The National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) will now be known as Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Mumbai, after it received the much-awaited final stamp with declaration of the Gazette on Indian Institute of Managements (Amendment) Act 2023, last week. With this, the financial capital of India has its own IIM and is set to start MBA courses from academic year 2024-25.
Director of IIM Mumbai, Professor Manoj Tiwari spoke to Pallavi Smart of The Indian Express on various aspects such as courses to be offered, infrastructural development plans, strengthening of placements among all. Excerpts:
Acquiring IIM Mumbai status has been a long journey. How was it made possible and what are the benefits of its location?
It has been a long, patient journey under leadership of the Chairman of Society and board of Governors of NITIE Shashi Kiran Shetty, who is the Chairman and Founder of Allcargo group. Even after being an institute of industry repute, NITIE had limited scope. But all that is going to change with the new status of IIM Mumbai. With the location, we are thankful to have a good head-start in comparison with other new generation IIMs in the country, with respect to resources combined with our unique expertise. We also hope to take a significant jump on the parameter of ‘perception’ in the ranking scale, with the brand.
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Which courses will IIM Mumbai offer? What happens to old courses? What is the fee structure?
From academic year 2024-25, IIM Mumbai will now offer three courses – MBA General, MBA in Sustainability Management and MBA in Operations and Supply Chain Management. Until now, NITIE offered post-graduate diploma courses in three areas – industrial engineering, industrial management and sustainability management.
While the two were anyway primarily management courses, the flagship course of industrial engineering has been reworked as MBA in operations and supply chain management. Apart from the three MBAs, we plan to continue with executive courses, certificate/ diploma courses in collaboration with universities of global repute, and also refresher training courses for defence personnels for corporate jobs. Additionally, we are starting an executive fintech course with NSE, while a blended MBA course is in the pipeline. The fee is likely to increase in order to reduce dependency on government grants, but it will be affordable and meritorious needy students will also be provided support. A final fee structure will be ready after approval from the board.
Also Read | It’s official: NITIE is now IIM Mumbai
NITIE’s flagship course–industrial engineering–admitted only engineers. Now, as it opens to all, do you think it will dilute quality?
Diversity is a key component for IIM. Under the new brand, we are recreating this course by adding various management components. This tailor–made approach is looking at new age industry requirements and so we are confident of continuing to offer the same quality.
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What are the plans for infra development?
The campus will definitely see a huge revamp over the next year and half. One hostel is already being built inside the campus. Another executive residential facility is being built on our land outside the gate. We are also building a new gate with the new brand. With the objective of better accessibility and visibility, we hope to repair the road that connects NITIE with the outside world, with support from the state government as well as local administration. Apart from the physical infrastructure, we also plan to increase the number of faculty. With the kind of courses and various specialised verticals that we plan to offer, we will hire 20-25 more faculty members from India and overseas, in addition to the existing 60 faculty members. A new faculty block is going to be built on the campus to accommodate them. With the new brand of IIM, we hope to attract a good talent pool for faculty recruitment. In the case of international faculty, we plan to offer module-based attractive packages so that they can be on campus for that tenure.
B-Schools are known for their placements? How will IIM Mumbai strengthen it?
NITIE’s placement has been better than many IIM tag holders. Its location in the financial capital and robust alumni network have played key roles. Many of our alumni members are currently at high positions in corporations. Now we have a reputed brand name. Already we are seeing the difference in the approach of the industry. A well-known multinational conglomerate which would not participate in NITIE’s placements has approached us to collaborate on internship placements.
Additionally, we are also constructing an innovation and incubation centre which is almost ready. The idea is to encourage and support budding entrepreneurs among our students. We are also starting what is called an enterprise lab where students will solve real problem statements by our industry partners. Accordingly, subjects have been included in the curriculum to ensure enhanced industry academic association.
IIM Mumbai has come into existence amendments to IIM Act which are being criticised by a few, raising concerns over the autonomy enjoyed by IIMs until now. What is your opinion?
IIM Mumbai is just beginning its journey and we are glad that our students can now be awarded the MBA degree which is recognised world-wide. Other changes brought in with amendments, I think, will bring more accountability now which is our constitutional obligation. The academic autonomy continues as it is.
