Indian Institute of Management Lucknow

About College:

The Indian Institute of Management in Lucknow was the fourth of its kind opened in the year 1984. It has one of the largest campuses for management institutions in the country with a 200-acre campus on the outskirts of the city. A second campus for specialized courses has been set up in Noida. The courses offered at the main campus include the flagship 2-year PGP, but also the one-year IPMX (International Programme in Management for Executives), a doctoral programme, and several short-term and online certifications. There is also a course dedicated to agribusiness just as in IIM- Ahmedabad. The Noida campus caters purely to the IPMX course. The selection to this course is via the GMAT exam. Like several of the other IIMs and other leading management institutes in the country, the IIM-L too is accredited by the AMBA (Association of MBAs). In addition, the IIM-L has inked tie-ups with 24 leading business schools from the world over. 

IIM-L was earlier, as several of the other IIMs notorious for its relative low levels of diversity among the student pool. The majority were male, engineers with work experience. That is why the government has introduced diversity norms to ensure there is better representation among women, freshers and those from diverse career paths such as commerce, management, law, medical, the general sciences, the social sciences and humanities. Another major development that the IIMs including Lucknow have been part of has been the passing of the IIM Bill, 2017. This has allowed greater levels of autonomy to the institutes, with greater freedom from government interference. In addition, IIMs are now able to award MBA degrees and not the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) as was earlier the case.

The institute is like the other top IIMs renowned for its excellent placements track record. Top recruiters from different fields regularly visit the institute and pick up students en masse. And that is why getting a seat here is considered tougher than a place at some of the better-known colleges worldwide. Unless one gets in the top few percentiles of the CAT exam, there are few chances of receiving a call. In addition, sectional scores and past records are also scrutinized. Post the shortlisting based on CAT, there is the equally rigorous WAT-PI process. Like several of the other IIMs, Lucknow too has given up on the GD (Group Discussion) section and replaced with the WAT (Written Ability Test). This is because managers of the future need to hone their writing skills while the GD was not providing ample scope to judge from a crowd. Due to such rigorous selection procedure, IIM-L has seen several top business leaders pass through its gates. Several top players in business, politics, government, literature, social work and academics have emerged out of here. 

Like a lot of the legacy IIMs, this institute too mentors several of the younger ones. Under its wing lie the mentorship of new IIMs- Jammu, Rohtak, Kashipur and Sirmaur. Due to the vast open spaces at IIM-L, special care is taken to preserve the existing flora and fauna within the campus. The distance from the man city also helps in this regard. Several animals and birds may be spotted in this tree- laden campus. The institute is also extremely conscious about its environmental responsibility, becoming one of the first IIMs to do so. On inheriting this space, the authorities right from day one created a mechanism for greening the patch. 

Faculty at the Indian Institute of Management in Lucknow is top-notch. It is the right mix between academics and industry. The board at IIM-L consists of people representing the industry. The faculty is also renowned for presenting papers nationally and internationally. The library too is extremely well-stocked with over forty-thousands books and periodicals running into hundreds. In addition, there is a are online databases that can provide access to multiple e-journals. These factors coupled with the environmental focus led to IIM-L getting rank four for the management category in the NIRF (National Institutional Rankings Framework) which is a government body. 

Campus life is extremely vibrant at IIM- Lucknow. There are outdoor sports facilities to pursue football, cricket, volleyball, basketball, lawn tennis and badminton. In addition, separate hostels have their own indoor facilities for games such as squash and billiards, plus gyms and swimming pools. Institute-wide cultural activities are held at a custom-built multipurpose hall called Samanjasya. There are several events that are held on campus such as Varchasva which is an annual quiz competition. The Entrepreneurship Cell on campus conducts Bizness which is a business- model contest. There is even a mutual fund separately run for the students here. The dramatics club is named Abhivyakti. The local chapter for Spic Macay is a regular event, plus there is the cultural night called Aarohan.