The Hindu Business Line : `We prefer students with experience'

`Autonomy has never been an issue. The Government has never interfered in our activities.' `Autonomy has never been an issue. The Government has never interfered in our activities.'

DEEP IN THOUGHT: Prakash G. Apte, Director, IIM-B

The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) has today grown far beyond the scope it set for itself when it was established in 1973. <15,3m>Founded primarily to cater to the management needs of the large number of engineers employed in the city's PSUs, the institute is poised to become the first IIM to cross Indian shores, and it's only a matter of time before it throws open its Singapore campus.

In this journey of 30-plus years, IIM-B has kept pace with the changing profile of industry and its needs, whether it is a programme in software enterprise management or the Centre for Public Policy. And it is obvious that the institute's Director, Prakash G. Apte, means business. He has led IIM-B through rough times — from the fee reduction controversy that hit all IIMs two years ago to the recent attempts by the Human Resources Development Ministry to end IIM-B's ambitions to go global and the reversal of the decision thereafter. In this quick interview to The New Manager, Apte comments on some current happenings at the institute. Edited excerpts:

The institute has sought a change in the Memorandum of Association (MoA). Are there other implications to this, like more autonomy for the institute?

We are only amending the MoA to include the provision to start our foreign activities. Autonomy has never been an issue. The Government has never interfered in our activities. This time they said: "Your MoA does not include certain provisions. So include it."

Is there a likely to be a hike in the fees this year?

Yes. But this would have come independent of the change in the MoA. Most probably we will increase it this year. All six IIMs will jointly take a decision on this. We want to bring all IIMs on par.

But this will mean a big jump in fees for other IIMs ...

That's why we didn't increase it last year. Last year, the older IIMs didn't increase the fees, the newer ones did. This year all of them will be brought on par.

From next year, you are also increasing the intake of students to 300.

What about faculty? Is there a talent pool in the country to fulfil your needs?

We are constantly recruiting faculty. In certain areas it is difficult, but by and large it is getting easier to recruit faculty now.

Is it possible to select professors from your student pool itself and perhaps train them to take on teaching assignments?

Our doctoral programme students are going as faculty to other IIMs and vice-versa.

There are two categories of IIMs now — the older (A, B and C) and the newer three (K, L and I). Do the older IIMs do some kind of handholding for the newer IIMs?

This we do anyway. At IIM-Kozhikode, we help them set it up and offered a lot of initiatives. Our faculty offer courses there. We help them in curriculum design and so on. Though there is no formal exchange of faculty, we have helped them in whichever area they need our help.

We have participated in recruitment interviews and so on. Our faculty go as external experts for faculty selection.

Do you do this sort of handholding for other management institutes?

Sometime ago, we did some training programmes for faculty of other institutes. After that they have not approached us.

IIM-B has always brought in some new and innovative programmes such as the software enterprise management programme and the Centre for Public Policy. Is there anything new in the pipeline?

No, we are not planning any new initiatives. But we are launching something along the lines of executive certificate programmes. Our PGSEM programme is already being offered in the distance education format in Chennai.

This year we may start in Hyderabad and next year may be in a couple of more locations.

Are the IIMs consciously taking in more lateral students for the PGP course?

In our admission process we give weightage for experience though we do not actively look for such students.

We prefer students with experience, but we don't make it mandatory. But in the interview process and the GD they tend to do better. And with the added weightage to experience they have an edge over freshers.

More Stories on : Interview | Education | Management

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Leader Speak

Setting the agenda

What B-school didn't teach

To bell the CAT

`Swaraj is my birthright!'

`We prefer students with experience'

Social concerns

The business of etiquette

Share your office humour

A dozen CEOs by your side!

What it is all about