The Post-graduate Programme in Management is a flagship educational programme preparing the young graduates for senior level positions in industry and other sections. The programme is of two years duration. In the first year, the students undergo 58 credit foundation courses in various functional areas, followed by 8-10 weeks of summer training in business and industrial organisations.

The second year comprises two foundation courses of 3 minimum of 45 credit elective courses. Some of courses are of 2 credits (20 class contact hours) and others of 3 credit (30 class contact hours). The students are encouraged to have 2 areas of specialisations. For specialisation a student has to take a credits each and a minimum of 5 electives (amounting to 15 credits) in the area concerned. Some students spend one term to take courses in a partner foreign institution.

The programme lays great emphasis on knowledge assimilation than only imparting it. Towards this it uses a wide variety of pedagogies: lectures, case studies, exercises, role-plays, simulation, video shows etc. The evaluation system is rigorous one comprising quizzes, assignments, mid-term and term end examinations. The programme also lays emphasis on learning to learn through requirements of library-based self-study, group work, open-ended discussions and real life projects. The students inculcate the spirit of 'dream-innovate-achieve' and imbibe social concern as an integral part of learning process during the programme.

Consistent with the institute.s goal of creating business leaders who are socially and environmentally responsible, each student is required to provide active planning and execution help to non profit organizations. The students also under go compulsory courses on business ethics and environment management in the first year.

The admission to the programme is through a highly rigorous internationally acclaimed admission test with average selection rate of less than one in hundred candidates.

The programme is highly valued by industry. Leading Indian and foreign companies visit to the Institute to participate in campus placement programme. Looking at the huge demand of the industry for the institute graduates, the intake in the programme has been increased to 180 students from the academic session 2005.

Method of Instruction

The method of instruction at the Institute is a blend of the lecture method and experimental learning methods such as case discussions, role plays, simulations, group discussions and projects.

The PGP Programme: A Fine Balance

The Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in management is designed to rest on three supporting pillars: a proper balance of theory and practice, aligning of courses to match continuously with industry requirements, and an abiding concern for the larger society. The institute believes that each pillar is equally important, and required for the all-round development of students.

The Curriculum:

A judicious mix of different teaching methods, evolved using feed-backs from students and other programme participants, is employed at the institute. The emphasis is on learning processes and learning outcomes for enhancement of managerial competencies. Problem-solving and analytical skills are honed through case studies, which are part of the pedagogy in most of the courses. The management development programmes offered by the institute provides a link for updating the PGP curriculum so that the students are equipped with the necessary skills to respond to the changing challenges posed by business and industry. The post graduate programme also provides direct student links with industry and enhancement of application skills through projects undertaken for industry by students. The programme stipulates that students undertake summer projects of 8 to 10 weeks duration at the end of the first academic year. Once at the project location, the students apply the various concepts imbibed during the first year of formal studies, and learn to appreciate organization-specific complexities and implementation problems and bottlenecks. The project work executed by the deputed IIMK students have been highly appreciated by the industry leadership, resulting in ‘best project’ awards presented to them in several instances.

The PGP concentrates on subjects in diverse functional areas during the first year, equipping the student with basic skills and knowledge needed at the managerial level in any organization. In the second year, students select subjects in their area of interest, and have an option of dual specialization. Electives are offered in finance, marketing, information technology and systems, and in general management. Multidisciplinary courses offering state of the art analysis such as ‘enterprise resource planning’ and business process reengineering’ are also available for the taking. The students can choose topics from any or all of these streams. If at least 18 credits are chosen from any one area, the student is deemed to have majored in that branch of management. Typically, choices are made from at least two streams so as to major in two areas, thus obtaining a ‘dual’ specialization. The students can also allocate choices so as to obtain a minor specialization by obtaining 9 to 17 credits.

Management in a Dynamic Environment

Innovative and successful management is about challenging the status quo and prevailing paradigms, so that change is positive and continuous. The role of the strategist, and the mind of the manager equipped to deal with change, is brought to the limelight in the programme through handpicked courses in the second year, after competence has been gained in the functional areas. These courses, such as on ‘Knowledge and Intellectual Capital Management’, ‘Organizational Development and Change’ etc., are designed to prepare the candidate both for managing the process of change itself, and for managing the physical and the human capital assets which help to bring about such changes. The curriculum serves the needs of the professional manager and that of the entrepreneur equally well, with electives such as ‘Laboratory in Entrepreneurship’ offered by successful industrialists affiliated to the Institute.

Grooming Managers for the Twenty-First Century

It would be thus refreshing for the well-wishers of the Institute to note that the academic programme has shown ample evidence of innovation and change Emphasizing combinations of theory and practice, shrewd business judgment and idealism, the students are progressively groomed into the role of a manager in a globalized environment with responsibilities that can overlap across several frontiers, after initiation as a profit-oriented administrator with solely local social concerns. The ever-on-going process of including new courses, fresh subject areas and new modes of faculty-student and industry-student interactions makes this advancement possible, and provides, possibly, the most cause for optimism regarding future developments at the Institute.

The ‘Larger’ Commitment: Meeting Vital Societal Needs

Successful management and leadership also involve a potent combination of strategy and values, with the latter weighing in with equal importance according to the Institute’s management philosophy. It is expected and awaited that the alumni of the Institute will be harmonious individuals, socially responsible citizens of tomorrow, in addition to taking up the reins of business and industry. It is with this goal ever in sight that the Institute has evolved a delicate blend of management inputs spanning concepts, social concerns and basic values. It is also in line with this view that a continuing involvement of students in social development activities in backward areas provided in the form of a social development project running the entire length of the curriculum.

The stricture on upholding values is, in fact, brought home to the students right at the beginning of the programme, when they take a unique, compulsory course on “social transformation in India”. Some of the other regular courses also have this emphasis in-built in their structures. Thus, the course in Social and Rural Marketing includes visits to rural areas in the state to provide the students with “live” experiences essential for understanding the issues involved.

A Quiet Revolution: The Continuous Induction of New courses

As already pointed out, the importance of responding to new needs and a continually changing business environment by inducting fresh courses is given a strong emphasis at the Institute. Accordingly, the following new courses have now been introduced into the curriculum:

• Change Management
• Decision Support Systems
• E-Business
• Laboratory in Entrepreneurship
• Psycho-analytical Study of Organizations
• International Human resources Management
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Negotiations and Conflict Resolution
• Management of Creativity
• Strategic Costing

In fact, the continuous induction of new courses, a virtual (quiet) revolution, has altered the nature of the two-year programme to such an extent that a management graduate of a few summers past may not be able to identify the programme!

Industry-Institute Partnerships: Industry Interaction Cell

The other side of such innovation and progress in the curriculum has been the need for additional resources to support such advances. As far as human capital has been concerned, this need has been met partly by identifying and recruiting eminent faculty. Starting from a minimum strength back in 1997, the faculty now numbers a comfortable twenty-three odd members. This core internal strength is supplemented when needed by inputs from industry and consulting, again from the most reputed quarters. The Institute leadership, faculty and the students are unanimous in acclaiming the advantages that have been reaped from such close industry-institute interaction, which will be accelerated further in the coming years, and could take varying forms. A student IndustryInteraction Cell, with six highly motivated members, has been set up to facilitate this process further and identify fresh avenues for interaction.

The Institute has, very deliberately, invested in building lasting relationships with interested industry and services groups. One such relationship is with Tata Consulting services, whose members have been coming regularly to the Institute to handle specialized courses in the area of software engineering and management. Other outstanding examples may be cited with pride and pleasure. A steady partnership has been forged with GE capital Markets, who invite our students for some very fulfilling summer projects, and have also established a full scholarship at the Institute. Consultants from Arthur Andersen Co., have generously shared their expertise in various areas with our students. The leadership of the Institute is fully committed to building an environment where ideas and innovations generated in the business and industrial arenas find immediate resonance in the activities and schedules of the students as well as that of faculty members. Events such as Horizons, IIMK’s annual management seminar, assist in this endeavour, and has been attracting an increasing number of participants and delegates from the industry and even government policy-making circles.

Industry Scholarships, Student Achievements

The mutually beneficial co-operation with industry has also found expression in the form of generous scholarships set up by leading industrial houses. Both G.E. capital Markets Inc., and Hughes Communications Inc. have instituted full scholarships at IIMK which cover the entire cost of the two-year programme. The Hughes Scholarship became operational from the beginning of the 2001-2002 academic year, while the GE Scholarship has been already received by two successful students in the past. Most recently, Bharti Enterprises Inc., has instituted a scholarship that generously provides 50,000 Rupees each academic year to a student chosen on the basis of merit as well as financial need.

While the grade sheets, rank certificates and these generous scholarships speak their own, clear language, the students have proved their mettle in several other ways. Their articles have appeared in most of the leading management journals and national dailies, and they have also been honoured with prizes and citations in prestigious conferences and management games, in competition with students from other leading business schools in the country and abroad.

Student Composition and Orientation

Students are selected on the basis of a written test (CAT) common to all IIMs, which is followed by group discussions and a personal interview. Chosen students have diverse backgrounds, hailing from different streams and states, and many possess previous work experience. Sixty-five students were inducted in July 2000, among them a few SC/ST candidates. A much larger intake is envisaged for the coming years, with the new campus taking final shape rapidly. A predominance of engineering students among those admitted in the early years has been now diluted with entrants also hailing to a greater extent from humanities, commerce and arts streams.

A preparatory programme to smoothen out any persisting weaknesses in mathematics, computers, or communication abilities, is offered to those incoming candidates who expressed a necessity. A large number of students have taken part, and – in their own words – found the programme quite appropriate to their needs.

Foreign Language Competence: German or French?

In this era of globalization and increasing outreach of Indian business to international markets, knowledge of foreign languages offers an extra edge, an added advantage, to young professionals. It is with this inescapable fact in mind that the Institute has chosen to include foreign language instruction as non-credit options in the curriculum. During the 2001-2002 academic year, French language instruction was offered, and opted for by close to thirty enthusiastic students. The availability of a choice between the important foreign languages such as French and German for interested students is being planned for the coming years, and resource-planning with this aim in view has been initiated.

Interest Groups

Interest Groups is a student initiative in the field of finance, marketing and systems – and most recently, in the Organization Behaviour and Human Relations area, with the catchy name, ‘Dristhty’. This is a forum with the objective of in-depth study, analysis, and of the latest developments in the concerned fields. It keeps the students updated, and serves as an informal forum for exchange of ideas and views. The groups also stay in regular contact with industrial circles, which provides them with a window to real life organizational dynamics and problems.

All the interest groups met regularly during the year, and had their own suggestions and support to offer in terms of industry-interaction, and innovations in the course curriculum.

The Social Services Group

The Social Services Group is a unique initiative of IIMK students, aimed at undertaking social services activities in and around Kozhikode. The group primarily facilitates IIMK students to support various welfare activities through programmes such as Fun Fetes. Since coming into being in August 1999, the group has undertaken different fund-raising activities to support victims of the Orissa Cyclone and the Gujarat earthquake. Efforts are being made to reach out further to benefit the immediate environment through blood-donating arrangements with the Calicut Medical College, provision for economic support to needy school students etc. The group will be shortly registered as a formal NGO, managed and run by students of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.

Extending the Frontiers: National and International Seminars

Given it’s firm commitment to understanding and extending the frontiers of knowledge in the management profession, the institute endeavors to continually interact with industry, the academia and the corporate world at large. As a part of this on-going exercise , national and international seminars are hosted on a regular basis. These seminars brings together professionals, industry leaders, teachers and students from all over the country, and are intended to explore the emerging frontier areas of management. The learning process is facilitated through lectures and panel discussions chaired by management experts, and probing question and answer sessions ensure universal participation.

Horizons, the regular series of national level management seminars hosted on the 21st and 22nd of October of this academic year, was such an endeavour to analyze and reflect upon the transformation in the Indian business environment and management practices due to economic liberalization. The participants included Mr. Ram Ramachander, Country Head, Electrolux , South Asia, Mr. N. Kumar, Vice Chairman, Samar Group, Mr. Raj Datta, Associate Director, Mindtree Consulting, Mr. Trateek Srivastava, Vice President, Ogilvy & Mather, and Mr. Sammer Kaul, Country Insurance Manager, City Bank.

Alumni Associations

Finally, quite aware of the fact that that the Institute’s laurels and reputation depend heavily – if not solely – on it’s past as well as present students, an active alumni network has been set up, extending relationships and commitments from the past to the distant future, and assuring new entrants of a place in the sun, in the spotlight of industrial and commercial life in the nation.

The Institute's outstanding placement record speaks it's own language.

How to Apply:

Candidates applying for CAT are automatically eligible to apply for the PGP of IIM Kozhikode. The application fee is already included in the cost of Bulletin, and no additional fee is to be paid for applying to IIM Kozhikode. Candidates applying to IIM Kozhikode must darken the appropriate oval under item 4 of the PGP Application Form-cum-Answer Sheet.