Fun and Crunch at IIM Indore

IIM Indore offers a full-time two-year Post Graduate Program in Human Resource Management (PGP HRM). I have a prior work experience in HR Consulting which made it an easy choice to go for this course. At IIM Indore there is an abundance of good faculties. The approx student to faculty ratio is 8:1. Faculties are mostly Ph.D. holders with an extensive teaching background. Not only this, they are constantly involved in consulting projects, Case study writing, and Research projects and have published multiple books in different domains. The teaching method followed at IIM Indore is case-based and experiential learning with relevant real-life examples as well. There are multiple courses in the curriculum that gives exposure to the real-world including Rural Engagement Program, Industry Program, Himalayan Outbound Program, etc. In one year there are 3 terms. Each term has a mid-term exam, an end-term exam, surprise quizzes, assignments, and class participation marks.

IIM Indore conducts summer placement drives for its students. This is held in the month of August - September. Top firms such as Aditya Birla Group, Deloitte, AON, Tata Capital, ICICI Bank, JSW, and many other startups take part in this drive. The average stipend offered for PGP HRM is around 1 Lakh/month. The roles are mostly management trainees under different HR function roles as per the requirement.

The college offers enough placement opportunities for students. Summer Internship is offered by the companies during August - September which is to be done in April - May next year. Final placements happen after term 5 during the month of December - January. For PGP HRM a total of 20+ companies participated in the final placements. Top firms like Aditya Birla Group, Deloitte, AON, Tata Capital, Capgemini, JSW, etc come to the campus for recruitment. The highest package offered was 36 LPA with the average package being 20.3 LPA. The placement is at an impeccable 100% year-on-year.

The fee structure at IIM Indore is about 9 Lakhs per year which includes Hostel Fee, Mess Fee, Tuition Fee, Examination Fee, etc. Mess is however the option in the second year. The fee hike is done periodically by the institute and the same is updated in a detailed format on the website. There are plenty of opportunities to get a student loan from the banks (SBI is on the campus itself). Other banks are also willing to give loans up to 40 Lakhs without any collateral and co-borrower. The Student Exchange Program and Miscellaneous expenses are also covered under this. Need-based scholarships by various prestigious firms are provided to IIM Indore students with criteria of total family income, caste/reservation, academic merit, etc. Live projects are offered throughout the terms from different firms which provide you stipend ranging from INR 5,000 to INR 20,000/per month.

Life at IIM Indore is amazing. There are fests happening throughout the first and second years. There are majorly 5 fests: IRIS, i5 Summit, Utsaha, Athrava, and Ranbhoomi. The learning center at IIM Indore is a standalone building with high-tech facilities such as an automated punch-in-out system, a one-touch issue of books and returns, and a full database of all the major research papers and journals (in electronic format). The classrooms are fully equipped with the necessary facilities. Facial recognition is installed for attendance during lectures. Each desk has its own charging point to facilitate the use of laptops/ipads. There is a sports complex within the campus with a gym, squash court, Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis court, and so on. There are 11 Activity Clubs and 9 Interest clubs. A student can join any one of them as per their interest.

Every student is given a separate room. There are a total of 18 Student Residences at IIM Indore. Each one has the required facilities like a washing machine, dryer, pantry area, etc. The meal is served 3 times (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) with an external vendor appointed by the college. There is ample variety of cuisines served but the quality is not that great (it's hostel food after all). It is a residential program so all the students have to opt for the Hostel and Mess services.

To get into any IIM, everyone has to appear for Common Admission Test (CAT) whose application starts a few months prior to the exam. Fees for the same are around INR 2000/- After the results are out within 1 month of CAT, based on the shortlisting criteria (determined at the start of every batch) of each institute they receive an interview call. For IIM Indore the criteria is as follows: 10th Score: 20%, 12th Score: 20%, CAT Score: 20%, Gender Diversity Factor: 10%, Academic Diversity Factor: 20%, Work Experience: 10%. Post which there is a PI round conducted by the institute and the final selection is done. The final selection has the following components: 10th Score: 10%, 12th Score: 10%, CAT Score: 10%, PI Score: 40%, GDF: 5%, ADF: 20%. Final cutoffs are not revealed by the institutes but there is a reservation for the categories and they can avail of their benefits.