The Hindu Business Line : More IIM-A students prefer to go their own way

Based on student interest, a `Start-up Fair' was organised in which about 40 first-year students interacted with five start-ups and two venture capital firms.

Ahmedabad , Nov. 21

Till the 90s, when India followed the license-quota-permit raj brand of economy, some critics called the IITs/IIMs the "NRI-making factories."

No longer. For some believe in taking to the roads less travelled.

The latest trends show that some students at the IIM-A have chosen the less trodden path.

Sources at IIM-A said that, of late, students have shown an increased interest in starting their own business or joining start-ups that would give them valuable exposure across functions and higher levels of responsibility in a very short time.

This year, based on student interest, a `Start-up Fair' was organised for students on October 29, in which about 40 first-year students interacted with five start-ups and two venture capital firms.

Neela Nageshwar Vittal, a first year student, is planning to join a tech start-up based out of Bangalore for summers.

"I plan to start something of my own in the future, and summer internship is a good time for me to experiment and explore."

P Song Lal Khan Khual, another first year student who opted out of the formal process, plans to join an NGO in North-East India for the summers.

"I always wanted to work for a meaningful social cause, and the internship will also help me understand the working of an NGO."

Summer recruitment

The summer recruitment process for the 2006-08 batch was conducted from November 11-16. IIM-A retained its position as a preferred choice for recruiters worldwide, with 120 out of 246 getting placed by the end of the much-coveted Slot Zero of placements. Another 101 students were placed by Slot One.

A large percentage of the students (110 students out of 246) are going to international locations for their summer internships.

Along with an unprecedented 60 per cent increase in the number of Slot Zero offers (compared to 73 last year), there has been a substantial elevation in the roles being offered at entry level. Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital recruited for Associate positions, i.e., at par with Ivy League B-school graduates.

Devashish Chakravarty, Co-ordinator of the Student Placement Committee, said: "The elevation in roles is a natural extension of IIM-A's reputation as a global brand and its position as one of the best B-schools in the world."

Large numbers

The biggest recruiters on Slot Zero were Lehman Brothers (17), Merrill Lynch (14), JP Morgan (11), Barclays (11) and Citigroup (9). Slot Zero saw 25 companies on campus, which included 11 investment banks and seven consulting firms.

In Slot Zero, 82 students got placed in investment banks while 26 opted for consulting firms.

A number of the firms recruited exclusively in IIM-A in addition to a few select B-schools worldwide.

Prof P.K. Sinha, Faculty Chairperson for Placements, said: "The summer internship is a mandatory academic requirement wherein the student is able to gain relevant hands-on experience in a role of interest. There is an increasingly wider choice of functions, responsibilities and geographies available for the students who are thus able to maximise their learning from the internship."

The diversity across sectors has resulted in students getting greater choice among finance, consulting, marketing, IT, operations, general management and private equity firms.

The international locations being offered for summer internships this year are New York, Boston, London, Brussels, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

A large number of companies made international offers across slots. Prof Bakul Dholakia, Director, said: "The consistency in the quality of students across the batch and across the Slots enabled the students to secure international placements even in Slot 1 and Slot 2."

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