How Goa Institute Of Management Broke Into The League Of Top-20 B-schools In India

Online, November 29, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The last decade has been a rollercoaster ride for business education in India. To put things in perspective, it started in the early '90s, when business schools began mushrooming in the most unexpected corners of the country. Following a period of consolidation - where the fly-by-night operators had to shut shop - new, innovative management colleges soon emerged on the horizon, compelling the old boys to pull up their socks.

One such business school, which has caused people to sit up and take notice, is the Goa Institute of Management (GIM). Today, one often comes across GIM in the list of premier B-schools in every credible B-school ranking. GIM has broken into the Outlook top-20 this year (19th), has climbed a phenomenal 18 places to break into the top-25 of Business Today rankings in just two years (ranked 42 in 2011, and ranked 24 in 2013), and is also among the 'Top 25' in the rankings published by The Week.

GIM's rapid rise to success makes an interesting study, especially because it's been around for just about 20 years. So what has enabled GIM to emerge as a top-tier management institute?

According to Dr. Sunil Rai, Director of GIM, the biggest differentiator has been the ability to attract top quality faculty. "By design, we have two types of faculty at GIM," says Dr. Sunil Rai. "The first are a bunch of vibrant young faculty members who are qualified researchers - they know that unless they research and publish, they will not get far. Their research knowledge naturally percolates into the classrooms of GIM. And we have these young researchers contributing to national and international journals. The other is a pool of faculty members with10 to 12 years of industry experience, who bring a lot of real life experience and analysis to the table. The CEO of Boost India is one of the head researchers in Marketing at GIM. The erstwhile Head of NTBC is our HOD Operations. An ex-Director in the Government of Goa, well known for his communication expertise, is heading a particular field."

Perry Goes, alumnus from the founding batch and Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning and Business Analysis, United Breweries Ltd. echoes similar sentiment when it comes to the teaching methodology at GIM. "I came to GIM in 1993 after having worked in the industry for six years. Since we were the first batch, we had limited infrastructure, but the pedagogy prepared us for the real world of managers.We learnt to live with discipline and yet work on non-structured problems. We had quizzes on topics not just from textbooks, but also from the real world.So we learnt how to apply what we learnt in theory to actual business. It is for this reason that even two decades later, GIM holds me in good stead in my workplace."

GIM's rise to the Top 20 rankings in the last couple of years can also be attributed to infrastructure, since most of the prestigious rankings take into account the infrastructural set-up of a management institute. The campus was initially situated on the banks of the Mandovi River, in the Santa Casa de Misericordia in Ribandar area of Goa. The building in which the school is housed was converted from a hospital building to a business school campus in 1993. In 2010, GIM shifted to a new state-of-the-art campus located at Sanquelim in Sattari on a sprawling 50-acre plot surrounded by the idyllic foothills of the Western Ghats.

Added to the advantageous location is the fact that it is situated in Goa, which is a leading tourist destination in India with a festive spirit throughout the year. That is an attraction for students and faculty alike. As Dr. Sunil Rai points out, GIM has committed itself to making a difference in the state of Goa. The 'Give Goa' initiative involves students spending every Thursday with NGOs and in solving the real-world problems that impact the state. This initiative has been well received by students and corporates situated in the locality.

Clearly, it is not without cause that Prof. Tarun Pasricha (Chairperson - Placements, GIM) feels that the Class of 2014 is all set to create a new benchmark in this year's placement season. He is confident that the forthcoming batches will reap rich dividends, given the rapid progress of Goa, which is coinciding with the newly established 'Top 20' billing of Goa Institute of Management.

"GIM is special in its own way," says Vikash Kumar, an Analyst with ANZ Bank, who graduated from the new GIM campus in 2012. "When you pass out of a B-school, and you step out into working life, it is great to find that your college holds a prestigious place in the corporate world. As one of the HR managers recently told me, 'GIM instills a sense of excellence into its students'. He was confident that as a GIMite, I would do the same."

About Goa Institute of Mangement (GIM)

Located at Sanquelim as well as Ribandar, the business school was founded in 1993 when Romuald D'Souza (ex Director - XLRI, Jamshedpur andXIMB, Bhubaneswar) moved from XIM, Bhubaneswar to create a centre of learning and excellence in Goa. The autonomous school is governed by a Board, and offers a full-time MBA (PGDBM) program (2 years) and executive MBA (3 years) and also is a resource centre for PhD programs in management for Goa University.

The Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) is the flagship programme of GIM. It is a two year, full-time residential programme. The first year comprises a core programme consisting of compulsory courses on the basics of every discipline in management aimed at developing a common foundation in management theory. The second year of the course consists of electives designed to cater to students' interest and to develop proficiency in the area of their choice. Students need to select one Major and one Minor specialization from among the following offered - Marketing, Finance, HR, Operations. The coursework also requires the completion of an internship between the two years lasting for a total of eight to nine weeks. The current intake of the PGDM course is 240 students per year.

Media contact:
Ms. Jennifer Fernandes,
Goa Institute of Management
Sanquelim Campus
Poriem, Sattari, Goa 403505
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 91-832-236670432 -2366700