IIMs Record an Increase in Non-Engineers for PGP Batch
- After various attempts, IIMs have reported a considerable increase in the non-engineering students for PGP batch.
- The premier management institutes recorded that up to 20% of the PGP takers were from non-engineering background.
IIMs have recorded a rise in the number of non-engineering graduates for the PGP programme. IIM Ahmedabad – one of the top b-schools of India – reported that 3 out of every 10 takers for the PGP course were non-engineers. The institute added that this is a very encouraging development.
Other IIMs including IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore and IIM Lucknow have also reported that at least 20% of their entire intake were non-engineers for the batch of 2017-19. The IIMs have taken the initiative to ensure that they get a diverse batch for their management programmes.
While speaking about the improvement in academic diversity for the PGP batch, a spokesperson from IIM Ahmedabad said that the IIMs have no quota for non-engineering graduates.
However, a slight weightage is given to the students who are from non-engineering backgrounds during the GD and PI rounds. The spokesperson added that they do not consider the quality of the student during the selection criteria.
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Companies are also looking forward to hiring students who are from backgrounds other than engineering. Chief Talent Officer at Deloitte, SV Nathan, said that the firm is looking forward to hiring 30% management graduates from non-engineering and non-accounting backgrounds.
Neeraj Dwivedi, Chairman of Admissions, IIM Lucknow, said that taking in students from diverse backgrounds enhances the quality of classroom discussions. He added that it also helps in conducting industrially diverse discussions and improves peer learning.
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Majority of CAT exam takers are engineers who are looking forward to foraying into business and management. Over the years, it has also been observed that some of the top percentile holders in the exam are also engineers. Therefore, to balance the ratio of engineers to non-engineers, institutes are giving preference to non-engineers.