IMS Ghaziabad- A Student- Centric Management Institute.

IMS Ghaziabad is one of the premier B-Schools in North India wsinning multiple awards for excellence and innovation in the education. I was fascinated with the excellent placement records. To get admission into IMS one has to be graduate in any field with minimum of 50% in 10th, 12th, and graduation, along with a valid CAT/MAT score. The applications forms are available on the Institute website for a nominal amount (approx. Rs.1150), at the time I applied. The form can be downloaded, filled and sent to the admission department. As per the elegibility criteria adopted by the institute, I then went through various enterance tests including the GD/PI session, and a written test. Shortlisted students are provided with the admission letter.

IMS Follows BLOOMS Taxonomy which involves a blend of academic and corporate exposure to the budding managers, more focus being put on the practical learnings. The entire PGDM curriculum is divided into 6 trimesters, 3 in each year. The faculties are having individual experiences of at least more than 5 years. The students are also assigned faculty mentors for guidance and support during the stay at IMS. The management always emphasize on upskilling the students and making them ready for their corporate innings. Special sessions are also organized for students who are weak in any area and need improvements. Not only academically IMS imparts learnings in the form of 'Global Talk Series', 'Conferences', 'Corporate Panel Discussions', 'Conclaves', etc. The focus on overall development helps a person to grow holistically.

Institute provides internship opportunities to 100% students. Companies like ITC, Sherkhan, Tata AIG, etc come for hiring interns for the institute. The majority of the internships are paid which amounts as lucrative incentives for the students to learn and work better.

Since the start of the second year, students are prepared for their placements. The first company arrive at campus during the 4th trimester i.e., during the first term of the second year. As soon as the students come back to campus from their Summer Internships they are being prepared for their placements. The students are also involved in Prepatory sessions before the start of their internships which are provided by the college. The institute provide 100% placements both for the Summer Internships as well as the Final Placements from the campus itself. Majorly the internships are paid. The final placements average package goes around 6LPA which is fair enough as for the fees paid.

To persue PGDM from IMS Ghaziabad one has to pay Rs. 7,95,000 for the entire course. The Fees is payable thrice a year, i.e., at the beginning of every trimester. The initial installment is aprox. Rs. 60,000, the subsequent installments being Rs. 1,35,000 each and the last installment is Rs. 1,30,000 which is payable by the end of 5th trimester. There are many scholarships available being, for girlchild, for excellent performance in 10th, 12th and graduation Rs. 25000 and for MAT/CAT score above 80 percentile Rs. 25000. Besides several financial aids are provided to students who face problems in payment of fees. The institute make sure that the money is well spent on the growth and development of its students and faculties as well. Several experts are hired from the outside bodies to provide the holistic approach to the pupil. Organizing Placement Enhancement and Preperatory sessions, Mangement Development Programmes. The institute also provide 1 certification course in every term.

Enforcing the approach of holistic development IMS organise at least 1 event every month and several club activities are organised on a weekly basis. The events are majorly co-ordinated by students under the guidance of the Faculty co-ordinators. Every department have their clubs which are managed and run by students along with the incharged faculties of that department (Finacle-Finance Club, Saksham-HR Club, Aayam-Operations Club, Aabhar-Social Club, to name a few). Moreover, the annual inter-department fest "Samagam" and the annual Inter-Institute Fest "Melange" are the heart-throbs that every member of the IMS family waits for. Besides, the classroom sessions are planned in such a manner that the students are engaged well and the aura of the classrooms are maintained focusing on the learning part. The Octagon shape of classrooms provide 360 degree view to the teacher, thus, involving every student in the classroom discussion.

The admission process involved a group discussion consisting of around 8-10 people as the preliminary round for selection. Later the personal interview was taken by the faculties where questions were asked to asess the credibility and suitability of the candidates. After clearing the GD/PI round shortlisted students were sent a written asessment as the final test for the selection. Then the admission letter was sent to the shortlisted candidates only.