Alumni

IIMC institutes Distinguished Alumnus Award

IIM Calcutta is recognized the world over as a centre of academic excellence in the field of management studies. Over the years, extremely bright and capable students have passed out of the Institution and many of them have distinguished themselves through their extraordinary achievements. In order to recognize and felicitate these high achievers, who have reached pinnacles of eminence in their field of work and made the institution proud, we would like to institute the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Award Categories:

We propose to award one alumnus every year in the following categories:

1. Alumnus who has contributed significantly in his/her area of work

   a. In the corporate arena

   b. In the academic sphere

   c. In government / policy areas

2. Alumnus who has contributed significantly to society at large

   a. By being a part of an NGO

   b. Individual contribution – philanthropy

3. Alumnus who has contributed significantly to IIMC, either in cash or kind

Process:

Nominations for the awards shall be invited from all stake holders viz. the students, alumni, faculty, staff etc. These shall be compiled and processed by the Alumni Office, and the qualifying nominees along with bio-sketches and other relevant information shall be put up to an Empowered Committee for deciding the winner/s. This committee shall comprise of representatives from the Alumni, Faculty, BoG, the Dean, the Director and a couple of eminent city based personalities. The award shall be presented during the foundation day celebrations, every year.

Eligibility for nomination:

Any Alumnus of IIMC who has not received the Award earlier and who has contributed significantly to his area of work or the society at large or the alma mater, can be nominated for the Award. An Alumnus cannot be nominated if s/he is currently working for IIMC. The nomination should be accompanied by a detailed Bio Profile; and any other testimonials like awards / recognitions etc. The nomination should be seconded by another stake holder.

The Award:

A specially designed sculpture embodying the spirit of IIM Calcutta, in the form of a table top memorabilia with the name of the winner inscribed on it, shall be the award. A reputed design organization should be engaged for designing the award. This sculpture should be so designed that it becomes a prized possession of all who receive it. It should convey the special qualities of the people who win it; their indomitable spirit, extraordinary capabilities, ambition to reach the top, innovative approach and so forth.

The Selection Criteria:

1. Whether recognition of achievements / contribution is International or National

2. Job Position / organizational responsibilities and professional achievements

3. Contribution made to business / industry / society over the years

4. Profile, size and reputation of the organization attached to

5. Entrepreneurial traits exhibited

6. Public recognition, rewards, honours received

7. Quality and quantity of publications (research) – for academics

8. Quantum of impact on society

9. Quantum of impact on Alma Mater

IIM-C grads seek starry world of movies & sports

Hollywood and Bollywood now beckon graduates of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C). Students of the premier B-school are already handling projects or giving marketing ideas for top production houses like Fox Star Studios and Yash Raj Studios, say sources.

IIM-C is running a second-year elective Sports Entertainment & Media Marketing', which helps students learn the nuances of film marketing and distribution. It has given students a rare opportunity to interact with top names like Ashish Patil, the vice president of Yash Raj Studios and business and creative head of their new youth film venture. Senior management executives like Harish Krishnamachar, CEO of World Sports Group (responsible for brand management of Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar), Yogesh Karikurbe, founder CEO of Magus Entertainment, and Ravi Kant Sabmavis, the marketing head of Kingfisher Airlines and marketing head of Force India, have given speeches to IIM-C students.

"It motivated many of us to join movie production houses, which not too many IIM-C grads have done before. Ashish Patil explained to us the huge potential for management graduates to succeed in film marketing and strategy making," said IIM-C student Karan Nayyar.

Patil wanted IIM-C students to chalk out a marketing strategy for the future releases of YashRaj Films. Around 80 to 100 students participated in the competition.

Nayyar has already interned with Fox Star Studios (the Indian wing of 20th Century Fox). He was actively involved in the marketing and distribution of a few Hollywood blockbusters like Predators', starring Oscar-winner Adrien Brody, the Tom Cruise starrer Knight & Day' and action-film A-Team'. "I was involved in deciding which theatres the movies should be released and also which regions should be preferred based on the audience profile," Nayyar said.

Fox Star Studios has now decided to make Bollywood flicks like Dum Maro Dum, starring Abhishek Bachchan, and directed by Rohan Sippy, and Force starring John Abraham.

"We are exploring new areas which offer a lot of job opportunities to management graduates. It can be in sports and entertainment, which are undergoing a transformation and are becoming professional. Many sports management companies are hiring senior management executives who are from B-schools. After getting exposure in one industry, they are shifting to these new emerging areas. While senior managers can take up leadership roles, there are opportunities for fresh management graduates too," said visiting faculty member of IIM-C Chandradeep Mitra.

China to pick IIM-C brains

China, the manufacturing powerhouse of the world, is betting big on IIM graduates to spread investment culture in the country. For the first time, Chinese financial companies will visit IIM Calcutta (IIM-C) for campus recruitment. 

"Some Chinese financial companies have expressed interest in participating in the next campus placement here," said Amit Dhiman, chairman (placements), IIM-C. 

According to him, this is for the first time that financial companies from mainland China would come for recruitment. "It is a very interesting development for us. Earlier, multinationals have recruited people from Hong Kong even for their operations in mainland China. But this time, Chinese companies are coming here," he said.

Anticipating a huge demand from Chinese companies, IIM-C has already introduced a special course on the comparison between Chinese and Indian economies. "For working in China, you need to know about their economy," PGP chairman Prashant Mishra said.

This has assumed great significance because China is known for its manufacturing prowess, but its financial sector remains little known to the rest of the world.

The Chinese capital market is comparatively young, unlike its Indian counterpart, which has more than 100 years of history. Nazia Vasi, founder of Inchin Closer, who worked in China for two years, pointed out that there is every reason for Chinese financial companies to recruit Indian talent.

"The Chinese banking system is not as advanced as that in India. Its capital market, too, is young. China has always adopted best practices for growth. Earlier, they adopted best practices in manufacturing from the West and implemented it in their own way. Now, their manufacturing sector is among the biggest," she said.

Going by the recent new reports on Chinese financial sector, China's multi-billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions market is growing rapidly. Big investment banks are no longer the only players. Smaller boutique investment banks are rising to capitalise on the country's mergers and acquisitions boom. The asset management company (AMC) segment in China is also growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 24%.

Ajit Khandelwal, the director of BNK Capital, said China would require a huge number of finance professionals in next few years, going by the growth in investment banking and AMC businesses.