A Global Stamp

Source: Times of India | April 28, 2014

 

In keeping with the trend of ‘going gobal’ as witnessed among many institutes in the country, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), too, have geared up to make their presence felt worldwide.

With the granting of the Association of MBAs (AMBA) accreditation for five years in March 2014, IIM Calcutta, too, has sealed its position among the top B-schools globally. On the anvil is yet another accreditation for it. “We hope to get the Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB) accreditation by the end of the year,” says Anindya Sen, dean (academic ), IIM-C .

On the benefits of such global accreditation, Sen says, “It is an international benchmarking procedure. Accreditation is the concrete evidence that we are ranked highly not only by Indian standards but that we also belong to a very select group of institutions worldwide.” He adds, “Moreover, international branding and recognition is important. Internally , the process of accreditation has enabled us to put in place valueadding systems and processes and forced us to reflect more deeply about what we are and where we want to go.”

With a few other IIMs already AMBA accredited, IIM-C took time to apply and only did after it was convinced about the need for accreditation. “It was also after an office was in place to handle the complexities of the accreditation process,” says Sen.

Following the accreditation, the one-year postgraduate programme for executives has undergone extensive curriculum revisions. “These will take effect next year. The postgraduate programme curriculum review will begin soon,” he adds.

TCS Insights: International recognition and accreditation has established IIMs among the leading business schools in the work. As programs are reviewed and improved, the reputation of Indian educational institutions will only be heightened around the world.