visit canteens of institutes and find out about the best professors from the students, before inviting them to take classes at IIPM”, he adds. Those days for two sessions, the fee was Rs. 37.50. This is how Prof. Mitra finally got associated with IIPM. “I was teaching subjects like Organisational Behavior, Group Dynamics, Industrial Psychology, and, Management by Objective”, he says.

Prof. Mitra remembers, “The infrastructure was not great back then, but, the basics were right always”. There were overhead projectors in IIPM which many institutes did not possess. He tells us that Dr. MK Chaudhuri was very adaptive to technology. Maximum emphasis was made to get the best books for the students, and the quality of students was good. “The main difference was noticed in the students when they graduated. There was treamendous value addition in the final output that came out of IIPM”, he opines. The highlights of the curriculum according to him were the freedom to learn, experiment, innovative, and actively participate. He talks about how Dr. MK Chaudhuri used to feel that management was the most interesting course to teach and learn because of the rich pedagogy. “With the various case studies, games presentations, debates, the students got phenomenal exposure. Even ordinary and nervous individuals came out as eloquent speakers and went on to ride the corporate tide with panache”.

Speaking on the cherished memories at IIPM, Prof. Mitra believes that everything back then was fun. He says, “If you love a place and the people, and they love you back, you will enjoy every single moment of yours”. That is why he feels that he never got strained by teaching. A firm believer in solid work, Prof. Mitra reveals how he had a totally different approach towards case studies to ensure that every student reads in at least once. “I used to take a rapid fire round of some 40 questions from the case study in 'true' or 'false' frame, and one could answer them correctly only on reading the case”. Coming to Indian education, Prof. Mitra says that the idea of education is to develop a strong foundation to allow students to explore, thing, imagine, experiment, and generalize. According to him, the prime reason for the success of IIPM is the fearless attitude. “Once you are fearless, you are ready to face any challenge head-on”. Also, because of Dr. MK Chaudhuri, some of the best practices were adpoted from XLRI. Today, he thinks IIPM has grown manifold times. “It is one of the best publishing houses in terms of variety”. He appreciates the initiative to start “Cult” which will help the alumni to reconnect. But, he emphasizes that there are more frontiers to conquer for IIPM. He goes on to opine how Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri has given it a grand shape since 2000, and many a times people do not recall the early hardships that Dr. MK Chaudhuri had to face.

Prof. Mitra claims, “Few more leaders are required in the field of teaching with higher levels of passion”. Interested in cooking, classical music, and mythology & sci-fi TV serials, He met his wife Mrs. Chhanda Mitra during his days of MA in Delhi. They have two sons Wrick and Ritwik. And then, he uses the simplest of lines with the most sublime message, “I generally enjoy everything around”.

To the young aspirants of today, his message is to try and develop a strong self belief. One should not expect that everything one does is going to be perfect. He explains how making an incremental improvement everyday is important. “As long as you have the spirit to improve, you will end up being a happy person if not the most successful”. He then concludes by stating that at the end of the journey, one must be able to say with pride, “I tried my best.”

Cult celebrates and salutes the indomitable spirit of Prof. Mitra.

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Good management art of making problems interesting!

IIPM: What is E-PAT?

MR. AMIT SAXENA TALKS ABOUT HIS PASSION FOR SALES & MARKETING AND HIS LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN AN INTERACTION WITH ARCHANA SHARMA

It was overwhelming to see a big smtile on his face the moment we entered his office. He is a very Jovial, courteous, sophisticated and friendly person with a positive approach and a very honest individual by nature. He is a person who places immense trust and confidence in the people he works with. His interest for marketing & sales shows how dedicated and hardworking he is. He has a great personality and an even greater sense of humor. He follows a participative style of leadership and believes personal engagement with the employees is very important and so is emotional quotient is applicable. Today he is a successful professional and delivers best in his career role.

Mr. Amit Saxena has had an intensive career in corporate sales and is still going strong in his knowledge base and learning. His stepping stone in sales began back in 1998 when he joined HOPE Technologies Ltd. After gaining an experience of 4 years over there as an Area Manager for sales, Mr. Saxena's next stop was Aditya Infotech. He served there as Regional Sales Manager for almost 2 years. His career graph in sales kept its flight with GrapeCity India where he was Sales Manager for another couple of years. And, since June 2006, Mr. Saxena has been the Regional Sales & Channel director at Bentley Systems for South-East Asia operations.

“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive, that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.” For our 1998 pass out Mr. Amit Saxena, his course at IIPM helped him improve on certain areas he was not noticing till that time. He says he learned a lot about finance at IIPM and also Executive communication especially on how to give presentations, that learning continued for 4-5 years and it still continues. He remembers P.C. Bagga sir and his classes. The Placement also happened at IIPM. It was easy to get into an organization but it was more important to get the right one. He had a group of ten people at IIPM and they had loads of fun during their college days at IIPM as they used to organize various parties.

Mr. Saxena was among the last few people who got placed. He wanted something in sales or marketing in the technology sector. At IIPM, he got the placement that he wanted, and since 14 years he has been in this industry. Now, he is into a business where they say, “They Improve the quality of life of people”. India is changing and it is a growing economy and he feels good that he is a part of an organization that is contributing towards this change. His attitude hasn't changed a bit but things around have changed a lot. His career started with campus placement at Hope Technology with a little known background. It was a software product company and he always wanted to join that. During the placement season at IIPM, he was getting very choosy about his placement, so Prof. A. Sandeep asked him what kind of a placement he wanted. They got this company for him which required people from Civil and Merhanical engineering but he was an Electronic Engineer. It was a challenge for him and he worked there for four years. Mr. Saxena had a great learning experience in his first job. Subsequently, he grew from a sales executive to an Area sales manager and when he joined Aditya, he was a Regional sales manager. His earlier years of work till Aditya was completely in an Indian environment and then he moved to a Japanese company, Grape City which was a software development company and this profile included less of sales. He worked there for two years and then after this Bentley happened to him. It is purely a software company for Infrastructure development.

Mr. Saxena has been managing teams since 10 years. But, at Bentley, specifically he is managing teams in India as well as in South East Asia. As a Global company he is getting to move in other areas as well. He shares that the software solutions market in India is very big but engineering side is a very niche sector. The twelve year plan is coming and major investment is going into infrastructure, and Bentley provides tools for that. Whether it is a metro or petrochemicals, many more organizations who are big clients of their solutions, will be getting in new projects. They are also a part of Reliance refinery, which is the largest in the world.

On asking his take on Engineering with MBA as a course, he says, the combination is great as it helps a lot. Most of the things he grabbed were because of engineering but over a period of time he realized some was due to MBA at IIPM.

During his summer training at Schlumberger he did marketing research for India's Electricity Scenario. It was very interesting, as he had to travel to remote areas not only in Delhi but also in parts of Patiala and Mumbai – where there was privatization of electricity, and get a feedback from them. The company did not give such projects to freshers, but he was fortuitous enough to get something like this in his training period.

Mr. Saxena does not follow any particular leadership style as he has been learning till now about how to manage teams. Earlier he had a team of five to six Indian people, but now the team he manages includes people from different places like Philippines, Malaysia. He ascertains that basic leadership qualities remain the same and they just differ a little according to the people. His style is more participative. He acts as a guide to new people. He just needs to tell them what they have3 to do and how they will go about it.

According to Mr. Amit Saxena there is a lot of difference between a college and workstation. It is very different for a new person especially who has only been there in the organization for 6-7 Months. It takes time for them to settle down and get used to new technologies. He feels that the very low level of attrition at Bentley Systems is because of a great work culture. The challenges are already disclosed to the employees as the interviews conducted by them are very open. They hire people from IIT's NIIT's and students from regular engineering colleges as well as well as people from non engineering background.

Mr. Saxena states that the impact of recession was very much evident at Bentley as their core business is related to infrastructure and the economy. During recession, all the projects were seized, and work flow came to a standstill. This had a direct impact on their revenues.

For young aspirants, Mr. Saxena says that a technical back-ground certainly helps. The concepts are there but things are changing fast. And hence he feels that it is imperative to have good leadership skills. A clear vision along with hard work, are also very important. “Make it a passion if you like it”. Affirms Mr. Saxena. He also adds that one should never underestimate what he or she is doing. He urges the youth to create opportunities, work hard, and learn regularly. He affirms that reading is very important to keep pace with people. “There are so many people learning today. And never forget the rule that whatever you have been doing in past leads you where you are today”, he opines.

On Bentley's corporate structure, Amit Saxena opines that, nowadays, most organizations invest a lot into corporate grooming as it is a very important aspect while representing an organization. He says, “One should be smart and sharp in understanding what your organization wants from you”. The account managers are also directly reporting to him. He is managing people who are sitting in Malaysia and is engaged into remote management as he needs to keep pace with people. He also needs to find a reason as to why a person is not performing well, and find a solutions to it. Mr. Saxena iterates that one needs to get into their group of juniors. They need to engage people into participative style of leadership. “Personal engagement with the employees is very important and the emotional quotient is applicable”, he adds.

On being asked about the pre-requisites of a good salesperson, Mr. Saxena says that the DNA of sales professional is to meet their targets and proper communication is very important. As new products are being released everyday they need to keep pace with that by being well informed. Pick up a few points and work on it. Real well about your customer and don't forget moral grounds are very important too.

When asked to share something personal, Mr. Saxena speaks candidly about his wife and family. Mr. Saxena's wife is a veterinary doctor. She comes from Ludhiana. She was a top performing student in her class and she was 2^nd in Ludhiana. She did her B.V.S and masters from Punjab Agricultural University. She works in an old veterinary clinic, that is running since 1963 and is associated with it for seven years. They have a single daughter Ashvika. He travels a lot due to his work but he makes sure that he spends weekends with them. His organization takes them on holidays when they achieve targets, to very exotic locations. Where he gets to spend time with his colleagues as well his family. In closing, Mr. Saxena share his love for cricket and informs us that he won “The man of the match” in a tournament in Delhi which was sponsored by Mail Today. So if not a corporate, he would have been a cricketer. Thus it is often said, 'to each, his own'! We at Cult express our deep regards for his future endeavors.

Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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