FAST FACTS
Balaji Institute of Telecom & Management
Location: Pune
Director: Dr. Milind M Oka
Approval/Accreditation: AICTE approved
Flagship programme: PGDM-Telecom
Student intake: 219
Fees (full course): Rs. 400,000
Board & lodging (two years): Rs. 33,000
Admission test cut-offs: CAT: 75, MAT: 80
Full-time faculty: 30
Faculty with industry experience (over 10 years): 7 Average placement
Salary: Rs. 4.35 lakhs
Top recruiters: Datamatics, GTL, Nestle, Polaris software, Reliance Energy
Conferences: NHRD Meet, Telcom symposium Student
Activities: Drishti (college festival), Elixir (editorial club), Pehchaan (personality development club) Web
Web site: www.bitmpune.com
Other programmes: PGDM: Telecom and Marketing (2-year full-time)
FAST FACTS
Balaji Institute of Modern Management
Location: Tathawade, Pune
Director: Dr. A P Ghosh
Approval/Accreditation: AICTE approved
Flagship programme: PGDM
Student intake: 120 Fees (full course): Rs. 280,000
Board & lodging (two years): Rs. 105,000
Admission test cut-offs: CAT
Full-time faculty: 48 (Professors: 6; Asst Professors: 12; Lecturers: 30)
Faculty with industry experience (over 10 years): NA
Average placement salary: Rs. 4.54 lakhs
Top recruiters: Adani Exports, Adino Telecom, Bombay Stock Exchange, Cadbury India Conference: HR Meet
Student Activities: Alumni meet, Annual festival
Web site: www.bimmpune.com
Other programmes: PGDM (IT & Marketing), PGDM (Executive Batch) and PGDM (PM & HRD)
“IT’S unfair to compare grandchildren to grandmothers,” says Col. Bala Subramanian, Dean and President of Sri Balaji Society, which manages four institutes (Modern Management, Telecom Management, Human Resource Development and International Business). Col. Subramanian is referring to comparisons with the IIMs.
All facilities on the 14.5 acre campus are large in their proportions, right from the steps that lead up to the main building to the size of the classrooms, batch size, servers, the auditorium and the hostel. The academic buildings are housed in a 1.8 lac square foot modern building. Quite a few students on campus seem to dream big, and most also have a vision for the future.
Students flock into the mess (again, huge and fully air-conditioned) as they relish unlimited thali for Rs.30, and pizza and Maggi as evening snacks for a little less. Temples and idols of Balaji and Ganesha, a swimming pool and a gymnasium, volleyball court and a wi-fi enabled campus, they have it all. The lecture halls are fan-shaped with terraced and ergonomic seating, equipped with the state-of-the-teaching aids.
The campus hosts 1,020 students from all four management institutes with a hostel facility for 700 students in a 2 lakh square feet building. Of the four institutes run from this campus, the Institute of Modern Management is the most sought after for its course in general management. Discipline is important here – a few minutes late to the class could cost you attendance for the day, which would reflect in the term attendance sheet displayed on the notice board. Clocking in less than 95 percent attendance could also make you ineligible for placements.
From the second semester onwards, students are exposed to compulsory subjects as electives so that they can make an informed decision about specialisation.
The B-School is open throughout the year (including Sundays), reflecting the military discipline of Col. Subramaniam. The institute makes a lot of effort to have their students placed in good companies right from interacting and inviting corporates to conducting GD sessions, personality grooming sessions and extra curricular activities that aid students in getting good placements.
The institute also works hard to have all its students trained in a live ‘project training’ environment in a corporate environment. However, moving forward, the institute would do well to lay greater emphasis on learning and gaining knowledge, besides placements. It is also important to emphasise the importance of research and consulting by the faculty, and more reading and spending time in the library by its students.
Many students choose Balaji because it is affordable, very disciplined, and has consistent placement track record. The infrastructure is also a big draw for the students. Besides, it seems to be one of the best bets in Pune. However, the students complain about the quality of placement offers, especially during economic slowdown.
“The institute should be a bit more aggressive on the placement quality than emphasising only on 100% placements,” a student shares. But another students counters, “It’s better to have some placement than nothing and this happens to only the bottom-most people who haven’t been picked up.” Many students also cited the option of ‘dual specialisation’ for choosing the institute.
Some students grumbled about the busy schedule, overemphasis on discipline and the 365-day work culture. But many students cite discipline as the reason for choosing BIMM. While it has established itself as one of the best institutes in and around Pune, it is important that it lays emphasis on learning and research while ensuring good placements so that it develops good managers who are socially aware, as well.
