What makes IIM A stand apart?

This is a sure questions that intrigues many.

While I am no qualified to attempt an answer, but here's a honest confession. I didn't do my post graduation from IIMA (let alone IIM). It was from NITIE Mumbai. But I always wished to (and still do) to spend some time of my life under these famed arches at the coveted IIM A.

It would have been such a loss of opportunity if I were not to visit IIM A having been to Ahmedabad. It was the Sunday (yesterday), the campus was preparing for the Summer Intern Interview process and not many mortals were seen around. I along with Sudip, a final year student there. spent an hour visiting the campus and fathoming the spirit it has to offer. Apart from a brilliant architecture and facilities, what really was impressive about this institute was the utmost importance given to simplicity.

There wasn't anything fancy about this place. The classrooms were usual with black boards and Over Head Projectors installed amid wooden furniture. Simple canteens and neat dorms.

Let's have a look at the typical day-in-life of a first year student here. From the day one the classes are on from 8:45 in the morning till about lunch time. There are surprise quizzes at least 4 days a week given a notice of about an hour. They have to read upwards of 200 pages of cases/ text a day. Typically students go the bed by 4 AM.

The profs are extremely strict with class assignments, cases, notes and presentations and have their own ways of dealing with under performers. Sudip remembered in one of his first year classes where for one student failing to submit the assignment, the prof walked away and the whole class got a lower grade.

Talking about the library. The Vikram Sarabhai Library with over 163,000 books and 38,000 journals and access to another 57 online database stands out as one of the largest knowledge centres anywhere in country. It's a different thing that not many students were seen around!

To this Sudip quipped- we rarely get books issued from here as the class assignments and reading material keeps us drowned most of the time.

Comes the final year, the students have to choose from a set of largest possible electives and compete with the best to grab the top jobs. With no more than one day of vacation in the whole of first year and a few more in the final, the college ensures that students have the best experience of a rigorous institute.

In conclusion- What makes IIM A stand apart is- DISCIPLINE and ACADEMIC RIGOUR. Many institutes might clam so, but now I have a reason to believe!