Being IRMAN

Being an agricultural graduate, I always inclined toward agri-business management. IRMA is considered the next best choice after IIM A-FABM. The legacy of Mr Kurien, the large alumni base and good placement review from seniors helped me gain confidence in the college. Also, it is one of the best colleges for rural development in India. It gave me a holistic experience of rural marketing through regular field visits and PRA activities. The two months of rural exposure through the village field segment is considered a lifetime experience for IRMANs. It gives knowledge of on-ground realities of the theoretical aspects that are learnt in classes. The admission process consists of the following steps- call letter based on CAT/XAT score, IRMASAT (social awareness test), Group discussion and personal interview. A composite score of the same is considered for the final admission. IRMA's official website and social media pages such as Fb and Instagram can be referred for doubts.

The course curriculum consists of six terms with a mandatory general management course along with diverse electives to choose from according to interest. IRMA offers certain extremely important subjects such as Collective action and cooperation, management cooperatives through collective action, etc. which are not being taught in other B-schools. In short, IRMA tries to integrate multidisciplinary courses along with basic ones which are required for good managers to learn. The faculty members are extremely supportive and come from various backgrounds of corporate as well as the development sector which gives a good mix of learning opportunities to students. The regular feedback mechanism is followed by filling of the same of which is mandatory for students. Such feedbacks are necessary for faculty to be motivated to transmit their knowledge or to improve upon pedagogy if required.

The internship opportunities are pretty commendable given the good job roles and projects that are offered. I got an internship offer from Nestle and worked on a procurement project for them. The project title stands as- "to create market linkage and benchmarking framework for tomato, onion and garlic"

College placements are considered good and the average placement figure stands around 15 lakhs. IRMA holds a record of 100% placement. the companies that visit the campus regularly are ITC, DCM Shriram, Emami, Grow Indigo, Mahyco, Amul, ICICI, SBI, Vivriti, yes Bank, BAIF, Grand Thompson, etc. The agricultural students generally have a preference in companies than the others

The fee structure for the batch of 2022 is around 12.75 lakhs excluding fooding which costs around Rs. 5000 per month additionally. The fee is generally increased by 1-2 lakhs every successive year but due to AICTE regulations during the covid -19 pandemic, the fee structure for the batch of 2022 was the same as the previous batch of 2021. However, the fee structure is hiked by around 3.5 lakhs for the batch of 2023 leading to around 16 lakhs. There is a tuition fee waiver of around 4-6 laks for the students coming from weaker socio-economic backgrounds. The placement is good here and almost all the students get placed. The average placement figure is 15 lakhs.

Like any other MBA college, IRMA's curriculum is exhaustive too. With succeeding months/terms, we learn to manage time for other extracurricular activities too. There are numerous functions taking place almost every second to the third week such as Milaap, Navratri, 10 saal baad, 20 saal baad, Onam, Lohri, regional lunches and dinner etc. Milaap and 10/20 saal baad are conducted to connect students to alumni which is very beneficial for the students in the long run. The library is enriched with books and reference materials and classrooms provide a perfect ambience for learning.

Facilities in the room- table, chair, almirah, bed, balcony. Washrooms are common. The rooms are cleaned almost every day. The food is just okay and IRMA has got a canteen too. The quality of the meal is good and its hygienic too.

The group discussion consists of two rounds. The first one was basically a choice based discussion where some characters along with the background were given and we were asked to choose for the particular job role from the alternatives available to us. It was then followed by group discussion whereby everyone stated their own choice along with reasons. The second round consists of list of qualities and we were asked to decide which two of the following must be present in a person to be a good manager. The personal interview was an extensive one which included questions from my educational background, family backdrop, fav subjects, why IRMA, why rural management, opinion on Bihar politics and liquor ban, career goals, etc. One of the most important question is - Why Irma and acts as make or break moment for the aspirants. One needs to be confident and honest in the interview and avoid answers like "my heart bleeds for rural India".