The highlight of the batch was spending a term at McGill University, Canada as well as a three month long industry project, which were a part of the academic curriculum. Both these combined together not only focused on the academic acumen of the students but also provided a global feel to the programme.
The process of Industry projects undertaken by IIM L IMPX students commenced post September 2008. Prof. Punam Sahgal, Chairman, IPMX says, "The companies were contacted and there were large number of corporate interactions wherein the students got opportunities to interact with the CEOs and MDs from industry. The CEOs from the companies shared their thoughts on various issues related to current trends in business and globalization which gave students an insight of the requirements and demands of the corporate world. After interacting with the students and rounds of interviews the companies finally lend projects to meet their specific requirements"
Some of the projects taken by the IPMX participants include:
• 'Country Analysis for New Development Location' - Robert Bosch Engineering & Business Solutions Ltd.
• 'Customer Segmentation & Profiling'- Shoppers Stop
• ‘Efficiency improvement in servicing high volume brokerage clients"- Baring Private Equity Partners (India) Pvt. Ltd.
• 'Waste Control to Waste Elimination' - Metzeler Automotive Profiles India Private Limited
• 'Evaluation of CDM Benefits', 'Project Finance'- Tata Power
• 'Marketing Strategy for Mobile Internet Business in India'- Bharti Airtel Ltd.
• 'Corporate Strategy' - Entreprise Business Unit, Wimax Business Strategy- AIRCEL
• Public-Private Partnerships - PDCOR Limited
• Mining Project Financing and Role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) - IDFC Projects Limited.
• 'SME Financing, Open Source ERP for SMEs, a study on Small Retailer, Carbon Trading Opportunities for SMEs - Milagrow Business & Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
• Understanding Shopping Paths in a Super Market using RFID- IMRB (ABRL).
Though most of the projects are strategic in nature, they cover almost all facets of Business management e.g. marketing, finance, accounting, operations, and strategic management to name a few. The topics chosen by participants are clear indicators towards the diversity of interests and an urge to provide the company with specialized solutions on various business challenges today.
Says IIM L, "The 1st batch of 45 students has received excellent Industry response with their projects. This was owing to their work experiences (average of ten years for the batch), the International module (a complete term spent at McGill University), corporate interactions and hence a global understanding of issues. Industry projects not only provide the students with an insight of present business scenario enabled them to put a firm foot in managing the same. The projects play a crucial role by providing the students with the much needed finesse to prepare potential senior managers."
The students of IIM L IPMX have an average of 10 years plus of experience. These students, or mid career executives are already well experienced candidates and come from diverse functional areas, a large majority being technical graduates. Around 45 % of the students are from the IT & technical backgrounds, while the rest of the students belong to sectors such as telecom, power, banking, finance, and defence.
