Professor Arindam Chaudhuri Says:- “We plan to set up our overseas centres in Singapore, Dubai, London, USA and Spain. We are also planning to expand in India and open at least seven branches this year”

Dean, Centre For Economic Research and Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

 Raring To Go

How have your plans to open new centres abroad as well a in India progressed?

Most Legalities are now over and we plan to set up our overseas centres in Singapore, Dubai, London, USA and Spain. We are also planning to expand in India and open at least seven braches this year. The cities where they will come up are Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Thiruvananthapuram, Shilong, Lucknow and Jaipur. The way the education scene is hotting up in the smaller metros across India has prompted us to establish our presence there.

Any changes proposed in your management course abroad?

While we will stick to our basic course that is being offered in India. It will be sans Accounting and Law. Local Law will be added to the course. As it is, the importance that our porgramme puts on economics is liked by academicians abroad, therefore, we do not feel the need to introduce too many changes. As far as the curriculum in India is concerned, we upgrade it every six months. The latest paper to be added is Digital Marketing.

Any new tie-ups?

We have a tie-up with Yale for a joint research project on the Indian stock market. We are also going to announce an executive development programme with Stanford and more courses with universities like Dart-Mouth and Columbia.

What is the placement scenario like at IIPM?

This year, during the placement season, we had 15 international companies coming in from Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai etc. We have even placed 50 students for a summer training programme abroad, a first for us or any management institution in the country. The minimum package was Rs 3.6 lakhs.

How does the European educational trip that you take your students on help?

This time, we are thinking of taking our students to Switzerland or any other part of Europe via Africa. It will be god for them to see how a developing country functions. This will give them a better understanding of economics. By going on such trips, the total outlook of a student changes as he/she is exposed to international trends.

What are your future plans?

To become number one amongst the list of private management institutions and also see a 25 per cent jump in our placements this year. Placements are the main reason why a students opts for a particular institute.