IIM Bodh Gaya launched full-fledged IPM Program for undergraduate students- Know its curriculum

Gaya: IIM Bodh Gaya organised a press conference on 24th March 2021 regarding the launch of the Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) course. The institute is all set to launch the five-year course from the academic year 2021. Integrated Programme in Management is a course designed for undergraduate students interested in the management field. There is a dominance of engineers in the management world, and this is a fresh perspective to bring in students from other domains. Dr Vinita Sahay, Director, IIM Bodh Gaya, said that the number of opportunities for students interested in entering the corporate world is significantly less, especially at the undergraduate level. IPM will be a gateway for ‘fresh out of school’ students interested in corporate without waiting to reach the postgraduate level to study. The first three years will be for undergraduate studies, and the latter two years will be for the core management studies, and the IPM course will culminate with an MBA. The course will be carried out in a semester format which will let the students reflect upon the learnings that will be imparted to them.
The course is being launched with 60 seats for the candidates, where 50 seats are gender-neutral and 10 seats are reserved for female candidates under the supernumerary quota. The candidates will be assessed through a test called the Joint Integrated Programme in Management Admission Test (JIPMAT). The JIPMAT will be conducted by the National Testing Agency responsible for organising tests such as JEE and NEET. IIM Bodh Gaya and IIM Jammu have come together to conduct JIPMAT across 78 cities in India. The registration will start from 1st April 2021. The assessment will be done based on Class 10th, 12th and entrance test scores. The weightage to the JIPMAT scores, Class 10th and 12th percentages will be 70%, 15%, and 15%, respectively.
Dr Vinita Sahay, Director, IIM Bodh Gaya, emphasised the importance of IPM in current times as she mentioned the limited options available for the students, straight out of the twelfth standard, in the institutes of national importance. She said the institute aims to “catch them young, allow them to dream and facilitate them to fulfil it”.
The institute believes that B-school education should not be a privilege. The candidates will be judged, particularly based on meritocracy, to make the process fair and transparent for all candidates. The eligibility criteria to apply for the entrance test is minimum marks of 60 % in Class 10th and 12th, with a 5% relaxation for the SC,ST, Transgenders and PWD students. IIM Bodh Gaya has taken a bold step, not to include any weightage on the personal interview. The institute plans to hone the students in the field of communication and personality.
The programme is launched with an objective to provide foundations to students for taking up the management profession and making them mindful managers who are socially conscious with a particular emphasis on entrepreneurship to promote the “Atma-Nirbhar Bharat” campaign. The five-year IPM curriculum has been diligently designed to provide a solid base in subject matter and keep students in sync with the latest management education developments. The first three years of IPM include courses on basic concepts of Mathematics, Economics, Social Sciences, Psychology, Financial Management, IT, and Organizational Behaviour, along with courses on physical training and mental health. Students will have an option to select from a range of elective courses in the final semester to determine their domain of expertise.
The curriculum has been divided into three strata – Enabler courses which will include subjects like Communication, etc., to make the non-English students ready for the professional world. There will be other two types of courses – Core courses that include management centric subjects like organisational behaviour, etc. and Enhancement courses will be around ability and skill enhancement. The institute intends to build skills and social awareness so that students can give back to society as well. Rural Immersion Program will also be a part of the curriculum that will be based on the ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ scheme. The Student Exchange Program will help the students gain a perspective on international exposure. The institute has established collaborations with several reputed institutions in Germany, Taiwan, France, Venezuela, Russia, Mexico, Italy, S. Korea, Morocco and Israel.
The institute, also known as the Enlightening IIM, primarily focuses on mindfulness. Dr Sahay quoted the recent Harvard Business Review that mentioned the most significant qualification needed is ‘mindfulness’. The institute puts a great emphasis on the importance of Mindfulness and its requirements in our daily lives and thus aims to build holistically developed and mindful leaders from ambitious youngsters.
The IIM Bodh Gaya campus is in a well-connected location with the airport and the railway station in proximity. The campus has all the in-house amenities for the students. The permanent campus is in the making and aims to be built by the end of 2022 with the current pace of 600 workers on-site on an average. The new campus expects to welcome 1000 students on campus by the next couple of years and will have various modern-day facilities like the huge sports stadium. The Director emphasised the importance of recreational activities like sports to keep the students healthy and happy. Dr Sahay also hinted at having an incubation centre in an attempt to boost the entrepreneurial culture among the students. The need of the hour is just not to get jobs but to create jobs as well.
Since its inception in 2015, IIM Bodh Gaya has registered exponential growth in terms of exposure and placements. From the number of students to the batch diversity, from TedX to nationwide competitions, the institute is progressing at a fast pace. With the launch of IPM, the institute hopes that more young students will develop managerial skills and contribute to the country’s development.