International Management Institute PGDM Review By Devesh Dhyani

After exploring all the possibilities of getting admissions into a B-School from east to west, I decided to go to IMI Kolkata. They accept students with 80 percentile which is fairly low but in the average grid too, one can make a great career if they develop the required skills. IMI has helped us hone our skills and present ourselves in the way that interviewers are left with no choice but to hire us. I mark IMI as a fine college and when it comes to ranking, it comes somewhere at the top of B-Schools that are in the grid of average. However, since I have been asked to write an honest review, let me clarify the falsest thing about IMI and that is the big numbers shown on their website are all false and that the college provides 100% placements is not at all true. The best part of IMI is that it is backed by two established houses of Kolkata and they are RP Sanjiv Goenka group and that’s what makes it better than some of the average B-Schools that Kolkata has.

Academics depend a lot on the past because PGDM has all new subjects and I was like my BBA was a waste or what. Well, it is what it is because PGDM means way beyond bookish knowledge. Every week we used to have seminars and knowing about the situation and how to react to certain situations is what we learned through those seminars. Marketing students had the best time because they were seen all over Kolkata as they were sent out almost everyday for their projects. From selling Maggie to cigarettes, they did it all. The finance students were just given reports and sometimes it felt like we are into accounting things. Giving projection reports and making PPTs on past performance is what the finance students were taught and even today while working from home, I do that whole day.

Faculties of IMI were not just qualified but they were actually good. Almost all the faculties that teach here have industrial work experience and so with the help of their connections, we were taken on industrial tours and if one stays in their good books, you never know, you might get recommendations too. So, buttering them can be fun as most faculties were from Bengal and just bringing Sandesh for them saying it’s my Mom's birthday or whatever can help you get in their good books. Well, jokes apart as I tried that but I don’t think it worked because it is the skills that they taught mattered and the ones who took that leaf from them were placed and those who didn’t, wasted their 12 lakhs.

ITC, Reliance, ICICI Bank, and RP Sanjiv Goenka Group were the top companies that came in the 2016–18 batch. IMI Kolkata Placements were divided as per crest as those who were into the IMI Kolkata Average Package was worth 5–6 lakhs and the students who managed to be in the upper crest easily got placements of 10 lakhs. However, the catch is that the average is low because only 7 out of 10 students were placed. One obviously can’t blame the college alone for that as if you don’t have skills, you will definitely not be hired no matter what.

The fees were certainly higher but one thing for sure about the hostels was that they were spotless. IMI Kolkata hostel grounds were amazing and the recreational facilities like chess, carrom, table tennis, and pool were allowed to students. The best part about the boys hostel was that rooms on double sharing were available but for girls they had to live in a single apartment. I was staying in a twin sharing room but one gets a personal chair, study table, cupboard, a comfortable bed, and attached washrooms which obviously are shared by your room partner. The mess food was excellent and not just vegetarian but non-vegetarian food was also served in the mess.

Just in 3 acres of land a business park has been built. Oh sorry, I mean IMI has been built. Oh is it? I would want everyone to at least check its images because RP Sanjiv Goenka Group has definitely brought the world’s best architects to build this college. A rainbow styled glass building with hostel like reception and theater like classrooms and auditorium even better. At the ground floor there is a reception area exactly like the hostel where there are couches and tables and students can hold their talks there. Since Sanjiv Goneka sir is a renowned personality, Bloomberg has built a finance lab inside the college.

Industrial tours and more industrial tours is how it went on. Guest lectures from people of every domain like from sports Sourav Ganguly has given lectures, and from politics none other than Derok O'Brien has given lectures, and from business who hasn’t come for giving guest lectures. Fest named CONFERO of Pan India level is organized at IMI campus and students from various IIMs, Symbiosis, XLRIs, and others are invited to be a part of CONFERO.