Academics

MBA-PGPX: About Programme

Programme Curriculum

Effective management requires decisions based on contextual analysis and insights. To stimulate the intellect and enhance intellectual capabilities the case method of learning is used. Case discussions are supplemented with lectures, seminars, games, role plays, industrial visits, and group exercises. The case method is utilized to develop skills needed for problem solving, decision-making, and implementation. Application of theoretical knowledge to real-life problems is tested through this pedagogy. The emphasis is on developing a holistic perspective that deals with unstructured situations and imparting skills in decision-making under uncertainty. Cases are tailored to encourage a vibrant interplay of ideas and their practical application, and expose students to both leading edge research and current practice. Cases are reviewed every year to reflect current managerial practices and trends.

Programme Structure

This programme follows a clearly defined course structure, each segment seamlessly joined to the next

 

- Induction: Spread over two and a half days in April, it gives the students a chance to get familiar with the infrastructure, co-curricular and extra- curricular activities, while tuning into the programme content and the IIMA method of learning.

- Building Blocks: Plunge into the next four months devoted to core courses focused on fundamentals of management. It crystallizes and enhances the basic conceptual and analytical knowledge

- International Immersion: September brings a change of pace in the shape of the International Immersion Programme (IIP). In this segment students spend two intensive weeks of academics in an international location, giving them an opportunity to go beyond just classes and get immersed in an unfamiliar territory

- Preparing for Top Management: October, November and December are devoted to understanding the view from the Top! Students get to understand and envision the dynamics within complex managerial problems and get the experience of being change agents and playing a role at the top. This module also runs in parallel to some of the subsequent months' curriculum

- Electives: December, January, February and 'sometimes' March are then set up for making critical choices. Students choose from a wide range of elective courses on marketing, finance, supply chain management, strategic management and other non core sectoral areas as well. This allows students the freedom of electives in areas of passion and proficiency, making every student's experience unique and customized to his or her chosen growth path. It is also an opportunity to explore new areas of learning and a chance to reflect on and leverage past experience

As part of the 'electives' segment, students can opt for an Individual Research Project (IRP). The project is executed by PGPX participants with a faculty advisor. The result is a high quality written output, which could be any of

• A case with analysis

• An Industry Note

• A paper on "Bridging the Divide" (focusing on a socio economic divide affecting the world)

• A business plan for an entrepreneur

- Capstone: A finale as an encapsulation of the learning experience, this segment provides an opportunity to integrate learning from the entire programme, reflect on one's own experience as an executive and understand what it means to work in large, multidisciplinary teams facing tough deadlines.

Programme Calendar

Term

Tentative Months

Segment

 

April

Inauguration

 

April

Induction Sessions
- Case Methodology
- Knowing self & others
- Styling/Referencing
- Session on Excel Spread Sheet
- Knowing about IIMA &
PGPX Norms

I

April to June

Building Blocks (BB)

II

June to September

Building Blocks (BB)

+

Preparing for Top Management (PTM)

III

September

International Immersion Programme (IIP)

IV

September to December

Preparing for Top Management (PTM)

Electives

V

December to March

Preparing for Top Management (PTM)

Electives

Business Game/Simulation Exercise
Coordination: BP Area

 

 

Induction: Sessions: April

Area

Segment

Title

PGPX & OB

 

General Sessions

Induction

Case Methodology

 

Knowing Self & Others

 

Styling & Referencing

 

Introduction to the staff & systems; Processes at IIMA; and Academic Norms

 

Term-I: All Compulsory Courses: April to June

 

Area

Segment

Acronym

Course Title

1

Marketing

BB

ACCV

Assessing and Creating Customer Value

2

P&QM

BB

AD

Analysis of Data

3

P&QM

BB

DOMD

Designing Operations to Meet Demand

4

P&QM

BB

MD

Modelling for Decisions

5

F&A

BB

FRA

Financial Reporting and Analysis

6

Economics

BB

FAM

Firms and Markets

7

OB

BB

OB

Organization Behaviour

 

Term-II: All Compulsory Courses: June to September

 

Area

Segment

Acronym

Title

1

F&A

BB

CF

Corporate Finance

2

F&A

BB

FM

Financial Markets

3

F&A

BB

SCM

Strategic Cost Management

4

Marketing

BB

DMCV

Delivering and Managing Customer Value

5

Communication

BB

MC

Management Communication

6

Economics

BB

OEM

Open Economy Macroeconomics

7

P&QM

BB

SDSL

Setting and Delivering Service Levels

8

HRM

BB

SHRM

Strategic Human Resource Management

9

BP

BB

SMGT

Strategic Management

10

BP

PTM

LAB

Legal Aspects of Business

11

OB

PTM

LS

Leadership Skills

 

Term-III: International Immersion Programme: September

Area

Segment

Acronym

Focus

Institutions

PGPX

International Immersion Programme

IIP

Macro-Economic Environment of the Foreign Country

Foreign Universities

 

Term-IV: List of Core Courses & Electives: September to December

 

Area

Segment

Acronym

Title

1

BP+F&A

PTM

M&A

Mergers & Acquisitions

2

Areas + PGPX

Electives (including courses from other programmes)

 

Term-V: List of Core Courses & Electives: December to March

 

Area

Segment

Acronym

Title

1

BP

Capstone

BSG

Business Simulation Game (Capstone)

2

BP

PTM

CG

Corporate Governance

3

BP

PTM

LVE

Leadership, Values & Ethics

4

F&A

PTM

MCMOP

Management Control and Metrics for Organizational Performance

2

Areas + PGPX

Electives (including courses from other programmes)

 

Elective Courses

Effective Management of Finance Strategy & Function (EMFSF)

Course : Effective Management of Finance Strategy &  Function (EMFSF)

Instructor : Prof. Hari Mundra (Visiting Faculty)

Course Objectives : 

This Course is a comprehensive guide to Applied Business Finance which takes you beyond the text books and academics. It seeks to give you keen business sense and financial wisdom to manage and lead businesses and to tackle serious business and financial issues that can make or break the organisation..It ,therefore, focuses on teaching the soft and special skills required for effectively managing the finance strategy and function in any business entity and aims to equip the students with a repertoire of practical and sensible approaches and techniques to successfully deal with crucial financial matters such as Cash and Cost Management, Risk Management, Raising Finance, Direct and Indirect Tax Management, Forex Management etc in the real world of business.It also seeks to give you an experience based insight as to why businesses can and do fail and how they can be turned around with prudent financial strategies.

In short, it is a Practitioner's bible to becoming a high performance General Manager, Functional Head, CFO or  CEO who can effectively lead the organisation for meeting its strategic intent and goals in the chaotic and hyper competitive world of today.

Elephants and Cheetahs: Systems, Strategy and Bottlenecks (E&C)

Course : Elephants and Cheetahs: Systems, Strategy and Bottlenecks (E&C) 

Instructor : Prof. Saral Mukherjee

Course Description & Objectives :

‘Elephants and Cheetahs: Systems, Strategy and Bottlenecks' is an unconventional treatment of Operations Strategy. It presents the dimensions of competition in the operations domain through the lens of the natural world and systems thinking. The fundamental premise of the course is that systems are not just a collection of interconnected parts – the whole is greater than the sum of parts (Aristotle). A well designed system is thus like a living entity with its own structural characteristics, peculiarities, capabilities, constraints and vulnerabilities.   

The course builds on the core OM courses and would be beneficial for participants who are planning a career in management consulting or general management roles. The relationships between the firm level strategy and operations strategy are explored and the interlinkages between marketing, HR and operations strategy are highlighted, leading up to a balanced scorecard approach to tracking organizational performance.

Ethics in Business Management (EBM)

Course : Ethics in Business Management (EBM)

Instructor : Prof. Achal Raghavan (Visiting Faculty)

Course Description & Objectives :

The course will address and analyze various aspects of Ethics as applicable to today's business organizations. This will be done primarily by examining real-life ethical dilemmas and challenges in business, through case studies. No attempt will be made to "preach" what is right and wrong.

At the end of this course, the student should be able to understand, and take managerial action on the following aspects of modern business:

  • The increasingly stringent expectations of society and stakeholders regarding business performance, corporate social responsibility and ethics
  • The role of the corporation and the individual manager in fulfilling these expectations
  • The systems and processes that can be set up in a company to help employees manage ethical issues in a consistent manner

Private Equity Finance (PEF)

Course : Private Equity Finance (PEF) 

Instructor : Prof. Ramesh Bhat (Visiting Faculty)

Course Objectives :

The objective of this course is to help the participants to understand the dynamics of private equity finance (PEF) by focusing on nature and characteristics of this sector, institutions in PEF, the principal participants, financial and operational strategies they employ and skills required. This would be achieved by:

  • Provide an understanding of the role of PEF in the development and growth of corporate sector, the structure of the PEF industry and its institutions, its participants and the dynamics of financial and operational strategies that shape its growth and development;
  • Using the PE finance framework participants can apply many of the ideas and theories developed in the core finance courses to PEF segment of the financial industry;
  • Discuss issues in valuation employed in PEF transactions including valuation of intangibles, absence of markets, and addressing various other imperfections;
  • Discuss analytical and deal structuring techniques used in PEF after considering complexities such as uncertainty or asymmetric information;
  • Developing an understanding of the roles played by various stakeholders in PEF market and understanding the organisation and incentive structures of private equity funds, and the complexity of relationships with the companies in which they invest.

The topics covered in this course primarily focus on areas which would be useful to participants interested in working with venture capital or private equity organisations.  However, the course learning would also be useful to those who intend to work in companies being financed by private equity or venture capital organisations.  Overall the course would be useful in helping the participants to develop an understanding of private equity finance concepts and its application in any organisation situation.

Infrastructure Development & Public Private Partnerships (IDPPP)

Course :  Infrastructure Development & Public Private Partnerships (IDPPP)

Instructor : Profs. Sebastian Morris, Ajay Pandey & Rekha Jain

Learning Objectives of the Course :

Provision of infrastructure facilities, traditionally in the government domain, is now being offered for private sector investment and management in most countries. This trend has been reinforced by the resource crunch faced by many governments. Infrastructure projects, with private participation, worth several hundred billions of dollars using some form of `project finance' are under consideration in many emerging markets. They also raise issues relevant to regulation to the development of domestic capital markets and the role of foreign funds. These projects present unique problems for structuring, risk management and financing as they are usually characterized by large investments, long gestations periods and very specific domestic markets. This course provides the participants with the skills and understanding necessary to structure, appraise, finance and implement infrastructure projects in sectors such as power, telecom, and transport (including rail, roads, air and ports). It also attempts to bring to the fore the policy issues including regulation, in the current context of the opening of infrastructure to private parties in India.

Logistics Management (LM)

Course : Logistics Management (LM)

Instructor : Prof. Debjit Roy

Course Objectives :

  1. To evolve an operational and conceptual framework to design and manage an effective logistics system in organizations.
  2. To demonstrate the competitive potential of logistics systems, in particular road transport and warehousing
  3. To illustrate the role and operational strategies of trucking
  4. To illustrate the strategies for efficient warehouse design and improving delivery performance.

Social Entrepreneurship: Innovating Social Change (SEISC)

Course : Social Entrepreneurship: Innovating Social Change (SEISC)

Instructor : 

Prof. Ankur Sarin & 

Prof. M.S. Sriram (Visiting Faculty)

Overview and Objectives :

Living in India, one does not need facts and figures to understand the monumental challenges faced in the process of development and feel hopeless about it.

"Social Entrepreneurship" has emerged as a rapidly growing sector housing much of the innovative thinking that has emerged over recent years to overcome these challenges. By seeking to merge the creation of societal value with more market like operations, it seeks to engage individuals who are interested in contributing to society but either wary of or intimidated by the traditional actors in the social space.

The specific objectives of the course are to help participants:

  • Understand the need and role of social entrepreneurs in society
  • Tensions in organizations working in this space
  • Understanding  models of social enterprises

Strategic Business to Business Market Management (SBBM)

Course : Strategic Business-to-Business Market Management (SBBM)

Instructor :  Profs. Rajesh Pandit & Suryanarayana Valluri (Visiting Faculties)

General Description and Intent of the Course :

Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing encompasses those management activities that enable a supplier firm to understand, create, and deliver value to other businesses, governments, and / or institutional customers. In the context of these business markets, value is ‘the worth in monetary terms of the economic, technical, service and social benefits a customer firm receives in exchange for the price it pays for a market offering.'

There are four guiding principles of B2B Marketing:

  • Make value the cornerstone
  • Focus on business market processes
  • Stress doing business across borders
  • Accentuate working relationships and business networks

This course is designed to provide participants with a good understanding of the concepts of Strategic Business to Business Market Management. It helps them develop critical analysis and problem-solving abilities with respect to business market management.

Learning Objectives of the Course :

  1. Develop a good understanding of the concepts and frameworks of business-to-business market management (also referred to as B2B Marketing or business marketing).
  2. Develop critical analysis and problem-solving abilities with respect to business market management.
  3. Gain a first-hand understanding of working relationships within and between firms in business markets.

Financial Statement Analysis (FSA)

Course : Financial Statement Analysis (FSA)

Instructor : Prof. Shailesh Gandhi & Prof. Sobhesh Agarwalla

Course Objectives : 

Accounting and its end product – financial statements – play an extremely important role in the dynamic world economy. The financial statements serve as a foundation for tasks such as credit and security analyses, lending and investment decisions and other decisions that rely on financial data.

 

This course explores in greater depth selected generally accepted accounting principles and their impact on financial reporting. The objective is to give an exposure on the use of policy guidance in understanding the financial results better. The focus would be on "substance over form" while understanding the spirit of the policy statements, and the factors affecting the quality of financial numbers. Finally, the course helps the students to develop an intuitive approach to researching, interpreting, and analyzing financial statements.

 

The course is built upon the building block course "Financial Reporting & Analysis (FRA)" offered in the first term which covers preparation of financial statements, basic understanding of a few accounting policies and ratio analysis

Managing Energy Businesses (MEnB)

Course : Managing Energy Businesses (MEnB) (PGP course open to PGPX)

Instructor : Profs. Amit Garg & P R Shukla

Course Objectives :

The course aims to introduce how the global energy businesses are evolving, what risks they face and how do they respond to the changing competitive dynamics marked by scalability, diversification and integration. The focus will be to identify solutions that can integrate energy business concerns with environmental, socio-economic, technological and geopolitical considerations. The course will also discuss recent advances and emerging business opportunities in:i) new and renewable energy technology markets, ii)energy services businesses focusing on the demand-side efficiency(e.g. lighting, appliances, automobile), iii) entrepreneurship and risk finance and iv) integrated energy and environment solutions (e.g. infrastructures, ICT solutions).

Marketing Management in the World of Hi-Tech and Innovation (MMWHTI)

Course : Marketing Management in the World of Hi-Tech and Innovation (MMWHTI)

Instructor : Prof. Prakash Bagri (Visiting Faculty)

Course Objectives :

"Marketing Management in the World of High Tech & Innovation (MWHTI)" is intended to address some of the earlier outlined challenges and consequent marketing dynamics.

This course will focus on the application of basic business framework in the hi-tech context while including those concepts unique to this world. It will build understanding on specifics of high technology business and its difference from regular businesses. It will subsequently introduce tools and techniques for more effectively developing strategic market models and marketing plans for hi-tech products and services. The focus will be in guiding business persons and marketers on how to adapt, modify and prioritize the basic tenets of marketing, while incorporating the unique and specific hi-tech aspects.

Given the context, the course will not focus on some adjacent topics. Specifically, it will not focus on (1) how to employ technology as a marketing tool (digital marketing), (2) identifying "hot technologies" of today or the future, (3) overall organizational technology strategy and (4) organizational culture and climate in technology companies. Nonetheless, some of these subjects will find mention or will appear in discussions, without being the key concern for the sessions.

The course will attempt to explore a range and diversity of industries and contexts within hi-tech, but based on the available and published pedagogy, a significant focus will emerge on information technology. However, given their specific characteristics these illustrations and lessons will be very relevant to all new age businesses and industries and those that are now emerging or just starting-up.

This course is intended for students preparing for a sustained career in the hi-tech industry or for those planning to join start-ups or to become entrepreneurs.  Students seeking roles in sales, marketing and business or product development in hardware or software, newer & emerging technologies, around the internet as well as in companies providing B2B or B2C services & solutions will find the tenets of this course relevant for their career goals. 

Management of Commercial Contracts: Indian and International (MIIC)

Course : Management of Commercial Contracts: Indian and International (MIIC)

Instructor : Profs. L Sridhar & S Krishnamurthy

Course Objectives :

Effective management of Commercial Contracts is a daunting task requiring adequate and practical knowledge, more so in the current context of Globalisation & E-Commerce. The advancements in Information Technology has been creating "border-free trade" regimes furthering the global competition.

To tackle the complications in trans-national trade & contracts, a host of International Institutions & Conventions such as FIDIC, WTO, ICC, UNCITRAL, UNCTAD, WCO, WB/IMF, UN/EDIFACT, etc., have introduced several rules, regulations and models for various types of Commercial Contracts which can be used for domestic as well as international contracts. These are intended to bring about uniformity in understanding of commercial contracts globally.

This course aims at familiarising the participants in all relevant aspects of applied law, rules, procedures in Management of Commercial Contracts both Indian and international.

Supply Chain Management (SupCM)

Course : Supply Chain Management (SupCM)

Instructor : Profs. N Ravichandran & Sundaravalli N

Course Objectives :

Supply chain management is designed as an in-depth practitioner-oriented course to enable the participants to understand the elements of supply chain, challenges in managing a supply chain to enhance business competitiveness.

Connecting communities and corporations for frugal Innovations (CINE)

Course : Connecting communities and corporations for frugal Innovations (CINE)

Instructor : Prof. Anil Gupta

Course Objectives :

A significant transition is taking place in India from entitlement to entrepreneurial approach for development.  Both economic and social enterprises will come to play a predominant role in addressing the unmet social needs around the world.  The deepening of democratic processes is unleashing the social aspirations, which in many cases cannot be met either by the state or the market adequately.   In such cases, new hybrid forms of organisations are bound to emerge.  It is generally believed that if markets have to expand, state may have to contract.  However, the experience of last few decades in India and many other developing countries and some of the developed countries as well shows that financial support at an extremely early stage when even proof of concept may not exist is extremely difficult.  The role of state thus becomes important.  When we moved from micro finance to micro venture innovation finance [MVIF], the support came from the state.  Most angel funds and venture funds invest much later in the life of an enterprise.  By then, 80 – 90 per cent mortality of startups ideas may have taken place.  This course will try to generate alternative perspective, both in theory and practice for tapping the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of our society. 

Creativity requires freedom to think, flexibility to act and functioning beyond boundaries. Management of creative processes often is constrained by the limits of norms, rules, roles and resources. One has to tune the structure of governance, trigger the processes of accountability and support grassroots and also top down initiatives, some of which may become innovation.

Creativity does not necessarily always lead to innovation.  But sometimes, it does.    Nurturing creativity requires tolerance for deviance, dissent and diversity.  The organisational culture, which encourages creative ways of solving problems, also accommodates planned failures.  Courting uncertainty becomes a mantra, marrying meandering with spontaneity becomes the style.    Very few innovative technologies or processes succeed in the market place.  And yet, in the absence of a precise predictive test, one has to try many approaches knowing fully well that only a few will survive.  Innovations need not necessarily take place in the same way at all the levels in the organisation or among the clients or users.  There is a widespread interest in the user - driven as distinct from user – innovations (von Hippel, 2010) that influence the organisational choices.  However, the open innovation movement begun by the Honey Bee Network 25 years ago has become a mainstream movement today. Which users/or non-users  are involved in triggering which kind of innovations also depends upon the values underlying the motivations of innovators and/or firms or other collaborative platforms.  

In this course, we will explore and understand the relationship between individual, institutional and societal creativity in coping with risks and uncertainties, overcoming various environmental challenges as a part of circular economy for designing the futures.   The innovations need not always diffuse within or outside the organization. The incentives for developing innovations that diffuse widely may not be very difficult to design. But incentives for developing innovations that enable people in limited locations, specific situations with or without handicaps are more difficult to design. The intrinsic motivations (swantayhsukhay) often outweigh the extrinsic motivations for innovations.   Identifying the right blend of both is a challenge that leaders have to face. 

The Long Tail of Innovations (Anderson, 2006) is an important characteristic of innovation eco-system. That is, a large number of innovations are suitable for small niches and thus may diffuse very locally or in a limited way, but they make place for a few which diffuse widely.  The long nose of innovation (Buxton, 2008) on the other hand implies a long wait before a major breakthrough occurs. The computer mouse took thirty years to become popular after its discovery in the sixties.

Knowledge of the processes that trigger creativity and innovation in some situations more easily than others, is available more often with those who can break rules, or have capacity for dissenting and transforming the context.  One reason many companies are seeking solutions (crowdsourcing or mass-sourcing idea) from outside is that too much of congruence with in internal R and D has led to lesser diversity and thus lower levels of creativity. Why would dissenters share their knowledge with others?  This knowledge could be tacit or explicit, episodic or concurrent, transient or stable and isolated or networked.   Too much of connectedness in an organisation or a society may prevent the minimum isolation that is necessary for innovative ideas to emerge, grow and get institutionalised or go forward..   It is true, however, that not all innovative ideas need to get institutionalised.   Social Networking may be good for very many purposes but it seldom helps in triggering creative ideas and getting traction for large-scale missions (Iranian elections or Tunisian revolution were exceptions, were they?). Also see graphic discussion on how women in Africa have struggled against various kind of injustice by harnessing aesthetics of dissent.

Knowledge networks reflect the way ideas flow among those who share common concerns even if they lack the consensus about the way these concerns should be articulated.  But these networks need to continuously discover strangers from outside the network whose skills and perspective are needed. They shouldn't have strong gatekeepers who often behave like a third/second class railway compartment inmate (as long as one is outside, you wish to get in, but once you are in, you want to keep others out). The divergence of perspectives facilitates the creation of knowledge networks.   Societal norms and culture facilitate the creation of these networks in some situations and inhibit the same in other situations.  Indian society has demonstrated different processes through which knowledge networks have emerged at different points of time in history around specific technological and institutional challenges.  In the wake of globalisation, new ways of creating networks and managing knowledge have to be discovered.   Entrepreneurial ventures without appropriate knowledge networks are unlikely to ever succeed.

The relationship between natural, social, ethical and intellectual capital lays the ground for entrepreneurship of different kinds to emerge.   Social innovations/entrepreneurship may provide legitimacy for creating a safety net that helps budding economic entrepreneurs.   Too much emphasis on individual innovations and entrepreneurship may in due course, dilute the pressure for creating social communities that share knowledge, provide support and nurture creativity. The time has come to look at a range of entrepreneurial forms, such as conventional individual led start-ups, cooperative ventures, network enterprises, cooperative/s of entrepreneurs, commonly owned enterprise to serve member entrepreneurs (e.g. micromaticmachine tools), fluid enterprise (episodic like matrix companies, embedded enterprises (like living-in partners may be) pay-as-you-wish business models, pay-if-earning assured (energy audit start-ups being paid a part of the savings they ensure) and new services models creating benchmarks and standards for industries to trigger innovations, horizontal supply chains as against conventional vertical ones, supply chain based incubation of vendors/manufacturers etc. Cultural enterprises/cooperatives/agencies may create markets for folk artists, authors, performers, sculptors etc.

There is a revolution waiting to happen in the entrepreneurial space.  This course intends to break new ground by fertilizing imagination, challenging dogmatic comfort, celebrating irreverence through performance rather than promise. Get good grades by creating small or big miracles and social or commercial businesses/platforms and not just by writing business plans ( for a pseudo cv point!) or just the project reports which may line the shelves.

Business Turnaround and Organizational Transformation (BTOT)

Course : Business Turnaround and Organizational Transformation (BTOT)

Instructor: Prof. Sunil Maheshwari

Course Objectives :

This course aims to develop capabilities for leading rejuvenation in organizations in distress. Students are expected to appreciate the ways to create value for themselves and the shareholders in managing organizations in distress. This course will also enable the students to make investment choices in organizations that might get into financial difficulty. To achieve this, the course will focus upon the following:

  • Action choice: Students are expected to make their action choices in different organizational distress situations.
  • Integrated Perspective: The course aims to develop an integrated perspective of organizational transformation.
  • The course would present different industry situations to enable the students to appreciate their unique strategic business imperatives.
  • This course involves intense analysis and data based decision-making.

Potential to Performance: The Journey of self-awareness (POP)

Course : Potential to Performance: The Journey of self-awareness (POP)

Instructor : Prof. Kirti Sharda

Course Objectives :

  • To enhance awareness of self and one's impact on others
  • To deepen understanding of interpersonal processes and group dynamics

Data Visualization for Decision Making (DVDM)

Course : Data Visualization for Decision Making (DVDM)

Instructor : Prof. Kavitha Ranganathan

Course Objectives :

Informed decision making is the foundation upon which successful businesses are built. The amount and complexity of information produced in the business world is increasing at staggering rates. If this data is delivered to you in spreadsheets or tabular reports, it becomes very challenging to find the patterns, trends and correlations necessary to perform your job well. Effective data visualization is an important tool in the decision making process. It allows business decision makers to quickly examine large amounts of data, expose trends and issues efficiently, exchange ideas with key players, and influence the decisions that will ultimately lead to success.

The goal of this course is to expose you to visual representation methods and techniques that increase the understanding of complex data. In this course we will study good design practices for visualization, tools for visualization of data from a variety of fields and visualization software like GapMinder and Tableau.

Strategic Marketing (SMKTG)

Course : Strategic Marketing (SMKTG)

Instructor : Prof. Arindam Banerjee

Course Objectives :

Successful businesses are built on platforms of delivering customer value. This has become more or less a soothesaying, a clichéd / hackneyed corporate mission statement. The challenge lies in being able to identify, design and deliver this ‘value' better than the other competitors, through a process of strategic planning, judicious deployment of marketing and other internal resources and orchestration of a co-ordinated business model that simultaneously ensures sustained growth on various business health indicators. This process involves an unflinching pursuit of identifying the key consumer markets and their key drivers.  Designing a customer delivered value is achieved through the deployment of marketing resources across various strategic functions like the 4Ps, R&D, new product development, brand extensions and so on, all on a temporal horizon.

This course purports to develop participants' skill in formulating and (more importantly) implementing marketing strategy, in a competitive environment.  This course will serve as a useful capstone for all marketing courses. This course will simulate a real business environment and have student groups compete as individual companies wherein they will have a chance to apply all their conceptual learning in fundamental courses in marketing, consumer behaviour, operations and strategy.

Inspired Leadership through Personnel Mastery (ILPM)

Course : Inspired Leadership through Personnel Mastery (ILPM)

Instructor : Prof. Gagandeep Singh, Dr. Thimappa Hegde, Prof. Gokul Kamath

Course Objectives :

The course will help participants to:

  1. Understand that personal mastery, inspired leadership and reinvention of the Self are interconnected, and would help participants to embark on this journey, so as to transform themselves into extraordinary leaders.
  2. Help each participant to understand his/her individual personal frameworks, propensities, role-taking, and defenses that hold him/her back from achieving his/her full potential. 
  3. Develop a basic understanding of the concepts and frameworks of reinventing ourselves.

The course seeks to be truly transformational at a very personal level, in that it seeks to cause a permanent shift in the consciousness of the participants.

Infrastructure Project Finance (IPF)

Course : Infrastructure Project Finance (IPF)

Instructor : Prof. Halady Satish Rao

Course Objectives :

 

Introduction

Infrastructure is vital for sustained economic development and improving the living standards of the population. Yet, there is an "infrastructure deficit" in many developing countries in Asia that is holding back these countries from realizing their full economic potential. Why this deficit in infrastructure, whether it be in roads, transport, electricity, safe drinking water, proper sanitation or communication facilities? One reason for this is that infrastructure presents unique challenges: highly capital intensive, with large initial costs; often of public interest nature thereby requiring greater interface with regulators and government agencies; social returns often exceed private returns, thereby necessitating subsidies/government guarantees or viability gap funding to attract the private sector; and, significant environmental and social impacts that need to be taken care of. Also, construction periods are long, revenue build up is gradual and project economic life is long, thereby requiring long-term funding with loan repayment and equity returns to be spread over longer periods of time. These factors, and the limitations faced by financial markets in developing countries, have resulted in a market failure in infrastructure that has slowed infrastructure development.

To address this market failure in infrastructure, governments stepped in as the major providers of infrastructure in the early stages of economic development, often with assistance from Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) that provide policy assistance and long-term funding on relatively concessional terms.  However, with the growing infrastructure needs of a rapidly developing Asia, governments are finding it increasingly difficult to finance these needs. Hence, governments are reaching out to the private corporate sector to partner in infrastructure development through Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs). To address the various challenges in infrastructure and also enable PPPs, "project finance" structure is being increasingly adopted. "Project finance" is largely based on non-recourse (or limited recourse) financing wherein debt service payments are secured mainly by project cash flows. A key feature of "Project Finance" is elaborate contractual arrangements to optimally allocate risks among the project parties. Another feature is creation of a "Special Purpose Vehicle" (SPV) ie., a legally independent project entity that limits the liabilities of the sponsors and shifts operating risks and accounting liabilities to third parties (other parties in a vertical chain from input supplier to output purchaser) that are united through a series of legal contracts. "Project finance" is still in its early stages in emerging economies and its role in infrastructure development is expected to become progressively more important in the coming years.  

Learning Objectives

The course will provide an understanding of the unique features and issues in infrastructure development, including the major one of market failure and the responses to it, including the setting up of MDBs. The focus will be on underlying concepts of "project finance" such as project structuring; project risks and addressing them through contractual arrangements; and, public-private-partnerships (PPP).

Business Relationships and Networks (BRN)

Course : Business Relationships and Networks (BRN)

Instructor : Profs. Rajesh Pandit & Suryanarayana Valluri (Visiting Faculty)

Course Objectives :

  1. To inculcate deep interest among participants in the importance of business networks and relationships in success of businesses, so as to enable them to pursue specialist career paths with good growth opportunities in this crucial field.
  2. To enable participants to develop specialist knowledge in the domain of establishing business networks and forging lasting relationships.
  3. To equip participants with knowledge to make informed decisions on behalf of their companies, after taking into account the risks involved and the opportunities that are available.
  4. To assist the institute in becoming a destination for specialized skills that can attract companies with need for specialized skills.

Neuroscience and Consumer Behavior (NCB)

Course : Neuroscience and Consumer Behavior (NCB)

Instructor : Prof. Arvind Sahay

Course Objectives :

The course is designed

  1. To develop the participant's basic knowledge of the human brain and how it takes decisions based around the themes of "thinking and feeling," greed, prediction, confidence, risk, fear, surprise, regret and happiness; how the brain receives stimuli, processes them and the responses that it generates.
  2. To develop and enhance participant's analytical skills, conceptual abilities and substantive knowledge in the field of consumer behaviour based on inputs from neuroscience and behavioral decision theories.
  3. To develop a roadmap for applying the knowledge of neuroscience and consumer behavior in different marketing and business contexts.

Valuation of Firms (VOF)

Course : Valuation of Firms (VOF) (PGP course open to PGPX)

Instructor : Profs. Joshy Jacob & Sobhesh Kumar Agrawalla

Course Objectives :

The course is expected to take participants through the challenges involved in valuation of businesses. The course builds on the issues raised on corporate valuation in the first year course, Corporate Finance. The initial part of the course discusses the commonly followed approaches in dealing with different complexities of the firm while attempting a valuation. The later part of the course focuses on the application of the valuation principles to unique business/firm contexts.

The participants‘ exposure to the nuances of valuation would help them meet the challenges of financial decisions involving valuation, such as, disposal and acquisition of corporate assets, and negotiation of strategic business partnerships, to name a few.

Negotiation Lab (NL)

Course : Negotiation Lab (NL)

Instructor : Prof. Biju Varkkey

Course Objectives :

Students completing this course will be able:

  1. Analyse the basic negotiation process with reference to professional and personal goals, parties positions and strengths, effective tactics that could be deployed, management of outcomes, and the effect on the ongoing relationship of both sides.
  2. Learn about different negotiation styles and approaches.
  3. Learn the importance of skills like communication including active listening, providing effective feedback and empathy and how to use them to engage in successful negotiations.
  4. Problem- solving through negotiation in different (select) contexts, including
  5. Understand the difference between integrative and distributive negotiation techniques
  6. Explore how to reach an agreement in simulated setting involving negotiations with respect to different workplace and personal career situations.

Pricing (PRC)

Course : Pricing (PRC)

Instructor : Prof. Arvind Sahay 

Course Objectives :

The one topic that top management can be relied on to be willing to listen to is pricing as it impacts the top line and bottom line directly and immediately. Unfortunately, because of this immediate impact, many managers tend to jump into a pricing decision and ask questions later leading to pricing decisions which are sub-optimal at best and value destroying at worst leading in some cases to the firm's loosing its competitive position.

This course provides an opportunity for the participants to understand pricing concepts and develop a systematic framework for assessing, formulating and implementing pricing approaches within the context of a business decision.

Pricing decisions are affected by economic, marketing, organizational, and psychological factors, and must be made within a prescribed legal framework.  The course revolves around (a) understanding how consumers view and react to pricing, (b) understanding some pricing approaches and their strengths and weakness (c) developing the thinking to obtain the right price and (e) how to implement the chosen price approach.

This course is less about the mechanics of setting a price – it is more about understanding the process of making pricing decisions.  This course will combine both, developing a proper pricing perspective, and using relevant tools in setting and implementing a price approach.  At the end of the course, you should have developed a framework for thinking about pricing that you can apply in your workplace.

Seminar on Marketing Data Analytic Practices (SMDA)

Course : Seminar on Marketing Data Analytic Practices (SMDA)

Instructor : Profs. Arindam Banerjee

Course Objectives :

A view to the practicing world of Analytics – the challenges, the aspirations, facilitators and inputs into a strong Information driven organization. The Marketing domain will provide the context in which the Data Analytical Methods will be discussed. Several types of Marketing Analysis with large scaled data that are currently practiced in industry will be covered. The emphasis will be on highlighting data manipulation nuances to attain specific business objectives and hence the focus will be on the "SO WHAT", rather than on the methodological constructs. The course is designed around the "Cycle of Analytics" and covers the a) Planning, b) Processing and c) Presentation stages of the Process.  

The course requires some carry over learnings from conceptual courses such as ACCV, DMCV, Probability and Statistics and/or portions of Research Methodology, etc. Some tutorial classes will be designed to provide some hands on experience in some data techniques. Additionally, issues  wrt the multi -faceted skill set required in business Analytics will be discussed.  Apart from marketing problem solving orientation, participants will be exposed to some:

  1. Programming Code
  2. Statistical Analysis and Simple Data Handling
  3. Interpretation and Skills related to Business Communication of Analysis

 

This module serves as an entry point to the Marketing / Customer Data Analytics domain.

Strategy Execution (STE)

Course : Strategy Execution (STE)

Instructor : Profs. Sunil Maheshwari & Shailendra Mehta (Visiting Faculty)

Course Objectives :

The objectives of the course are:

  • Build on the foundation course "Strategic Management" to focus on specific issues pertaining to Strategic Execution
  • Develop a comprehensive framework that is especially useful for the analysis of effective Strategic Execution
  • Analyze in depth the strategic issues facing a variety of industries and environments
  • Help students develop an understanding of fast moving and rapidly changing environments.

This course will be particularly beneficial to students who aspire to positions of executive authority in all fields.

Leadership in Professional Service Firms (LPSF)

Course : Leadership in Professional Service Firms (LPSF)

Instructor : Prof. Sunil Sharma

General Description and Intent:

Professional service firms (e.g. consulting, investment banking, law, money management, etc.) are playing an increasing important role in the world economy. This course is designed to help participants learn how to create, manage, and grow professional service firms (PSFs). The purpose of this course is to help students discover what it takes to be an effective and successful professional whose fundamental job is to respond to client needs, develop business for the firm, and play a key role in helping firm to build key competencies. It therefore involves understanding the internal working and external environment of professional service firms. Towards this objective, this course will address topics related to organizational architecture, strategies, professional conduct, human resource practices, client relationship, business development, team work, and nurturing of key competencies required for managing a professional service firms:

The course employs primarily the inductive learning approach. The cases used in this course typically take a longitudinal perspective that follows professionals and their organizations over an extended period of time. Through case discussion, role-plays, and simulations, participants will be able to identify the sources of superior performance, strategic capabilities, and distinctive processes that sustain PSFs.  They will also learn how PSFs react to change. The understanding of internal and external dynamics of PSFs will help participant to develop a knowledge base and mindset that is essential for succeeding in these organizations.  The course builds on understanding of management concepts learnt in various courses in the first year and provides participants an opportunity to create a practice platform for their learning.

Learning objectives:

During the course the participants will have the opportunity to learn the following dimensions of managing PSFs.

  1. Gain knowledge of organizational architecture and strategies of professional service firms.
  2. Understand strategic, operational, and leadership challenges involved in leading professional service firms.
  3. Learn nuances of nurturing a team of professionals, client relationship, professional conduct, and project implementation.

Discuss and explore preference for a career in professional service firm

Show More

International Immersion Programme

Skewed towards decision-making and honing of skills for success in the global arena, the PGPX experience includes participants with international exposure, globally focused case studies, international faculty and the international immersion segment

 

The international immersion programme is a crucial component of PGPX. Its learning goals are:

- Working effectively in an environment different from their home culture and

- Understanding of macro-level dynamics and unfamiliar economic environment in a foreign country.

 

For a particular year, the international institutions available for the IIP depends on many factors such as student interest, current active relationship, availability of key faculty during the IIP dates, IIP fees, and logistics.

 

Alliance Partner Schools for this year

 

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, The People's Republic of China

Warwick Business School, England, United Kingdom

ESCP Europe, Paris Campus, France

Peking University, China

ESADE Business School, Spain

PGPX Batch 2023 Profile

View all

FAQs

For your quick reference, we have compiled the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions. Please select a category to view the relevant FAQs which you may find helpful.

If you have a question that isn't answered here or if you need further clarification, we encourage you to send an email to pgpxquery@iima.ac.in and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

General Programme Information > Get more information about the PGPX, its learning objective and curriculum

1. How is PGPX different from other programmes at IIMA?

While all the programmes at IIMA are full-time and residential programmes, the PGPX is a one-year programme while PGP is for two years. The PGPX orientation is to give general management perspective for a management executive, whereas the PGP is focussed on functional and operational management. PGPX achieves this through a set of courses under a theme called ‘Preparing for Top Management' where the focus is on leadership and change agentry at the global level. This culminates in ‘Capstone' exercise which is a business game aimed at integration of all that has been learned over the year.

2. What are the programme's objectives?

The fundamental objective of the PGPX programme is to develop bright, enthusiastic and aspirational executives into management leaders and change agents in the global arena.

3. What degree is offered at the end of the PGPX?

On successful completion, students are given a Master of Business Administration degree.

4. Is the International Immersion Programme (IIP) optional? Which are the various international institutions/universities with whom IIMA has tie ups with for the IIP?

No, IIP is compulsory component wherein the students go to various international universities to have an exposure of international business scenario. Currently IIMA has tie ups with the following international universities for the two week international programme:

  • The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
  • ESCP Europe Business School, Paris Campus
  • Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, UK
  • Peking University, China
  • ESADE Business School, Spain

5. What specialisations do you offer?

The PGPX is a general management programme preparing the students for top management. However, you can tailor the programme to meet your own needs and post-PGPX employment aims through wide range of electives. In this way you are able to gain all the basic general management skills and specialise in areas of management important for your current and future goals. Details of elective courses can be found on our website.

6. Would the PGPX enable students to go for higher studies like PhD?

Yes! They are eligible to apply for higher studies. Some have also gone on to do PhD at places such as the Harvard Business School.

7. What are the various Industry-Academia interaction opportunities at the PGPX?

There are many avenues for Industry-Academia interactions for PGPX students during the year as follows:

  1. Participating in student clubs such as FII-SOMA
  2. Speaker Series – where PGPX students invite eminent leaders from Industry and Government to the campus.
  3. Regular interactions with over 4000 EEP participants who come to the campus for executive training. Executives at senior, mid-senior and top management levels come from all over the world to IIMA.
  4. Industry visits during International Immersion Programme, student projects, off-campus courses, etc.
  5. Student activities such as ConneXion.
  6. Industry Exhibitions.
  7. Various Seminars and conferences in and off-campus.
  8. Placement/Career Services Activities.

Application Process > Find details about the eligibility requirements and all components of the application

1. What are the eligibility criteria to apply for the PGPX at IIMA?

  • A bachelor's Degree (minimum 10+2+3 years of formal education) or equivalent in any discipline
  • Minimum Age of 25 years as on 31st March of the year in which the PGPX programme commences
  • At least 4 years of full-time work experience after completion of graduation and
  • Valid GMAT / GRE Score

2. What is the minimum marks/grade a candidate should have at bachelor's level to apply for the PGPX programme?

There is no minimum requirement of bachelor's level scores as eligibility to apply. However, selected candidates are likely to have had a consistently good academic record.

3. How does one apply to the PGPX at IIMA?

Applicants to the PGPX must complete the following steps.

  • Register your interest
  • For 2024-25 admission season we have three rounds of application
  • For those who would like to submit during the Round 1, the completely filled-in applications should be submitted online by 11:59 pm (IST)/ 06:29 pm (GMT) / 01:29 pm (EST)  of Sept 04, 2023
  • For those who would like to submit during the Round 2, the completely filled-in applications should be submitted online 11:59 pm (IST)/ 06:29 pm (GMT) / 01:29 pm (EST) by Oct 30, 2023
  • For those who would like to submit during the Round 3, the completely filled-in applications should be submitted online 11:59 pm (IST)/ 06:29 pm (GMT) / 01:29 pm (EST) by Dec 18, 2023

 

4. What are the 2023-24 application seasons' important dates?

Admission Process 2024-25 Batch* 
  Round-1   Round-2  Round-3
STAGE 1: Application & Shortlist
Application Open Jul 3, 2023 Sept 18, 2023 Nov 20, 2023
Application Close Sep 4, 2023 Oct 30, 2023 Dec 18, 2023
Shortlist Announcement Sep 13, 2023 Nov 7, 2023 Dec 21, 2023
Essay Submission Sept 13 - 15, 2023 Nov 7-9, 2023 Dec 21-23, 2023
STAGE 2: Personal Interviews*
Ahmedabad & Delhi Sept 23-24, 2023 Nov 25-26, 2023 Jan. 06-07, 2024
Mumbai & Hyderabad Sept 30-Oct 1, 2023 Dec 2 -3, 2023 Jan. 20-21, 2024
Bangalore & Overseas Applicants  Oct 7-8, 2023 Dec 9 -10, 2023 Jan 27-28, 2024
New York/London  - Dec 9 -10, 2024 -
Final Selection
Offers and waitlist Oct 20, 2023 Dec 15, 2023 Feb 10, 2024

Note: * All these dates are subject to change if required. Only those candidates who have been shortlisted will be intimated by e-mail, with all the relevant details.

 

​5. Is there an advantage to applying in Round 1 vs. Round 2 vs. Round 3?

There is no strategic advantage in applying in Round 1 vs. Round 2 vs Round 3. Round 1 is designed for those candidates who are eager to apply and would like to receive an admission decision earlier in the season. This is specifically directed for those who are applying to multiple schools and would like to gather their admission decisions at one time to make the most informed decision.

6. Do you need an English Proficiency certificate?

The candidate must be well-versed with the English language. We gauge this from the Analytical Writing Analysis (AWA) scores from the GMAT/GRE. TOEFL/IELTS/PTE test scores are not applicable here.

7. Do you need Letter of Recommendations / Statement of Purpose / Essays?

Essays and Letters of Recommendation only comes after the candidates are shortlisted and not during application submission. Only shortlisted candidates would be asked to submit two essays – the topics of which will be announced along with the shortlisting for personal interviews. However, successful candidates are required to give details of three references.

8. What are the documents required to be submitted along with the online application?

  • GMAT or GRE score report (of your highest score if you have taken multiple tests)
  • Academic qualifications (graduation onwards)
  • Employment history (including details of entrepreneurship, if any)
  • Certificates of achievements in sports, arts, extra-curricular activities, etc. at regional, national or international levels.
  • Passport details as requested. (Please ensure that your passport validity is at least up to April 2024)

*Please note that for certificates which are not printed in English, Hindi or Gujarati languages, the candidates are requested to submit certified translations of these certificates in English language.

9. What are the other documents that you may need later?

We will need the following documents at the time of your joining the institute:

  • Medical Health Insurance for self and accompanying family members for at least INR 5,00,000/- (for each) for at least one year stay in the campus. Please note that sometimes, candidates are covered under the group insurance provided by employers to self or the spouse. This is acceptable as long as the amount of insurance and the period of coverage are as per our requirement.
  • Medical Fitness Certificate (the format of which will be provided in January end. Candidates have to arrange to get the medical fitness certificate on their own cost as per this format from a qualified consulting physician un-related to them)
  • Passport: Please ensure that your passport validity is at least for one more year from the time you join the programme. This is important since as part of the programme, students have to mandatorily travel to other international universities/institutions for the International Immersion Programme for which the students have to obtain a visa. Some countries have a requirement of a minimum validity period of 6 months to 1 year of the passport.
  • Letter of Sabbatical or Relieving Letter
  • Any other document/information that the PGPX Office may request for.

 

10. What care should one take while filling in the online application form?

Please ensure that all data such as your Date of Birth, academic qualifications (degree titles, names of the institution/university, grades/marks, GMAT id, GMAT scores etc.) and work experience are correctly entered. Please remember that all the details mentioned in the online application form will have to be supported by relevant documents later. The admission (if offered) will automatically stand cancelled if the data you enter and the data on the documents are found to be different.

11. Why is this requirement of supporting documents essential?

Our application processing is based on a computerized system which rates applications based on various parameters such as GMAT score, age, work experience, international work experience, educational qualifications, industry, gender, etc. Hence it is essential that every data is correct.

12. If I am now based abroad and do not have my documents with me, what should I do?

Kindly arrange to obtain the necessary documents/information from the place where it is kept to the place where you are now residing. It is essential to provide the correct information in the application form.

13. The company in which I had worked some years ago does not exist anymore. And I do not have any letter/certificate with me about this work experience. What should I do?

It is essential that you provide the relevant documentary support; in case you do not have a certificate of experience then you can provide other useful documents like Letter of Appointment etc. Therefore in any case, the information needs to be supported by some kind of relevant documents.

14. How will the international work experience be counted?

We consider your work experience documents issued from your company where dates of international work experience are mentioned. Please note that visits to international locations for participation in any conference/meetings/workshops or business trips are not considered as international work experience. Only full-time work in a foreign location (other than your home country) on legitimate documents which include offer letter/appointment letter and based on salary/consideration is considered international work experience.

15. Do part-time jobs count towards the minimum work experience requirements?

In most cases no; for example, if you are applying for 2024-25 batch you must expect to have at least four years of full-time, post-graduation work experience by March 2024. However please tell us if there are extenuating circumstances which mean that you have only been able to work part-time or on temporary contracts.

16. Do undergraduate internships count towards the minimum work experience requirement?

    No; all work experience must be post-graduation.

17. Do I need management experience to qualify for the programme?

Management experience or related qualifications and goals will be important for candidates who are successful in gaining entry into the programme. We would expect candidates to have experience in managing both projects and people.

18. Do you have an upper age limit?

No.

Admission Process > Learn more about the relevant information about the admissions process

1. What does the Admissions Committee look for in a candidate?

PGPX Admissions Committee looks for participants who will contribute proactively and share the insights they have gained throughout their professional and personal experience. A competitive applicant manages to demonstrate a clear desire for intellectual growth, both in the classroom and through working on group projects.

The Committee takes into consideration the applicant's professional background, including progression in their career, academic preparedness, accomplishments and strong interpersonal skills.

2. What are the various components of the PGPX Admissions Process?

The PGPX Admission Process involves the following:

  1. Submission of online application before the deadlines
  2. Interviews are held by IIMA faculty members at Newark (US), London (UK), Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru. We also conduct video conferences for international candidates.
  3. Candidates have to pay Rs. 4.0 lakh as commitment fee within dates specified during admission offer. Balance payment of fee can be paid in lump-sum or in instalments.

3. Will feedback on my application or interview be provided on request?

Sorry, for logistical reasons it is not possible for IIMA to provide individual feedback to the candidates.

4. Is the admission process different for sponsored candidates?

No. All candidates, whether sponsored or not, will go through the same PGPX admission process.

5. Is there any scholarship available?

Yes, the PGPX programme has instituted five (5) interest waiver scholarships on merit basis which will work as interest waived on bank loan taken by student (for the programme fee) for a year. Maximum amount for scholarship can go up to 3 lakh.

6. Once admitted, is deferment possible? If yes, what are the deferment rules and procedure?

We do have a stated deferment policy. However, deferment may be given on a case to case basis. The procedure followed in the past for a few deferment cases has been as follows:

  1. A candidate who wish to avail the deferment has to present his/her application to the PGPX programme office on or before 15" March of the year for which the candidate is offered admission. The candidate should produce appropriate documents to support her/his application.
  2. The candidate has to justify his/her request for a deferment. (This will be placed before the Admissions Committee and they may approve or reject on a case-to-case basis)
  3. If the above is approved, the candidate pays the first, second, and third commitment fee.
  4. The total amount paid is adjustable against the fee of the next year. The applicable fee would be the fee of the new batch.
  5. Deferment is only for one year and if the candidate fails to join the next year, first and second commitment fee paid would be forfeited.
  6. Once the application season for the next batch commences, confirmation from deferred candidates are once again taken in the last week before the close of the application season for the new batch.
  7. Once a deferral admission is granted, the deferred candidate will not be able to come back to the previous batch from which he/she has deferred to the next batch.
  8. A programme withdrawal request cannot be made by the candidate in the same year, after the deferment request is approved. The programme withdrawal requests for deferred cases may be considered in the next year.
  9. All rules and regulations, as amended from time to time, related to the admissions for the new batch will be applicable.

7. Can you share the profile of the earlier batches of PGPX?

We have completed 17 batches so far successfully. Profiles vary from batch to batch. The average profile information of the current batch is available here.

GMAT/GRE > Get more information on standardised test scores

1. What is the cut-off score for the GMAT/GRE?

While we do not have a minimum score required for admission, we advise candidates to aim for a score at or above the 70th-75th percentile for both the quantitative and verbal sections of the GMAT/GRE. Please keep in mind, however, that standardised tests are just one of several admission criteria. A high score does not guarantee admission, and a below average score does not eliminate a candidate.

2. Is it mandatory to take the GMAT/GRE before applying for PGPX?

Yes it is mandatory for all applicants to take a GMAT/GRE test as it provides us with a standardised way of evaluating candidates.

3. Can I apply with a Test Centre/Unofficial GMAT/GRE Score Report?

Yes, you can. The application can be submitted along with the test centre/unofficial score report. The official score report from Pearson VUE (GMAT)/ETS (GRE) should reach the PGPX Admissions Team within three weeks of application submission.

4. What is the validity period for a GMAT/GRE score?

GMAT/GRE scores are valid for 5 years.

5. If I submit more than one GMAT/GRE score, which score will be considered?

The highest score amongst the tests taken during the valid period will be considered.

6. Can the GMAT/GRE requirement be waived under exceptional circumstances?

No.

7. Is online GMAT/GRE score accepted?

For PGPX 2024-25 Online GMAT/GRE (Take home) exam scores are not accepted , only test center-based GMAT/GRE scores are accepted.

Placement and Career Development > Information on PGPX Placement and related information

1. Does the institute provide Placement/Career Services?

We have a Placement Office to assist the Student Placement Committee in providing administrative and logistical support in arranging for campus placements. We also have full- time staffs that help to coordinate this activity. Please note that placements are not guaranteed and it is not an entitlement of the student. However IIMA's approach is to build up a career service network with the help of a robust Alumni network over time rather than to provide only a placement at the end of the course.

2. Where can I find the past placement reports?

The placement data can be checked on our website. The entire placement data is audited as per the Indian Placement Reporting Standards (IPRS). It includes data on mean/median starting salary, batch percentage, job details and all other necessary details. For detailed information please check the placement data.

3. My profile is different from the average profile of past PGPX students. Will any company show interest in hiring me after finishing the programme?

Information mentioned is ‘average profile.' Most candidates have been placed so far. However this is an activity that is significantly driven by students themselves and lateral placements depend on vacancies in the senior positions in the target companies during the PGPX placement season from Oct/Nov. Our strong alumni network also helps the student to find a better job.

PGPX Fees and Financial Aid > Locate information about tuition, program fees, scholarship opportunities, and financial aid

1. How much does it cost to attend the PGPX programme at IIMA?

The Programme Fee for the 2022-23 PGPX Batch is INR 30 lakhs for candidates opting for SSH (Single Accommodation) and 32 Lakhs for candidates opting for MSH (Married Student Housing) plus cost of International Immersion Programme (IIP) excluding travel and stay related expenses.

PGPX fee is usually a packaged/bundled fee which includes, for every student—tuition fees, books and course materials, accommodation and other service facilities such as library, computing, network changes etc. However this does not include the cost of International Immersion Programme (IIP). Utilities such as electricity, telephone, laundry, sports/gym subscription are additional and to be paid as per usage charges..

2. Are there other costs to be taken into consideration? If yes what?

Students have to pay caution money of Indian Rs. 35000/- for single accommodation and Rs. 70000/- for MSH to be paid before you arrive at the campus. This non-interest bearing caution money will be returned within 3 months after the completion of the programme, adjusting for pending recoveries on account of utilities and other services or infrastructure (if any).

3. Are there any job opportunities on campus that can be pursued while the programme is on, to lower the overall cost impact?

No. However spouses of PGPX participants are encouraged to apply and work in the campus on any temporary assignments if available.

4. Are there any scholarship options available for the students?

Yes, PGPX students can now apply for scholarships. The program has instituted 5 Interest Waiver Scholarship on merit basis which will work as interest waiver on bank loan taken by students (for the program fee) for a year. Maximum amount for the scholarship can go up to 3 Lakhs.

5. What are the options of availing a loan?

Normally many nationalised and private banks are interested in offering students loans. Upto Rs. 30 lakh loan is available without collateral for IIMA's PGPX candidates.

6. What is the amount of loan that a student is eligible for and what are the documents required?

State Bank of India gives collateral free loan of up to Rs. 30 lakh and Central Bank gives up to Rs. 25 lakh. For exact details, please contact the bank/s directly since the interest rates change from time to time.

Student Life > Learn more about campus life, hostel accommodation and other facilities

1. Is staying on the institute campus mandatory?

Yes, this is a fully residential programme. Accommodation will be available for both single and married students. Much course work and group assignments are involved in the programme due to which it is imperative that the students live on the campus and study and work together. The programme is quite rigorous and has more 700 contact hours and requires preparation time of more than 1500 hours.

2. What will my room look like?

A. Single Housing Accommodation (One room + bath):-

Each room has furniture including single bed with mattress, pillow, bed sheet, blanket (to be subsequently maintained by student), teapoy, computer chair, soft board, wooden cabinet, TV table, single sofa and wardrobe, air conditioner with remote, a mini refrigerator, telephone point with one instrument, Internet connection point, Drinking water through RO unit in floor pantry, common washing machine facility is also available, wall clock and dressing mirror.

Please do not bring any of your own stuff such as refrigerators, TV, cooking stoves, cabinets, etc. to the campus.

B. Married Student Housing (Two rooms + kitchen + bath + balcony):-

Both the rooms are fully furnished with one double bed, one single bed, dining table with four chairs, side tables, wardrobe, two kitchen storage cabinets in the modular kitchen, two single sofa, book shelf, shoe rack, dressing mirror, computer unit drawer, table & chair, soft board, chick blinds, bed sheet sets for double and single bed, three pillows, six pillow covers and one blanket each for double and single bed (to be subsequently maintained & laundry charges to be borne by the students), internet connection point, window air conditioner in bed room with remote, refrigerator 180 Ltr, two-burner gas stove and a piped gas connection.

Please do not bring any of your own stuff such as refrigerators, TV, cooking stoves, cabinets, etc. to the campus.

3. Can I change my accommodation later during the year, if need be?

Yes. You are allowed only one change during the year, if there is vacancy. Also various other conditions apply.

4. What are the other facilities available to the students in the campus?

There are many other facilities for the IIMA community, especially students on campus such as:

  1. World-class, state of the art amphitheatre styled air conditioned classrooms which have Wi-Fi, and fitted with computers, over-head projectors and screens and wire-less public address system.
  2. Syndicate rooms for each study group for group studies/projects/assignments. Each room will have a locker, printer and table and chairs and Wi-Fi/LAN connectivity.
  3. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals are served in the dining hall.
  4. Facilities for indoor/outdoor games, recreation activities and gymnasium are available on subscription basis for self and family.
  5. There is a Student Activity Block (SAB) in the new campus which has facilities such as lounge, gymnasium, snacks counter, indoor games (caroms, chess) facilities, dance pit, etc.
  6. Many PGPX and most FPM students live in Married Student Housing (MSH) in the campus. The spouses of these students have their own clubs and there are many children on campus. There are dedicated children playing areas as well as a crèche in the campus. There are many good schools nearby for families wanting to admit their children in Ahmedabad while they stay here.
  7. There is a dispensary on the campus with resident doctors including a Gynaecologist.
  8. There is a branch of the State Bank of India with ATM facility as well as an AXIS Bank ATM
  9. There are various food cafes on campus.
  10. Parking facilities. You may bring your vehicles to the campus if you love traveling across the city or region during breaks.

5. How about Network Connectivity?

IIMA has one of the best computer and internet networks of the country. High-speed servers, running on a variety of platforms to suit all kinds of requirements, support the entire network. Students are expected to bring their own lap-tops. Wi-Fi has also been introduced at various places in the campus.

6. Can I get additional internet connectivity for my spouse or other family members staying with me in the MSH?

The Institute will not be able to arrange for one with an IIMA email id. However, you can arrange to have your own private set-up for which various conditions apply.

7. How about Library Services?

With more than 170,000 books, over 41,500 bound volumes of periodicals, over 1,000 subscribed journals, more than 1,800 educational CDs and over 2,000 working papers and dissertations; and more than 70 electronic databases, the Vikram Sarabhai Library is an invaluable resource. For more information please visit library.iima.ac.in

8. What are the preparations I need to put in before coming to the campus? What are all the documents that I need to bring? Is there anything else I need to bring?

Please note the following suggestions carefully before you embark for IIMA:

  1. Please bring all original documents related to your educational and work experience with you such as your mark sheets/transcripts, degree certificates, offer letters, work experience certificates, relieving/sabbatical letters, etc.
  2. Please bring your other personal documents such as address proofs, date of birth proof, income proofs (Income Tax returns, income certificates, bank pass-books, etc.) which you may need at the time of visa applications for your international immersion programme when you will be going to any international university.
  3. Please also bring your passport (along with old passports if any). Please ensure that your passport is valid up to April of the next year. (E.g. for PGPX 2023-24 batch, your passport should be valid up to April 2024. For international candidates especially on ITEC Scholarship validity up to Sept 2023 would be ideal. Please arrange to get your passport renewed or a fresh one issued before you come to the campus.
  4. Please arrange for Medical Health Insurance for self and accompanying family members for at least INR 5,00,000/- (for each) for at least one year stay in the campus. Please note that sometimes, candidates are covered under the group insurance provided by employers to self or the spouse. This is acceptable as long as the amount of insurance and the period of coverage are as per our requirement.
  5. Medical Fitness Certificate. (As per the Proforma / Format provided.) Please remember to bring medicines etc. which you may be currently using, if any.
  6. Please bring your own laptop/notebook computers.
  7. Finally, please do bring all necessary personal things that you would need to stay comfortably as per your own standard of living (but not furniture and accessories as explained in the previous question.)

Alumni > Information on IIMA Alumni Network

1. What about IIMA's Alumni Network?

IIMA has a very strong and large alumni network consisting of who's who from Industry, Government as well as Academia spread all over the world which is one of the most powerful assets built over the years. The alumni family is an important component for realising the Institute's goals – Creation, Application and Dissemination of Management Knowledge. Our alumni are the crucial change agents who transform leadership across the globe. A vast number of IIMA alumni have distinguished themselves in almost every aspect of management across the world. As per international consultancy company EMA Partners' 2009 March report, more than 66% of the Professional CEOs in India are IIMA alumni.

2. Can I contact current students and alumni to discuss the PGPX programme with them?

Yes, you can join our social network through which you can connect with our alumni or current students and discuss the programme with them.

Contact > Locate PGPX Office at IIMA

If you have a question that isn't answered here or if you need further clarification, please feel free to drop us an email at pgpxquery@iima.ac.in or call us on the below mentioned phone number.

General Manager, PGPX
PGPX Office, New Campus,
Indian Institute of Management
Vastrapur, Ahmedabad,
Gujarat 380 015
INDIA.
Telephone: +91-79-7152 4449/4417
Fax: +91-79-6632 4447

Show More

International Immersion Programme

 

Recognizing the imperatives of globalization, PGPX has a well-designed, constantly-reviewed curriculum that equips leader managers with the skills and competencies to succeed in the global marketplace. Skewed towards decision-making and honing of skills for success in the global arena, the PGPX experience includes participants with international exposure, globally focused case studies, international faculty and the international immersion segment.

Term three of the PGPX is devoted to the International Immersion Programme (IIP) which is globally-networked, geographically-boundless and universally-grounded. In this segment the students are immersed in two intensive weeks of academics in an international location. The course equips students with:

  1. Working effectively in an environment different from their ‘home culture' and

  2. An understanding of macro-level dynamics and unfamiliar economic environment in a foreign country.

For a particular year, the international institutions available for the IIP depends on many factors such as student interest, current active relationship, availability of key faculty during the IIP dates, IIP fees, and logistics.

Alliance Partner Schools

  • The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, The People's Republic of China

  • Warwick Business School, England, United Kingdom

  • ESCP Europe, Paris Campus, France 

  • Peking University, China

  • ESADE Business School, Spain

Connect with us

MBA-PGPX

Connect
IIMA