Once in 10 years change of Syllabi at IIMA

AHMEDABAD: It's one big change effected once in a decade at the country's premier management institute. Now, even the first year students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA)'s flagship post graduate programme in management (PGPM) will have to go
through an internship, and with a difference.

Unlike the usual eight-week internship with corporate houses that the students have to undergo at the end of third term, the new syllabus will ask students to take up a two-week internship with social organisations.

Among other things, the new syllabus will put extra stress on teaching business ethics and technological aspects of businesses. Ethics, business taxation, organisational leadership module and internet technology are the four new topics that the first year students are likely to study from this academic year, said chairperson, PGPM, Ajay Pandey.

The recommendations are on the agenda of the PGP review committee revising the IIM-A's syllabus to be introduced from this academic year. The exercise is taken up once in ten years to make syllabus relevant to contemporary scenario.

In order to highlight the need for coporates' social responsibility, the committee feels that students be given an option to join a social organisation for internship in their first year. However, students not interested in joining social organisations may opt for writing a case
study as an option.

"We bring about some changes in syllabus every year in consultation with area experts based on developments in the field. However, the exercise we are undertaking this year is once-in-a-decade where curriculum across all areas are changed to make it more contemporary
to new developments. While we have decided to drop topics that don't hold much relevance,
we have introduced several new topics. We are also discussing to introduce social internship and case writing as options," said Mr Pandey.

After introducing new syllabus from this academic year, the review committee will work on changing final year course. "However, we have decided to do away with compulsory topics in the second year as well. Now, students will be given the freedom to choose from the electives.
This will be introduced from the next academic year," said Mr Pandey.

Students take up summer internship after completing their first year. IIM-A syllabus usually sets benchmark for other B-schools in the country to follow.

Regarding Social Internship:

I feel its a good move. SPJAIN is already doing it. They don't have summer internships but autumn internships. During summers they do something similar. But I believe Summers must be for summer internship and the autumn period can be used for this CSR internship since then they can meet junta from other B Schools during internship and also it will be inline with the company schedule.

Regarding course change:

I am pretty excited. There will be an air of dynamism due to this course change. We would be the first batch to sit thru this changed course. I hope they have added some really interesting electives. But "Ethics, business taxation, organisational leadership module and internet technology" courses don't seem very exciting. I hope there are others too. I also hope they don't remove those old courses which are legendary in their own way.