2. Sports Infrastructure: Business school campuses are known for their academics, cases, networking, and other business jargon. Sports are not something that one looks at when one evaluates or opts for a business school. However, it is when one enters the rigor of the classes packed with quizzes, assignments, cases, presentations, resume preparations, and whatnot, that one realizes the need for having a court to vent out and relax. IIMB offers the state of art sports infrastructure (tennis, squash, basketball, badminton, volleyball courts, to the swimming pool, table tennis rooms, football, and cricket fields). For a badminton enthusiast like me, sweating it out during the evenings at these courts used to be one of the best moments after hectic schedules.
3. The location: IIM Bangalore sits in the silicon valley and IT-capital of India. Right across the campus are glass buildings housing some of the big names. It allows the university to be frequented by business leaders time and again. In our marketing-101, we had ITC food division head, to Google H/W India head coming for our lectures. In our strategy course, we had the Urban ladder co-founder to one of the entrepreneurial course hosting a guest lecture every week. Moreover, apart from the proximity to major firms located in Bengaluru (minus the traffic within the city ;)), it is the climate that offers a more soothing experience. The pleasant weather of Bengaluru frequented with its bouts of rains followed by a foggy morning on the campus, adds to the beauty dimension. The climate often offers you comfort to concentrate well and handle the rigour with much more ease.
4. Curriculum and pedagogy: IIM Bangalore follows the most updated curriculum giving students an exposure to all dimensions of management. The delivery follows a structure via a mix of theoretical, conceptual learning, guest lectures, and case-driven (cold call) classes. Some courses are entirely case-driven, whereas some have a combination of regular lectures and cases. The entirely case-driven pedagogy can get students by surprise. A mix of it gives the student the opportunity to decipher and tackle the cases and the various prisms of managerial concepts more strongly.
5. The people: I guess it is the most crucial part of this place or any other place. Before entering, I had often heard about the hectic and rigour of IIMs. I had also heard that "at IIMBs PGP2s (second year PGP students) have got you covered." The statement held its water once we entered the campus. IIMB is a pleasant place with welcoming yet professional people. The PGP2s have got your back at IIMB. From the day you enter to onboarding, resume guiding, navigating the courses, to summer placements, and every other thing on the campus - the PGP2s are there for you. It is a matter of culture and legacy that this campus beholds. A legacy of being known for its professionalism yet being supportive and caring. A legacy that has been passed on from batch to batch. One realizes the importance of it when one encounters the pace at which IIMB moves. The meteoric pace often overwhelms the students. However, when you have folks to knock up to and reach out for guidance, it becomes easy to navigate it. It is something extraordinary about this place to B.
Well, one can keep talking about IIMB for longer and longer. It is not just a place but an experience that gets etched in the brain. It is an experience that is profound and refreshing. As the cliche goes on the campus, "neither the stone walls forget you, nor can you forget these stone walls which held you." It can be easily called as a differentially unique, 'once in a lifetime experience' that one would cherish forever.
Cover Picture credits: Chandrasekar T (IIM Bangalore)
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