MBA at IIMs: Student Initiatives at IIM Calcutta

IIMs along with being the benchmark of management education in the country also have some innovative student initiatives. IIM Calcutta has carved a niche in the management education sector because of the various students’ initiatives that it offers. So, let’s hear students from IIM Calcutta talk about two such students’ initiatives, i.e. the Mentorship Programme and Entrepreneurship Cell that add value to their academic experience at the B-school.

Extracts from the Interview:

Mentorship Programme at IIM Calcutta

What is the Mentorship Programme and how does it help the students?

The Mentorship Programme at IIM Calcutta is a student initiative which is meant to assist the new or incoming students. The Mentorship Programme starts in the month of January i.e. after the declaration of CAT Results and continues until late April i.e. till the admission process concludes. CAT test-takers who get a call-back from IIM Calcutta, are allotted mentors who assist them with all the pre-admission formalities and preparations.

Mentors are allotted to the new incoming students on the basis of their academic background and interests, so that they can help them resolve any problems or queries specific to their domain easily. For instance, new students coming from a commerce background are allotted mentors who also have a background in commerce; this helps in understanding their concerns more easily. In addition to helping the incoming students with the admission formalities, the mentors also help the students to prepare well for the further screening processes i.e. Group Discussion, Personal Interview and Written Ability Test.

The key take-away or benefit of the Mentorship Programme is that it helps build a bond between the existing students and the incoming students even before the new batch enters the campus.

What are the key highlights of the Mentorship Programme?

The following are the key highlights of the Mentorship Programme at IIM Calcutta.

Assistance & Guidance

The most noteworthy highlight of the Mentorship Programme is that it ensures that new or the incoming batch of students has the right and relevant information about the admission formalities and processes at the B-school. Through the mentorship programme, the incoming students are able to get the right information, be it related to academic queries, personal queries, queries related to admission procedure and formalities directly from the students who have been through that process recently. For students who are completely new to the IIM C system, having a mentor on the inside who can guide you proves to very useful.

Student Bonding

Apart from the guidance and assistance, the Mentorship Programme also helps build a strong bond among the existing students and the new or the incoming batch of the students. The bond which students develop through mentorship programme continues during and even after the completion of their academic programme.

Common Group for Dissemination of Information

In addition to having mentors, all the incoming students are also made a part of the common group for the dissemination of information. Through this group, the mentors keep sharing relevant information and updates about the admission procedure. This ensures that the prospective students don’t have to rely upon any other or unofficial sources to get information related to the IIM-C admission process.

Anusha is the External Relations Secretary and Vice President - Public Relations of the IIM Calcutta Toastmasters

Also Read: MBA at IIMs: Why IIMs are not B-Schools

Entreprenurship Cell at IIM Calcutta

Entreprenurship Cell - Key Highlights

The Entrepreneurship Cell operates under the IIM Caclutta Innovation Park. The Cell works under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India. The E-Cell aims to encourage and promote the entrepreneur bent of mind in the students so that they can take their ideas, their creativity and their innovations to a new level.

The Entrepreneurship Cell encourages Start-Ups from across Calcutta and West Bengal to transform their innovative ideas into effective business models. Entrepreneurs and Start-Ups from across India participate in various events organized by the E-Cell, throughout the year. Entrepreneurs get the right mentorship and assistance to get their start-ups incubated at the Entrepreneurship Cell.

What kind of participation does the E-Cell involve?

The E-Cell initiative sees participation of Entrepreneurs and Start-ups from across India. However, because of its proximity to Calcutta, we see higher participation from this region and surrounding areas in the events organized by Entrepreneurship Cell. In addition to external students and entrepreneurs, the brilliant students at IIM-C also show enthusiastic participation in the events organized by E-Cell.

What is the significance / impact of the E-Cell?

The significance of Entrepreneurship Cell has been quite monumental, both inside the campus of IIM Calcutta and even outside. In the past 7 years, E-Cell at IIM Calcutta has been able to incubate around 30 start-ups, which is an unprecedented feat for the Cell. The E-Cell has had young entrepreneurs, some of whom have given up their corporate life to start their own ventures. With the assistance of E-Cell, their brilliant ideals and innovations have taken the shape of successful Start-ups and Businesses, which contribute to various governmental organizations, social sector agencies and even corporate sector. So, the start-ups that incubate at the E-Cell at IIM Calcutta have been able to contribute significantly to the IIM students, Entrepreneurs as well as the nation in general..

Samiksha Srivastava is the President - Entrepreneurship Cell, IIM Calcutta

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