Couple of days back folks from Times Executive Education Team https://timestsw.com/course/iimk-epgp asked me if I can give testimonial for IIMK EPGP program for them. Somehow they got my EPGP year wrong as EPGP-02 instead it should be EPGP-03. Anyways enclosed.
In most of our lives there are events both good or bad which takes places on a day to day basis. However there are some events which becomes so memorable that it becomes a major milestones in an individual’s life and I would say convocation is one of them. Attending 15th Convocation ceremony at IIMK I I realized that I should have been part of my graduating ceremony for my earlier engineering graduation and post graduation degrees
The importance of this ceremony can be understood if we look back at ancient India(Bharat) wherein “SAMAVARTANA” i.e. Graduation ceremony is also given a status of the one of the major samaskaras of the major Sixteen(16) samskaras like “GARBHADHAN”, “PUNSAVANA”, “MUNDANA” to “ANTYESHTI”(i.e. Death) . FYI Samavartana (literally, graduation) is the ceremony associated with the end of formal education of Vedas in ‘Gurukula’ or ‘Pāṭhaśāla’. This ceremony marks the end of studenthood. This also marks the end of Brahmacharyaasrama of life. Details of the same has been compiled by a Chinese traveller Xuanzang who has written about a convocation ceremony done by mighty king Harsha in year 643 AD where in he held a Buddhist convocation at Kannauj which was reputedly attended by 20 kings and thousands of pilgrims.
In our case this was the fifteenth (15th) convocation for students of IIMK for their FPM, PGP, EPGP students. There were no kings to attend our convocation but it was Minister Of HRD – Pallam Raju, Prof Megnad Desai – Professor Emeritus London School of Economics and AC Muthiah – Chairman of IIMK(Ex chairman of BCCI) and others were Board of Directors of IIMK. In place of pilgrims were the spouses, kids, parents and other family members of the students who were passing out.
All of us were present a day prior (22nd Mar 2013) to the ceremony day (i.e. 23rd Mar 2013) as instructed at 2:00 PM however actual rehearsal started at around 4:30 pm or so. It was bit chaotic on this day as names were being called out (which no one could hear) and students of both EPGP and PGP were called and asked to stand in a queue with roll numbers without any mike or proper thought process. This entire process took two (2) hrs and then we proceeded to the venue in the queue were asked to sit on the chairs in an orderly fashion. I am sure none of the management lessons learnt were applied on how to manage a crowd of 600 odd people standing in an hot and humid climate. But nonetheless people were busy chirping, chatting and talking to each other and congratulating them on completing the coursework. Rehearsal ended at around 8:00 PM and was followed by some snacks. Unfortunately snacks also finished and lot many people like went without it but surely considering the crowd and that all of them had travelled on the same day to the venue with some of them reaching directly to IIMK campus from airport/rail/road some more could have been planned. Anyways we proceeded to hotels booked by us and had a sumptuous dinner and then dozed off. BTW this time there was no arrangement of buses from hotels/airports/rail unlike earlier times. Next day we were all told to be there at venue at 4:00 PM
Next day most of us reached at IIMK campus by 3:30 PM in a formal attire with Plain shirt, Trousers and a Tie and started to take few snaps of ours with friends and at 4:30 PM we went ahead and collected our convocation dress from some classroom mentioned. FYI convocation dress is provided by IIMK through their external vendor and is supposed to be returned after the ritual. Few of the learning about the robe –
a) Robes for Faculty and students and Board members were of different color .
b) The FPM had violet robes with Red stripe while PGP and EPGP had black robe with red stripe.
c) The cap was supposed to be tied to the chin.
d) There is a Tassel which is attached to the square cap(like a “Chotee” of a cap) was supposed to be flowing to the right. Tassel on the left side indicates that the person has done his “Under Graduation” while Tassel on the right indicates “Post Graduation” as per the vendor. Not sure about FPM .. Does it mean Tassle facing sky … like an antennae … 🙂
Then at around 5:15 PM we were told to assemble at IIMK entrance for a group photo with the robes on. There were 514 students in all (2 -FPM, 326 – PGP, 186 – EPGP) and we were asked to stand on the steps with more than 60 people one row. My roll number came on 06th row behind some tall guy so you can imagine the situation. I made all my attempts to made myself clicked like by raising by ankles, going on a next higher step and going on behind a person where I can see things far off but all in vein J Then chief guests flew away the balloon signifying whatever (not aware of the significance) and then faculties and chief guest left the place. Then was the procession march with FPM and PGP students with robes going from Left and EPGP going from sight side of the entrance to IIMK to the venue. This time it was very much organized and seats were also labeled with our names on the back. That’s when we realized the importance of rehearsal so that confusion can be avoided upfront and it is made sure that people get the degrees with their name embossed on it. It started with Chairman pronouncing ceremony open. It started with FPM guys being called on stage followed by PGP and then followed by EPGP. After each category of student Chairman conferred a degree by stating so..e.g. – “I confer upon you the degree of Fellow Program in Management as an authority of Chairman of IIMK and then states that by thoughts, deeds and actions you (students) would try to protect the image for which the degree stands for” . This happened for PGP and EPGP folks too. There was a photographer clicking each of us while us taking degrees. We are told that institute would made available all the photographs online. As a protocol one has to bow in front of guests/chairman /director, person giving degrees and then to the faculties as well. Gold Medalists (Top 1/2/3) for PGP and Gold Medalist for EPGP were announced. Then there was a pledge with candle lit that we would use this degree to proper use. It was then followed by National Anthem.
Now was the time to return our robes, have dinner and then do a last minute meet-up with friends to say final good bye and click few photo graphs. All in all it was a memorable experience. I wish that we name this ceremony as a “SAMAVARTANA” samskaras than naming as “Convocation Ceremony” to make it more Indianized and I guess this is what IIMK motto stands for – “Globalizing Indian Thought”. Few Pics –
Received an email from IIMK about the convocation ceremony for 2013 for EPGP program. This year convocation ceremony is scheduled on 23rd March. For all those who want to know convocation is mostly held on 3rd Saturday of March every year. For year 2012 the date was 17th Mar and for 2011 the date was 19th March all of them being 3rd Saturday of March.
People are supposed to report on a day prior to the actual ceremony at 2:00 PM on 22nd March 2013 for rehearsal etc. Actual convocation timings are given as 6:00 PM and by 8:00 PM convocation would get over. We are told that there is a convocation dinner being planned on the same evening as well.2013 EPGP results are already out for both Year 1 and Year 2 (Specializations) and have been shared with all for verification.
Year 1 topper score (max score 4.33) was 3.84 followed by 3.83 and then 3.69. Year 2 Strategic Management topper had a score of 3.94 followed by 3.9 and then 3.73. Year 2 Finance topper had a score of 3.83 followed by 3.76 and then 3.71. Marketing topper had a score of 3.81 followed by 3.75 and then next score was 3.68. My performance was fairly consistent for both year 1 and year 2 with score nearing to B+ grade. For those who are interested in know respective grades corresponding to grades given below is the table. Please note that year 2 score was along with guys who were enrolled for ONLY specialization module only like EEPSM, EEPOM, EEPM. Overall EPGP-03 topper (for both Year 1 and year 2 aggregate) was Amit Nayak (3.85) followed by Panneer Selvam (3.84)
A+ –> 4.33 || A –> 4 || A- –> 3.67 || B+ –> 3.33 || B –> 3 || B- –> 2.67
C+ –> 2.33 || C –> 2 || C- –> 1.67 || D- –> 0.67 || D –> 1 || D+ –> 1.33
F –> 0 || I –> Incomplete
Given below is the City wise distribution of EPGP-05 applicants. It seems this course is more popular in Bangalore and Mumbai than other parts of India . Distribution wise – Bangalore – 31% , followed by Mumbai 22% and Delhi – 18%.
Between EPGP and EEPGM it seems more people are inclined for EPGP than EEPGM with 80% of people opting for EEPGP than EEPGM
IIMK has increased fees for its EPGP program from 4.99 lakhs to approximately 6.99 lakh + service taxes from year 2010 to 2012. Now question to ask is whether this increase in fees has deterred students in evincing interests in IIMK EPGP program.
Answer is ‘NO’ . If you look at number of students visiting my blog the trend has shown an improvement (slight though). However not sure of the conversion ratio from prospective students to students. Looking at number of queries which came this year I can certainly say that this time I got lesser queries than in year 2011 which may show a declining trend… Who knows.. Lets wait for couple of more days to watch out when student list for EPGP-05 gets published ….
Looks like Executive Postgraduate Programme (EPGP) in Management course is now open for participants to apply. It is a two-year post graduate diploma programme offered on Interactive Learning (IL) platform. The objective of the programme is to impart management education to working executives seeking skills and strategies to take their organizations to the next level.
Salient Features
a) Accredited By Association of MBAs
b) 800 Hrs classroom Hrs
c) Selection Criteria written test and interview
Important Dates
Last Date for Submitting Completed Applications: August 25, 2012
EMAT: September 15-16, 2012
Fees – Rs. 6,95,000/- for 2 years course. It has gone up from 5,00,000 in 2010 to 5,25,000 in 2011 to Rs 6,95,000 i.e. almost 2,00,00 increase over 2 years period.
Program Duration – Though officially it is 2 years but it will start at around 25/Sep/2012 and would end on 15/Dec/2014 which means commitment for 2 years and 3 months.
On 09th June IIM Kozhikode (IIMK) had launced a Satellite Campus at Kochi and as per them through this center ‘Executive Education’ will be the focus. Kochi campus will offer one year full time, two year part time and short-term programs targeted at middle and senior level executives
We are yet to see how IIMK would brand EPGP program which would be full time and EPGP offered via Interactive mode. As probably all of you are aware that all other IIMs offer EPGP as a 1 year full time residential executive course. So there is some confusion as to how EPGP IDL would be positioned in the market and how will classes be conducted for both.
http://www.iimk.ac.in/abtiimk/SatelliteCampusKochi/SatelliteCampusKochiLaunching.php
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/iimk-launches-satellite-campus-in-kochi/476892/
Some of you have been asking about the sample question papers for some of the subjects. I would say please talk to your Hughes center admin. They would have all the papers. In fact I have given all my previous papers to my center at Noida Sec-64. However there are few scanned versions of the paper for your benefit are attached herewith.
1. Operations Research
2. Operational Management
3. Financial Management
4. Organizational Behavior
5. Corporate Information Management
6 ePGP-03-Term-01-Sec-B-Quatitative Techniques
7 ePGP-03-Term-01-Sec-B-Marketing Management
8 ePGP-03-Term-01-Sec-B-Managerial Economic
9 ePGP-03-Term-01-Sec-B-Management Accounting
10 ePGP-03-Term-01-Sec-B-Corporate Strategy
11 ePGP-03-Term-01-Sec-B-Operations Management
12 QT – Model Questions
Given below are question paper of – Advanced Corporate Finance, Management of Financial Institutions and SAPM
Advanced Corporate Finance, Management of Financial Institutions and SAPM
Advanced Corp Finance
Question Paper for –
1) Management of Change and Transformation
2) Management of Service Business
3) Financial Markets and Issue in Fund Raising
4) Strategic Cost Management
5) Strategic Financial Management
In last Two days since the results are out I have been receiving calls and emails from well wishers and friends who have cleared EPGP asking me for guidance about this course. Some of the questions asked are given below –
But in general a word of caution here that these views are my own and what I have got to know in last 1 year studying at IIMK 🙂 🙂 🙂
A) How is the course in terms of depth? :: Entire EPGP course is divided into two years – Year 1 and Year 2. Each year is divided into 4 terms, 3 months each. Each Term has 6 and/or 7 courses. 2nd years is specialization. Each course has a certain Credits associated with it. E.g. an economics course has 2 credits while Environment Management has 1 Credit and Marketing Management has 3 credits. A 2 and 3 credits courses are taught for 18 Hrs i.e. (6 days – 3 Hrs each) in a class room session while a 1 credit course finishes off in 9 Hrs. For each of the courses evaluation mechanism consists of Attendance/Class Participation (Not mandatory)(5-10% weightage), Quizzes (20% weightage), Assignments (10-15% weightage), Projects (20% weightage) and End Terms Examination (50-60% weightage). Most of the Project and Assignment are Group assignments of 4-6 students
Now looking at this you would find that considering the number of courses and class room session hours available in hand and looking at syllabus to cover often it becomes a race against time. Course is very much compressed for EPGP students for two reasons – a) They are already having industry exposure of more than 5 years and b) There are only 9 hrs study classes in a week which is very less if you compare it with PGP student. PGP student has to be in more effort and program is of higher rigour.
B) How will it add value to my career after I complete 2 years course from IIMK? :: It depends on what kind of value are you looking at. In case one is fantasizing of higher pay packages just because he has finished his EPGP course then this is a far fetched dream. In case one is looking at jumping to newer function areas (like moving from Operations to Sales) and think that he can command same salary as he was getting in his current role then also it is not a good idea to think so. However if you are serious on doing this course and are aiming to enhance your knowledge and skills and are trying to get a better understanding of different Organizational functions. then this course is for you.
Learnings in EPGP happens mostly through various case studies of industry. Many of the cases are directly picked up from Harwards Business Review (HBR) and other journals. So going through tons of case studies and getting to know various subject would definitely give you a better insight and be more organized and focussed.In case you are looking at transitioning to newer jobs and/or higher responsibilities these learnings would definitely help you.
Career progression also depends on various skill set of an individual and is not solely dependent on EPGP program of IIMK only 🙂 If you are in s right sized organization which is growing and you have good inter personal skills and there exists an appropriate oppurtunity in your organization you surely would go to higher role/more salary.
C) How do you compare the courses with other similar courses being offered by colleges like XLRI, IIMC, IIML by Hughes / NIIT / Reliance :: Here again provider does not matter if you are doing it from Reliance / NIIT / Hughes … What it depends on is whether organizing institute and you as a student is serious enough to do the course. Among others I surely can say that this program is better managed, more organized and more professionally driven than other institutes. Professors seemed to be more serious about this program. There were also talks of IIMK establishing 5 satellite campuses in Delhi/Mumbai/KolKata/Bangalore/Chennai. Idea behind these centers are to establish more industry linkages and brand building of IIMK and get locational advantage (which is not there currently). Not sure how far are the talks with regards to actual reality but this point was surely discussed in campus. Again one another point to note is that IIMK not just got PGP program AMBA accredited they also got their EPGP also AMBA accredited which shows the seriousness of the institute. Again if you ask me, AMBA certification is more from branding purpose than anyone getting a value of it it. However it shows that program meets some basic requirements and necessary minimum creiteria of global executive MBA.
D) How is the faculty ? :: Overall faculty mix is good. Some of them are very passionate about teaching their subject like Prof Balooni of Env Management, Prof Atanu Adhikari of Marketing Management, Prof Abhilash Nair of Financial Management and Prof Subhashish Dey of Economics. There are some neutral professors too and in few cases classes are boring too primarily because of delivery not so good, subject awareness and mode of delivery (difficult to maintain focus sometimes). But then this would be same everywhere too.
E) Diploma / Certificate :: Again I would here link to what value you want to derive out of this program. There definitely exists a flexibility to convert EEPGM program to EPGP program and vice versa. One can take 1 year break in every year of the course study if situation permits (needs approval of IIMK though)
First of all let me congratulate all of you who have made it to EPGP-04 and EEPGM-11 course of IIMK. As per information I have IIMK has selected 300 people for the course of which 250 are for EPGP and 50 are for EEPGM program. I heard this time they have waitlisted few of the candidates as well possibly to cover 5% drop out cases as well. All the 300 students would be divided into two sections A and B with each having 150 each with 125 EPGP and 25 EEPGM students. In our batch we were 250 odd people.
Now how many of the candidates were called for written test and interview I have two conflicting information – as per one of the sources 1000 people were shortlisted for written test and interviews and another sources says that number of candidates were more. Not sure which one is true. In any case guys selected have reasons to rejoice and those who couldn’t get through can feel happy that they have other courses – executive/full time to look for and who knows there may be better things planned for them in future.
For the guys who got through they need to be doubly sure before paying up the fees that one has to sacrifice their leisure time, watching TV, time with family, friends and relatives etc. Life becomes busy thereafter and 2 years 3 months commitment is long enough (2011 Oct – 2013 Dec end). First 2 terms would go past pretty quickly but then third and fourth quarter would feel like a stretch. I am in fourth quarter (Year 1) so can’t say about Year 2 now.
If you have made up your mind then pay up the fees, book your flights early and in case IIMK is providing you the accomadation well and good otherwise you would have to book some hotel in nearby places.
Regarding hotels one can opt for Calicut Towers, Malabar Palace, Hotel Hyson. There will be designated Pickup points and from which IIMK bus (each bus has a number) will pick you up. Most of the routes and hotels are covered by bus route so no worries. All these hotels provide Bed and Breakfast services. Breakfast would be mostly Keralite. Not sure of others but I enjoyed the traditional food there. Similarly in the evening buses would drop at the hotel itself. Sumptous lunch would be provided at IIMK canteen itself which will be mostly North Indian to balance both the sides.
On the day of departure while at airport be it Delhi/Mumbai/Calicut you would mostly see EPGP/EEPGM guys in and around and on one look of it you would know that a confused guys is another fellow student all set to go to Calicut.
You need not carry Notebook as well since these would be provided by IIMK as well. It sometimes rains in Kozhikode during this time so check the weather and you may have to carry umbrella though it is not mandatory(I did not carry it). First day would be mostly Introduction, Overview etc.
So welcome once again to student life ….
In case anyone is interested in seeing how the EPGP diploma looks like here is the one sample
Guys,
Sorry for delaying in bringing out the 2nd Question Paper for EMAT. This EMAT was the one which was conducted for IIMK EPGP and/or EMEP program. One caution that files are bit heavy as they are scanned copy but then had no other option. Also recently from 2011 year onward paper is now 1 hr duration and no one is allowed to take paper back home.
EMAT – 1
EMAT-1-IIMK
EMAT – 2
PART – I EMAT-2-IIMK-PART-I
PART – II EMAT-IIMK-PART-II
Suddenly a sleepy town of Kozhikode was abuzz with activities…. Students from outsides cities (like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and elsewhere) started to pour in for their second in-campus module on one sleepy afternoon of 30th May to Calicut. I was one among the crowd. However this time my Organizational Behavior (OB) studies started to come into play and was helping me in analyzing individual, group and team behavior.
Important thing to note was that this time around there were known and familiar faces and I saw people exchanging pleasentaries and greetings be it in aeroplane and/or at airport. People were able to attach face to the name they would have heard before. A perfect example of crowd transforming into a group was seen when almost 30 people waited in a bus which was arranged by IIMK for tranporting people from airport to IIMK campus. Inspite of a humid and perspiring atmosphere at Calicut, people in the bus waited for almost 45 minutes for another bunch of people who had similar flight timings and were coming from Banlagore. However this time there was a tolerance, patience and sense of belongingness and people didn’t mind waiting for fellow students. During this time occasionally one could hear the jokes being cracked by few of the students.In the picturesque locations which resembled a resort at hilltop all of us were provided hostel accomodation which was in no terms less than a 3 star hotel comfort.
On the second day itself one could see this group transforming into team when couple of them took initiatives and formed a cultural committee for a purpose to have more interactions among students and took upon the task to organize intercultural and sports events. One could see the concepts of forming, storming, norming and performing of the team dynamics coming into play during these days. Each classroom gave a name for their own team (Da-bang, Chaplins, C3 and Krazy4) and took upon the task of winning the events. Be it Kaun Bagega CEO (KBC), Ad Mag Show, Roadies and Antakshri and other sports events like Cricket and Kho-Kho the team’s sole mission was to outperform each other and win the event. One could hear cheering, clapping, hooting and slogan being shouted to support their own team during various events. Next couple of days was the time when one could see hidden talent of the students – be it singing, acting, mimicking and/or the sportiness of the people in games like Cricket/Kho-Kho. Students enjoyed the interaction with faculty on two of the nights when a faculty dinner was arranged. There was an excitement and people were eager to take their own picture with the faculty members. We could see the demonstration of the some of the management principles (like self-management, be the change agent etc) when we saw director Debashish Chatterji waiting for us (btw most of us were late for the event by 10-15 minutes) and shaking hands with all of us before his inspiring lecture on Leadership. Earlier known and familiar faces were now friends and collegues and one could see people exchanging phone numbers, emails etc during after their class. Wow!!! I figured out that it was the ‘Adjourning Stage’ of the team. People went their home with pleasant memories of their stay and promised to see each other again for their third in-campus program which they hope would happen during second year of their program.
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Given below is the presentation delivered by Prof Debashish Chatterjee @IIMK
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What is Leadership? Is it a means of attaining power, self actualization ,profitabiliy or creating a visibility in the society.
Leadership starts with a question mark (?) and ends with exclaimation (!)……
Have you ever asked a person who is climbing Mount Everest as to why he is climbing the ice clad mountains where in he knows that he may not be able to reach the top. He knows that he would face the wrath of nature with freezing and biting cold on his way upwards. He may loose his hands or feet because of frost bites. What makes him climb Mt Everest…?? Yeah !!! It is this sense of accomplishment and quest which leads him to climb Mt Everest.
Those who have kids knows how difficult it is to take care of kids when they are young. You need to wake up in the middle of the night many times to take care of kids needs. But still you do wake up without complaining. Why? It is because of our own parenting instincts….Leadership in that sense is much like a Parenting Instincts. As an individual we want to parent, perpetuate and multiply our abilities…
Leadership is much like a search of self, a congenital urge that I want to grow and cannot contain in my present form..
Reality has to be challenged. We need to differentiate between what is real and what is unreal. Everyone must have heard a story wherein a minister goes to Indo Pak border and starts inspecting a Gun which a guard was holding – Which side of the gun which you are holding is used for killing the enemy? To which promptly comes the reply that which ever side you shoot, one enemy will die.. So does not matter how you hold a gun..An enemy will die.. Either an external or other side an internal…. What we are seeing is an external enemy but what we have forgottenn is the enemy which is sitting inside. Leadership is challenging what is real. It is not the mountain we conquer it is our own self which one conquers….
What brings happiness? Is that money ..? Money is just just human energy, quest coded in plastic form.. Money doesn’t bring real happiness. It is the passion of doing things which brings happiness, success and money. It the love of the aircrafts which made Boeing a successful company.. The moment their aim became wealth creation for stakeholders they started to decline. Similarly another chemical company 500 years old is able to surprise because of their love for chemistry. But when the focus started to become wealth creation company started to decline…
So leaders are the ones who defines and refines organizational values. Leadership is all about influence and not manage. A story which goes like – a Russian goes to US and see bread being delivered at home. He wonders and asks who manages this bread supply business in US. Because for him in his communist country(before communism) it was being managed. Yeah but in states it is automatically delivered by market dynamics and not managed by anyone … Russian cannot seems to digest this idea that no one is managing here….. Leaders work “ON” the system while managers work “IN” the system. It is this ON versus IN which makes the whole difference.
When as an individual we cannot manage our son and/or daughter can we manage other employees…. BUT wait we can influence…. we definitely can influence what choice our son/daughter takes/decides be it schooling or whatever. Leadership is all about influencing and not managing. When we say ‘I can manage it’ it indirectly means ‘I can manipulate it’ …
Leadership is all about being happy in what you do…. Complexity cannot be managed by analysis, complexity cannot be directed… e.g. Sachin Tendulkar may not be able to tell how to manage a team or for that matter how to play a good shot … It is all about his love for cricket he is able to show/demonstrate… Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic once said that he never knew the difference of what gross and what Net means even though he was handling such a large empire… Dhirubhai when he was building his house foundation was asked by his son as to why he is building a house which can sustain Richter 8 scale earthquake… when in Gujrat they have never experience earthquake higher than 6.5 or 7…No one can predict future outcomes… But few leader can !!! No one knew recent tsunami’s magnitude till it hit japan.
Everyone must have heard the story of 3 different people breaking stone.. Same work yet 3 different actions and 3 different source of energy…. Once a girl at hotel after lighting Agarbatti did an Aarti of herself… On being asked she said -if you can’t worship yourself how can you worship others… When in childhood we used to watch Jet Aeroplane going at faster speed creating thick smoke up in the air… But as a child we get caught up in the thick smoke and suddenly see aeroplane disappearing in that thick smoke…. … Most of us get caught up in that thick smoke that we forget the engine of aircraft which is our life, purpose, mission … Leadership is all about a question mark ? Did I live? and it ends with an exclaimation that ‘Yes I did’
Most of us get caught up into resource and forget about the source …. it is then we realize that we get caught up in resource when we should have looked at source … Leader looks at source than resource … E.g we look as water bottle as a resource .. when that finishes we try to find our another resource but then our focus gets lost as we never try to find out the source of the spring from where water is coming …. In one of the interactions a company @ Gurgaon who deals in quality has mirrors placed at everywhere .. guest houses, cubicles and everywhere …. Below that a beautiful line is written ” Look who is responsible for Quality here”
Guys,
Good news for all of you who have taken admission or are thinking about EPGP course of IIMK through Hughes Network. As confirmed by EPGP chairman Mr Unnithan Anandakuttan yesterday i.e. 15th Mar 2011, the EPGP course which was being branded as being conducted through Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) will now be branded as EPGP (No IDL) and students passing out will be conferred Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Management with no mention of IDL in there. Also convocation ceremony is being planned for ePGP-01 batch on 19th March 2011. It seems out 0f 40 participants 36 have completed the course requirement for EPGP and is being conferred the degree. The ceremony will be together for both PGP and ePGP-01 which shows the level of importance and commitment being given by IIMK for the program.
Kudos to IIMK
Regards
Vinay
Guys,
For those who are looking at evaluating options to join for eMEP and/or ePGP program of IIM Kozhikode enclosed is one sample question paper. A snippet of eMAT is there at IIMK website but this one is a complete model paper. This would help you in preparing for the same. I tried locating the same in and around the web but couldn’t.
For another set refer to EMAT QUESTION PAPER
Ciao and Enjoy
Vinay Bhutani
Fee for 2 year ePGP course is Rs 6.99 lakhs plus service tax plus travel cost from your study location to Kozhikode (twice during the course). The fees is collected in installments and most of the amount gets collected within first 15 months of the course.
Nope! Books and other relevant materials are provided by IIMK during the course study and candidate need not worry about the same. There could be cost associated with your travel to Kozhikode and your Hotel stay at Kozhikode (FYI our batch ePGP-03 could not be accommodated in campus) and all of us stayed at various hotels in city. For Term 3 on-campus session the hostel fees to stay in IIMK campus is Rs 750/- per day which makes it Rs 6000/- for 8 days stay.
There are various study centers in different part of cities. Before choosing a study center and enrollment for the program it is recommended for candidates to visit the place and talk to the seniors already enrolled in the course. Normally center coordinators are helpful enough to guide you. Make your own judgment while deciding on the same. IDL platform has a computer with headphone and software where you can see professor delivering the lecture, a chat window to communicate and a video conferencing to do video calling with professor. One can raise a hand, ask questions. The effective of the program can be gauged from the fact that EPGP-03 has 19 candidates sponsored from PATNI (PCS) and 25 of them from SAP Labs. Oracle and other organizations (though my organization doesn’t) also sponsors for the ePGP program from IIMK
Course consists of Year 1 and Year 2. Year 1 for EPGP is general management and Year 2 is for specialization. Year 1 is divided into four (4) trimesters (terms) each of 3 – 3.5 months duration. Each trimester has 6-7 courses each with 12 – 14 credits. E.g. Environmental management is a 1 credit course and Marketing Management is 3 credit courses. Most of the courses carry a credit of 2.
The key to do the course is to attend all the classes and participate in the discussion during the class. This would help you get the depth which a professor would go while examining during quizzes and/or exams. Each course has an average of 2 quizzes, 1 project, attendance/class participation and a term exam. Each of evaluation criteria gets added to final total for the final grade.
Depends on what you are looking for. If a candidate is looking for salary hike, positioning and other tangible benefits then this course if not for them. If a candidate is looking for learning, skill enhancement, get an understanding of other organizational functions like HR, Marketing, Strategy then this course is a good fit. On an average a candidate is supposed to spend 2 hrs per day for studying the course for effective learning.
In such cases there exists an option where a candidate can request for session which is stored and can be viewed later. Please note that candidate needs to make such request in advance and it takes time to download the entire lecture. Also candidate can attend classes from other cities in case if that is a possibility
Evaluation is done using quizzes (on line medium), project and assignment submission using Blackboard(Learning Management System software). All messages, notifications are posted on Blackboard. Term end exams are held in a separate location in a classroom with two invigilators. Please note that End term exam is a paper and pen based exam.
Flexibility is provided that candidate can do the 2 years course in 4 years. During each year a candidate can take 1 year break and can rejoin again with newer batch. However each such request is dealt separately by IIMK IDL office. Also newer fees applicable would be levied on such candidates.
IIMK conducts executive Management Aptitude test (eMAT) with multiple choice format. Shortlisted candidates are then interviewed by a panel of professors. Then a final list is circulated. Typically the average selection ratio is 1:10 for EPGP. Candidates with 50% or more are normally considered for appearing for eMAT to be taken for EPGP.
It would be un-wise to compare PGP and EPGP as both differ in their rigor and the candidate mix. Typically a candidate in EPGP has more than 5 years of industry experience and a higher level of understanding. FYI our batch’s average experience level was 10 years. Course for PGP is of higher rigor than EPGP because the course in EPGP has been crashed for maximum of 18 hours per course. Level of interaction in PGP is higher because of active participation. However the course is taught by same professors and course curriculum is almost the same.
Yes, AMBA certification is valid for 2 years and then institute has to re-apply for AMBA certifications. EPGP prior to 2010 was not AMBA certified as there was some mandatory requirements were missing like lectures on Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Business Proposal, Business Modelling. During in-campus modules lectures on all these subjects were conducted and thats how IIMK could get their EPGP AMBA certified.
Yes, Calicut/Kozhikode is surrounded by beaches. There is a City Beach (1-2 kms) andBaypore Beach (20-25 kms from city) which is bit isolated and is not that crowded as Mumbai’s Chowpati/Juhu beach. Then there is Kappad Beach which is situated 16 km from the city. Buses are readily available from city bus station(New Bus Stand) you have to get down at Thiruvangure three KM away from beach, a stroll along the stretch takes you to the beach where,Vasco Da Gama the famous Portughese traveller alighted four centuries back, in search of the land of fantasy – India.
One can get wooden boats – both big and small one as a souvenirs. Karachi Halwa and Oman dates are famous as well. Karachi Halwa one can get of varied taste like pineapple, banana, dry fruits etc etc. One can also buy ‘Pathimukham’ a herb to be mixed with water while drinking.
There are lots of hotel in Kozhikode with Malabar Gate, Renaissance, Maharani, SPAN, Hyson, Gateway to name a few. Please note that you can negotiate with hotels for a cheaper stay as many of the hotels offer 10-20% discount if a candidate is from IIM Kozhikode. Stay includes Bed and Breakfast as well.
Good news guys… IIMK PGP/EPGP became AMBA accredited…. During the in-campus session it was promised that by Dec 2010 there is a possibility of getting accredited and yes here it is ….
For those who are not aware – EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA are the three most highly regarded international accreditations in the business field in higher education.
BTW SP Jain and MDI gurgaons PGP program and EPGP program are also AMBA accredited. Details below –
Management Development Institute
| Accredited Programme | Programme Name | Delivery Mode | Country |
| MBA | National Management Programme | FT | India |
| MBA | Executive Management Programme | PT | India |
| MBM | Postgraduate Programme in Management (PGPM) | FT | India |
SP Jain Institute of Management and Research
| Accredited Programme | Programme Name | Delivery Mode | Country |
| MBA | Post Graduate Programme in Management | FT | India |
| MBA | Executive Management Programme | MD | India |
| MBM | Postgraduate Diploma in Management | FT | India |
To know more about accreditions see below –
AMBA (http://www.mbaworld.com/)
With so many MBA degrees on offer, quality has become a key issue. The Associations of MBAs is commitment to management education and development. Since its beginnings in 1967, the Association’s objectives have been:
An accreditation process was established to secure these objectives. The accreditation is market-driven and has an international in focus. It assesses the characteristics of a business school and its MBA programme against a set of criteria established by our International Accreditation Advisory Board. The senior academics and corporate representatives who sit on the board constantly monitor the accreditation criteria.
The Association of MBAs has two main roles:
EQUIS http://www.efmd.org
EQUIS is an international system of strategic audit and accreditation designed by Europeans for the assessment of institutions in widely different national contexts. Although it is inspired by the particular needs of a European situation characterised by extreme cultural diversity within a large civilizational area, EQUIS is not limited to European problems in its scope. The standards are those of effective education for international management and apply to schools in any cultural environment whether in Europe or outside Europe.
It was launched in 1997 by the EFMD which has championed the issue of quality in management development for many years and has brought together the key operators in Europe in a common initiative. As Europe’s largest network association in the field of management development, with some 400 members from academia, business, public service and consultancy in 40 countries of Europe and the world, EFMD plays a central role in shaping the European approach to management education.
EQUIS has been designed through a process of close cooperation between existing national accreditation bodies in the field of management education assembled in an association called EQUAL. The role of EQUAL was first of all to define the criteria and the procedure of a future European accreditation system. Now that EQUIS is operational, EQUAL contributes to the monitoring of the system and provides qualified assessors for the audit teams.
However, EQUIS can only be obtained by an academic institution and not by an educational programme. There are only 64 educational institutions in Europe that have obtained the EQUIS accreditation. All five of the Euro*MBA consortium members already have the EQUIS accreditation.
FYI, IIM Bangalore got EQUIS accredited in year 2010
AACSB (http://www.aacsb.edu)
AACSB International was founded in 1916 and began its accreditation function with the adoption of the first standards in 1919. Additional standards for programmes in accountancy were adopted in 1980. AACSB International members approved mission-linked accreditation standards and the peer review process in 1991. In 2003, members approved a revised set of standards that are relevant and applicable to all business programs globally and which support and encourage excellence in management education worldwide.
Accreditation is a process of voluntary, non-governmental review of educational institutions and programmes. Institutional accreditation reviews entire colleges and universities. Specialized agencies award accreditation for professional programmes and academic units in particular fields of study. As a specialized agency, AACSB International grants accreditation for undergraduate and graduate business administration and accounting programs.
AACSB International accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Member institutions that earn accreditation confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review. AACSB accreditation is considered to be the hallmark of excellence in management education.
Through accreditation, business schools provide stakeholders with the assurance that they:
Day 2 up to Day 6 went by smooth attending lectures from various profs on different subjects. After the classes I was wondering why studying management is not made compulsory in schools and colleges as it is pure common sense and it helps individual in day to day operation and business … IIM-K had arranged for a cultural program in the evening at 7:30 PM for all the participants of eMEP-10/ePGP-03. It was at scheduled to be at Hotel Gateway and buses from Hotels were arranged for Pickup/Drop.. It was the same day 30th-Sep-2010 when the verdict on Ram Janmabhumi had to come… There was section-144 in Khozikode/Calicut.. People were anxious to know the verdict…and the situation in and around rest of India…. But it appeared absolutely normal in the evening with no traces of any disturbances in the city and city was calm and peaceful… As a part of Cultural program IIMK had arranged for a orchestra with live music… All the artists/singer were localites and were singing songs of 1980s – various number of Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle etc… Food was arranged for all of us… Some of us after having dinner wanted to dance … and we did….. took snaps with various professors …..It was overall fun and I guess some of us danced after long long time ….
Pickup and drop facilities between Hotel to IIMK Campus for both ePGP and eMEP were provided by IIMK. There were designated buses with route number en-route from various pickup points(major hotels in Khozhikode). Pick up time was 8:25 AM and campus was almost 18 kms away. Bus started from designated stop on-time…. Almost after 25 minutes journey came across a big gate with IIMK embrossed in it… Suddenly everyone is the bus started looking out of windows to see the campus area…. It was very picturesque location with lush greenry, thousands of coconut trees and now the bus started moving up the hill…..
After winding roads and curvy lanes, bus came to halt in front of a place where there was Indian Flag hosted.. It was time for all of us to get down and find our classrooms…. Entire Batch was divided into two batches and two sections within each batch. I was in batch B2 and classroom C2… Each class room had seats where name of each candidate was displayed… We occupied our seats …Within minutes each of our names were called out and we were handed over books weighing 15 kilo… I am sure mental pressure on each one of us on Day 1 was more than a tonne now after seeing pile of books ….
The first session was a Welcome Note by IIMK in their Auditorium. It as a almost a One hour session and various Professors were introduced where in they talked about values which IIMK stands for… From the introductory note came to know that the batch was almost 250 people strong with almost 180 enrolled for ePGP-03 and about 70 odd for eMEP-10 course. Experience of candidates who had come for the course rained from 5 years to 30 years. One of the candidate was CEO of the company as well. Average experience of the candidate was Ten(10). Some of the candidates were sponsored from their respective company’s. Major sponsorer included SAP Labs and Patni computers with 35 and 20 people respectively. Also during an informal chat with one of the professor came to know that the selection ratio was 1:10
After the introduction session and a tea-coffee break classes started Dot at 11:30 AM on 26th Sep. First class was of Financial Management – I. There were lots of learnings for us as many of the guys did not have background of Finance. Each class was 1 hr 30 minutes in duration followed by either a Tea break or Lunch break in between. There were total of 4 classes each 1:30 hrs duration. Evening 5:30 pm was the pack up time for all of us…. Day 1 itself we got an assignment of Corporate Strategy which was to read a case study which would have to be discussed in next class…. Day 1 was an illustration of what was lying ahead for all of us for next couple of days … After heavy ‘mallu’ dinner eyes were becoming drowsy and closed … Somehow was keeping my eye opening. I somehow read one case study but then realized that it was not was being referred to in the class… Oops !!! I had instead gone through some other case study …..Day 1 was over…
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