IIM Calcutta's Review and Verdict by CollegeDekho

Campus at a Glimpse

Indian Institute of Management Calcutta  or IIM Calcutta is the first national institute established for Post-Graduate studies and Research in Management by the Government of India in November 1961. The institute is developed in collaboration with the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management (MIT), the Government of West Bengal, the Ford Foundation and the Indian industry. Famous as one of the finest Asian Business Schools, it has emerged as an International Centre of Excellence in the field of education in management. IIM Calcutta is the sole triple-accredited institute of management in India. It has received ‘Triple Crown’ accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB), the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) & Association of MBAs (AMBA). The institute carries with it a bright legacy of over 45,000 alumni. Subir Chakraborty, Sanjay Gupta, Dr. K. V. Subramanian, and Shri Sunil Alagh are some of the distinguished alumni of IIM Calcutta.

Courses offered at IIM Calcutta include post-graduate programs like MBA, Executive MBA and Master in International Management (CEMS-MIM); collaborative programs like PGDBA and PGPEX-VLM along with doctoral level courses. IIM Calcutta admissions in the MBA program are based on CAT. For admission into courses like Executive MBA, work experience of 5 years or above is a must along with valid GMAT scores. IIM Calcutta conducts its own entrance exam for admission in collaborative programmes. Placement-wise, IIM Calcutta MBA students were offered an average salary of INR 35.07 LPA in 2023. The highest domestic and international salary package were recorded at INR 1.15 Cr and INR 94.82 LPA, respectively.

Spread across 135 acres of land, the campus is beautiful with its seven lakes. Also commonly known as Joka among the students, IIM Calcutta’s infrastructure comprises Tata Hall with 56 residential rooms, 4 suites, and 3 conference rooms; hostels for students,  a post office, SBI and ICICI Bank ATM, hangout area, medical facilities and more. The institute feels amazing, isn’t it? However, if you wish to study at IIM Calcutta it is important to know more about the institute from the existing students point of view for a clear understanding. We have provided you with a summary of what the students and online reports portrayed about the institute along with our verdict on the same!

IIM Calcutta Ranking

NIRF Ranking: Excellent Ranking!

Other Rankings in 2023: Top Performer!

QS World Rankings: Among Top 10 Universities in India in Top 250 QS Ranking!

Our Take:

In the NIRF Ranking 2023, IIM Calcutta secured a place first time in three years at 99th place in the overall category. However, it has dipped a rank from 3rd place to 4th in the Management category. IIM Kozhikode surpassed IIM Calcutta in the management category in 2023. In the QS World University Rankings 2024 for MBA, IIM Calcutta is one among the top 10 universities in India to get listed which is a great achievement. Also, if we go through the B-school survey report of BT-MDRA and Open Magazine, IIM Calcutta was ranked first and second, respectively. 

IIM Calcutta Academia and Batch Size

IIM Calcutta courses at the postgraduate level have a two-tier structure. It comprises a core curriculum with compulsory credit courses and non-credit courses, a summer internship with compulsory industry training between the first and second year and elective courses which are optional in the second year. 

Academic Composition

IIM Calcutta academia is a mix of classroom learning, assignments, quizzes, midterms, end-terms, group assignments, case studies, and simulations.

Batch Size

Tabulated below is the batch size of IIM Calcutta MBA and Executive MBA programs for the year 2023. The data is retrieved from the official sources:

Fees

IIM Calcutta fee structure for the postgraduate and collaborative programs are tabulated below:

Our Take:

Regarding the academia and batch size, students have shared a positive insight regarding the quality of education offered. Also, IIM Calcutta boasts about having the largest number of electives offered by any B-school in India and  Asia as well. Such diverse options help students gain skilful knowledge in their area of interest thus, making them proficient in a specific skill set. Like any other IIM, the fee structure is a bit higher is what the students had to say. However, they also added that, given the industry-relevant courses offered, especially in the finance sector, and the placement opportunities, the prices that they pay are worth it!

IIM Calcutta Infrastructure

Classrooms

IIM Calcutta has classrooms with different sizes and seating capacities in the academic and administrative buildings. The classrooms are equipped with facilities such as instructional technology, video conferencing, computing and integrated collaboration services.

Auditorium

IIM Calcutta auditorium is equipped with world-class facilities like ultra-modern light and sound systems and air-conditioning. The cost to build it was over Rs 9 crores. With a seating capacity of 750, the auditorium is used for organising the institute's fests and events. IIM Calcutta students call their auditorium ‘Audi’ and claim it to be one of the best infrastructures available on the campus. 

Library

IIM Calcutta library is a huge one. It has a huge collection with over 1.6 lakh books and journals. It provides students access to 40,000 online full-text journals and subscribes to 500 journals. Equipped with modern facilities and computerized library services, it is indeed one of the best management libraries in Asia.

Finance Lab

IIM Calcutta has set up a finance lab, known as the Financial Research and Trading Lab. The institute is the only IIM in India to install a Bloomberg terminal. The terminal provides access to real-time national and international market information, financial data, business news, and financial analysis tools. The lab also has a trading exchange simulator (XSTrade) that provides real-time data feed from NSE- Cash and F&O, BSE-Cash, NCDEX and MCX.

Internet

The internet connectivity at the institute is very good. It has a network that runs around 1000 PCs, one IBM RS-6000 server, 4 digital Alpha servers and 7 Novell file servers. Students get unlimited access to the internet at a speed of 2Mbps and 64Kbps radio link. All such facilities indeed justify the fact that IIM Calcutta is India’s first management institute to realise the importance of IT in education and transform itself into a wired campus.

Clubs

IIM Calcutta students can engage themselves by joining one of the many clubs available apart from academics. Some of the top-rated clubs as highlighted by the students are as follows:

• Armageddon, the Adventure Club
• The Choreography Club
• The Consulting Club
• Dramatics Cell
• E-Cell (Entrepreneurship Cell)

Events/Fests

IIM Calcutta organises numerous fests. Some of the famous fests organised in the institute are Intaglio, Carpe Die, Marcon and 7 Lakes Fest. Intaglio is the Annual Business Summit of IIM Calcutta where students from top management institutes participate in challenging business competitions. The annual cultural fest of IIM Calcutta is the Carpe Diem. The popularity of the fest has made it one of the most anticipated college fest every year. To celebrate innovations in marketing and to motivate students to participate and experience the emerging technologies and advancements in marketing, Marcon- the marketing fest is organised. 7 Lakes Fest is the ‘International College Fest’ of IIM Calcutta.  

Hostels

IIM Calcutta provides on-campus accommodation to students. There are a total of 5 hostels namely, Old Hostel, White Hostel, New Hostel, Lake View Hostel and an international hostel. The Old Hostel is a co-ed hostel with separate wings for females. White and New Hostel are for male students. Lake View Hostel, the newest hostel of IIM Calcutta is equipped with world-class facilities. Some of the common facilities available are common rooms, games rooms and courts for playing indoor sports. 

Sports

Sports facilities at IIM Calcutta include a tennis court, basketball court, swimming pool, football field, futsal court etc, There is also an indoor sports complex with 2 squash courts, 2 badminton courts and 2 table tennis courts.

Our Take

Students have expressed a strong liking towards the auditorium and library facilities. The extended library timings, flexibility of timings during the exams, and assigning specific group discussion areas have been proven to be quite helpful for students. Students have also opined that hostel facilities are good, however, in some hostels, the rainy season causes a bit of trouble.

IIM Calcutta Internships and Placements

Internships

Regarding internships, the highest number of internships have been made to the consulting sector at 23%, followed by sales & marketing, finance and product management & technology at 20%, 19% and 16%, respectively. The following data representing the internship statistics of MBA batch 2022 has been retrieved from the official website:

Our Take:

Analysing the internship statistics, it is evident that students receive good internship opportunities. With a median stipend of INR 1.25 Lacs/Month, students receive the needed reward for their efforts and money spent on fees and other dues. 

Placements

As per the IIM Calcutta placement report 2023, the placement took place in 3 clusters. In cluster 1, a total of 266 offers were made and MBA students received 253 offers from 65 recruiters in cluster 2. In 2023, IIM Calcutta witnessed a 2.5% YoY increase in average salary and an 8.6% YoY increase in median salary. Tabulated below are some of the IIM Calcutta placements highlights of 2023:

Our Take:

Based on the placement statistics, the placements in IIM Calcutta are excellent with a 100% placement record. The average salary is INR 35.07 LPA which signifies that the ROI is good. Students can opt for admission in IIM Calcutta to receive not only a good education but also a hefty pay package in top companies like Avendus Capital, Citi Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered and others after completing their postgraduation. 

IIM Calcutta Diversity and Demographics

IIM Calcutta- Gender Ratio Index

Our Take:

It is evident that there is an imbalance in the gender ratio with only 26.33% of female students pursuing their post-graduate degree in IIM Calcutta. One possible reason can be the absence of hostel accommodation for females. There are two male hostels and one co-ed hostel with separate wings for females. However, a new hostel- Lake View Hostel has been set up which can lead to more female students enrolling in the institute soon.

IIM Calcutta- Demographic Diversity

Tabulated below is the percentage of students in postgraduate courses belonging to West Bengal and outside the state taken from IIM Calcutta’s NIRF Report 2024:

Our Take:

The data above signifies that students from outside West Bengal prefer studying in the institute more as compared to the students from West Bengal. Native students comprise only 8.87% of the total students. The fact that Kolkata has not grown into a corporate hub compared to other cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad, thus, builds a common notion among them about studying in those places where they have better chances to grab a job easily. The competitive admission procedure and high fees could be another possible reason.

IIM Calcutta Faculty and Administration/Management

Currently, IIM Calcutta has a total of 126 faculty members; some of them are permanent, some are employed on a contractual basis and others are visiting faculty. Here is some information on IIM Calcutta faculty as obtained from NIRF Report 2024:

Our Take:

If we look at the faculty numbers, it is a good sign that there are more permanent professors than contractual faculty. It ensures that the quality of teaching is not compromised. Frequent faculty change can break the flow of study making it difficult for the students to adjust to teaching patterns.

Regarding IIM Calcutta administration and management, students have not expressed any serious concern which signifies that even though discrepancies occur, it is not much of a concern for students. Moreover, the students have a very hectic schedule as the competition is high allowing students very little time to focus on other issues and it is indicative that IIM Calcutta makes sure that the students do not face any issues regarding exam updates or result declaration and get what they deserve in the institute - a quality education!

IIM Calcutta Location

IIM Calcutta is nestled in a peaceful location at Diamond Harbour Road, Joka in Kolkata. The nearest airport, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is at a distance of 34.6 km from the institute. The nearest railway junction is the Howrah Junction Railway Station. It is at a distance of 18.1 km from the campus. The nearest bus stop, Shyampur Bus Stop, is 18.5 km away from the campus.

Our Take:

Students have expressed that the environment in and out of the campus is peaceful. The institute is located in a healthy environment away from city hustle. However, travelling is an issue with no airport or railway station nearby. Public transport is accessible but the distance from campus to the bus stand takes a toll on students travelling every day.

IIM Calcutta Expectation vs Reality- College Dekho Verdict

Famous as one of the top 3 IIM - ABC, IIM Calcutta is loved by the students. There are a few, but not-so-significant issues that the students face. Not all teachers are liked by the students. For some students, there are few teachers that they are disappointed with, while for others, they are their mentors. Competition is a bit high, which is evident, given the reputation of the institution. Such issues prevail in IIM Calcutta which every student deals with at the individual level. The student culture is very good at IIM Calcutta. The junior-senior bond is good, which is evident from the fact that no students we talked to had to go through any severe ragging sessions. Exposure at the institute is also great according to the students. There is also a student exchange programme, STEP. Moreover, IIM Calcutta, the first IIM in India, has MoUs with 73 schools from over 28 countries worldwide. 

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