Life at IIM Calcutta

Here’s what Soumitra Singh, a member of the External Relations Cell of IIM Calcutta had to say about life at IIM Calcutta :

 ‘Joka - Management.’ That’s the name every cab driver in Kolkata knows IIM-Calcutta by. Ask them to take you there and you will be driven to a sprawling campus on the outskirts of the city. It is no wonder then, that a new web-site initiative by the students on campus to reach out to people across the globe, has the address www.jokatimes.com. One of the most desirable institutes for lacs of MBA aspirants in India every year, the campus is home to the proud IIM-Cian’s, students from diverse backgrounds such as doctors, entrepreneurs, engineers and chartered accountants, and to the renowned faculty that have made the oldest IIM in the country one of the most reputed ones in India, and even across the world.

Drive in and you’ll be in awe of the sheer natural beauty of the place. With its seven lakes and lush green vegetation, the campus is also a bird sanctuary. An impressive auditorium, tennis and basketball courts, a gym, a swimming pool (no, you’re not allowed to swim in the lakes), a management centre for human values, a lakeside jetty and a mini Howrah bridge are just some of the infrastructure that the students and professors make a part of their daily lives. It is within the walls of the campus wherein the spirit of entrepreneurship thrives and where some of the greatest leaders of tomorrow are cultivated.

A rigorous academic standard is maintained here – with presentations, cases, assignments and quizzes forming a significant chunk of every student’s day. But IIM Calcutta believes in fostering a ‘whole’ personality with all round development. There are a plethora of activities that one can indulge in on campus – the numerous clubs stand as testimony to that fact. Ranging from academic spheres such as consulting, marketing, operations and finance, to quizzing, writing, photography and the arts – there’s a club for every conceivable passion. The festivities comprising music, dance, plays, fashion shows, the popular college band JBS-BaroC, establish it as a campus tremendously rich in cultural life. And come the days of the college festivals - the international B-school meet ‘Intaglio’, the cultural fest ‘Carpe-Diem’, the alumni meet ‘Reminiscence’ or a number of events that take place almost every weekend, the Campus lights up and opens it arms to outsiders as the spirit of IIM Calcutta is celebrated.

And as call-getters this year get ready to give their group discussions and interviews for the much coveted seats here, the students in the present batches are ever so keen as the aspirants to make sure that the right choices are made. A mentorship programme that enables these aspirants to learn of the selection procedures and the life and culture at campus, or to seek advice and opinions related to career decisions, whatever be the cause of these aspirants, they soon learn that IIM Calcutta is not only a place where you make networks – it’s also a place where you make lifelong friends.