Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur

About College:

The Indian Institute of Management in Sambalpur was established in 2015, making it the youngest and the northernmost within the fraternity. And that is why, the IIM- Sambalpur in Odisha along with half a dozen other IIMs are popularly termed as the ‘Baby IIMs’. After about a dozen IIMs had already been opened, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development decided that it was time to add to the tally. So, in the twelfth five-year plan seven new IIMs were established. This list includes- Amritsar, Bodh Gaya, Jammu, Sirmaur, Nagpur, Sambalpur and Visakhapatnam. Due to them being new to the industry, they were all assigned a mentor among the original IIMs. 

The IIM- Sambalpur is being mentored by the IIM- Indore. It is presently being run within the campus of another university within the same city, but will soon move to its own permanent 237- acre campus. The flagship 2- year PGP is the only course that is run at the institute now. Several elective and specialization options are possible alongside. Plans are afoot to launch executive and doctoral programmes. For working professionals, the PGPX will soon be launched, as will the FPM which will be the fellowship programme. A fellowship can also be pursued by working professionals, titled EFPM. The library is one of the largest within the region, having a huge collection of books, academic journals, periodicals as well as digital access to international research. The faculty here is also involved in case- writing and getting their works published in recognized journals. Many are regular speakers at national or international conferences. Even the Board of Governors at IIM- Sambalpur has been convened to get the best of insights on academic and industry- research matters. There is a good mix between academicians, government officers and industry representatives. 

Admissions to IIM- Sambalpur as well as the other newer IIMs, is through a common process. First of all, the CAT exam is mandatory, from where students are shortlisted for a second round. Since now there are so many IIMs, a common realization emerged that it is not possible to sit for separate interviews or other stages for so many institutes. In addition, students also apply in general to other non-IIM private as well as government institutes. This gets all the more difficult for working professionals. That is why the second round for all the new as well as ‘Baby IIMs’ is done through the Common Admission Process (CAP). Students are shortlisted jointly for this entire process, after which each individual college submits its selection list depending on its own criteria. The exact rules regarding the CAP change frequently. Earlier, a rule existed where those shortlisted for the older seven IIMs (including Shillong), need not appear for the CAP. But that has been done away with now. In addition, some baby IIMs have also given calls to some who did not make the grade for the CAP. But generally, a common process eases operations and reduces student hassles in a big way. 

Unlike the original six IIMs, the one at Sambalpur never had much of a diversity issue. This is because by the time the institute started taking its first few batches, this thinking had already emerged, so the admissions were done with this being kept in mind. Even the regional diversity is fairly high, with students recruited from all over India, and then placed at different places. This enables a strong nation-wide or even international alumni link. The CAT is mandatory like at the other IIMs, followed by an interview and usually a WAT (Written Ability Test). Overseas candidates need to go via the GMAT route. 

The student community is getting quite active at IIM- Sambalpur, with several clubs and committees being formed here. There are clubs for both academic as well as non- academic affairs. The clubs are named as Bears n Bulls, E- Cell, Emporias, Glossarium, HRidaya, Sigmato and Kalakriti for finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, social media, HR, operations and cultural affairs respectively. The campus also prides itself on its digital preparedness, with most resources digitized. Beyond the necessary fun and games, there are also several committees looking after specific roles. The committee names are self- explanatory which are- Placements, Sports, IT, PR, International Relations, Mess, Alumni Relations, Library and Anti-ragging. Different faculty members are also associated with several committees. 

The institute may not be too old, but it has already created a vibrant alumni network. The alumni committee is in constant touch with the past students, improving the connect on a constant basis. This is even rubbing off on the present students. Such activities have helped generate top-notch placements for the present batches. Some of the recent years’ recruiters include- Deloitte, Accenture, VLCC, Byju’s, Infosys, Patanjali, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, SBI, Tata Trusts, L&T Infotech, Cognizant, Accenture, HDFC Bank, Birla Sun Life, Muthoot Fincorp, Motilal Oswal, Birla Sun Life & Mapro.