FAST FACTS
Location: Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi
Other campus: Kolkata
Director: KT Chacko
Approval/Accreditation: AICTE approved, NAAC accredited
Flagship programme: MBA - International Business
Student intake: 165
Fees (full course): Rs. 5,00,000
Boarding & lodging (two years): Rs. 53,400 Admission test cut-off: IIFT entrance examination - 97.80%
Full-time faculty: 53 (Professors: 11; Associate Professors: 14; Asst Professors: 14)
Faculty with industry experience (over 10 years): 8
Average placement salary: Rs. 7.55 lakhs
Top recruiters: BHEL, Darashaw, GVK Bio, Godfrey Philips, Triton Group
Conferences & Festivals: HR Conclave, Consulting Symposium
Web site: www.iift.edu
Other programmes: Certificate Programmes in Export Management, Capital & Financial Markets, International Business Language (languages taught: Spanish, French) Executive Post Graduate Diploma in International Business Capital & Financial Markets,  Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Marketing, Three-year MBA (International Business) (part-time), PhD Programme

VIEW: IIFT

“I was looking to specialise in international business, and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade was the best,” says one student as others nod in agreement. Some more students, both fresh graduates and the industry-experienced, share their reasons for choosing IIFT. A good placement record and opportunity to work on government-backed research projects are a few other reasons voiced by students.

IIFT, set up under the Ministry of Commerce, takes up research studies with WTO, The World Bank, UNCTAD and also with the parent ministry.

In its 46 years of existence, IIFT has steadily forayed into certificate programmes in areas of financial marketing, industrial marketing and other areas with an international focus.

But the foreign trade focus still is very strong. In addition to a centre for WTO studies, two other research centres, the Centre for International Trade in Technology (CIIT) and Centre for Small Medium Enterprises focus on trade and technology-related issues.

Associate Professor Dr. Sheeba Kapil informs us that the “IIFT has the one of the best resource base to conduct  WTO-related studies.” The IIFT library has a separate section for WTO-related studies. The library is open to the outside research scholars too who can gain membership with an annual fee of Rs. 5,500 and obtain two cards.

Port visits are an integral part of flagship the programme. Under the student exchange programme, the outbound students mostly go to France, Finland, Italy or Canada for three to six months. The college has international collaborations for student/ faculty exchange programmes and joint research projects.

“Last year due to the economic downturn, 30 percent of the students chose to join PSUs such as BHEL, GAIL and MMTS instead of corporates,” says Munish Bhargava, Corporate and Placement Advisor. This year, all students have been placed with an average salary cut-off of Rs. 7.55 lakhs per annum, Bhargava informs us.

IIFT has a very compact campus in the bustling Qutab Institutional Area. Situated in the heart of South Delhi, life is a ball here, say the students. The only drawback, of course, is the rigourous work load. The institute has also set up a campus in Kolkata, though
the facilities in Delhi far outstrip the eastern campus.