Why Choose IMS Ghaziabad for Pursuing PGDM?

With a glorious legacy of 32 years, IMS Ghaziabad is one of the best B-schools in Northern India. The institution offers high-quality PGDM programs in various subject areas, including Marketing, Finance, HRM, Data Analytics, and many more. 

In an exclusive interview with Palak Jaggi (Regional Head- GetMyUni), Dr. Urvashi Makkar (Director- IMS Ghaziabad) discussed how IMS Ghaziabad stands out from other business schools. She also talked about the challenges that the institution faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, she shared her insights about the future road map of the university. So, let us find out what makes IMS Ghaziabad a great choice for pursuing PGDM.

Top Reasons to Choose IMS Ghaziabad for PGDM

Since its inception, IMS Ghaziabad has been delivering quality education to students to prepare them for the corporate world. Besides theoretical learning, the institute places a great emphasis on skill development. Here are the top reasons why you should consider pursuing PGDM from IMS Ghaziabad:

• Excellent Placements
• Diversity of Students
• Value Added Certification Courses
• Short Term Training Programs
• NBA Accreditation
• Industry-Oriented Education
• Student-Driven Clubs and Co-Curricular Activities

Excellent Placements

IMS offers exceptional placement opportunities with A-category companies like Deloitte, ITC, Cadbury, Amul, Dabur, etc. It has a history of 100% placement which remained unchanged even during the COVID period. Some of the best FMCG and banking companies recruit IMS students, offering them attractive salary packages. 

This year, IMS created a record by crossing the median salary of 8.5 LPA. Moreover, the highest package offered to the student was 26.5 LPA. Three students also bagged international offers this year, which is a great accomplishment for the institution.

Diversity of Students

Diversity has been the primary focus of IMS Ghaziabad ever since its inception. When it comes to the overall development of a student, diversity plays a vital role. In its current batch, IMS has students from over 19 states of the country. The institution gives admission notifications in different directions, thereby increasing the visibility of the campus and promoting awareness of the available seats. 

At present, IMS has a total of 360 seats in the PGDM flagship program. For the last 20 years, its PGDM program holds the NBA accreditation. This is one of the major reasons why students across the country are well aware of the validity and importance of the program. 

Value Added Certification Courses

One of the USPs of IMS Ghaziabad is its focus on skill enhancement. IMS believes that placements should always be the by-product and not the goal of B-school students. Skills play a huge role in the career development of students. Therefore, the institute prepares candidates not just for the job but for their lifelong careers.

IMS has partnered with 3 reputed senior agencies to offer value-added certification courses to students. With Microsoft being one of the agencies, the university provides free of cost MS advanced excel certification. Further, it has also tied up with MSME for these value-added certification programs: 

• Digital and Social Media Marketing
• Yellow Belt Six Sigma Certification
• Google Analytics
• Financial Markets, Product and Planning

This year, 92 recruiters visited the IMS Ghaziabad campus. The institute gathered insights from all these recruiters to understand the top skills required in the job market. Accordingly, it came up with various value addition courses.

Short Term Training Programs

IMS prepares students for the corporate sector by providing several short-term training programs. The university has introduced full-fledged modules of PREP (Placement Readiness Enhancement Program) and PPSP (Personal and Professional Skill Program). These programs have 5 modules which are given to the students every trimester for 12 hours (PREP) and 30 hours (PPSP), respectively.

PPSP modules focus on self-awareness and self-management through competency mapping and SWOT analysis. In addition, IMS is among the very few institutions that offer short-term training programs on softwares like SPSS, CMIE, TALLY, etc. Further, students are provided versant training to enhance their communication skills.

NBA Accreditation

IMS is one of the institutions in Northern India that has been accredited by the NBA (National Board of Accreditation) for the past 20 years. NBA is the apex body of the government of India that provides accreditation to B-schools. With this accreditation, the PGDM program of IMS is considered equivalent to an MBA program. Moreover, it is also useful for students who want to pursue higher studies abroad. The NBA accreditation clearly reflects the quality of education offered by IMS Ghaziabad. 

Industry-Oriented Education

The job market has become very competitive, and recruiters expect B-school students to have practical knowledge in different fields. IMS goes beyond conceptual and theoretical learning and emphasizes skill enhancement areas. It provides a PREP program that includes a number of mock interviews and personal interview sessions. In this program, students are prepared for placement interviews with a focus on business etiquette, body language, and technical and soft skills.

Post-covid era, IMS has incorporated 37 new modules in its academic curriculum. These highly technologically driven 30-hour modules are provided in areas like business, HR analytics, strategic management, google analytics, financial modeling, etc. 

Moreover, the institute has two special cells, CIE and CDEC. Under the Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), students participate in workshops related to business case creation, business project creation, idea generation, etc. The Center for Development and Excellence in the Corporate sector (CDEC) has tie-ups with many corporate sectors that engage IMS students as interns. 

IMS also conducts industrial visits for students. These visits provide students with practical experience since they learn a lot about the different functions of a company, such as supply chain management, manufacturing, etc.

Student-Driven Clubs and Co-Curricular Activities

Extra co-curricular activities are very important for the overall personality development of a student. IMS conducts several cultural activities and events on campus on a regular basis. There are 8 clubs on the campus that are fully-student driven. These clubs provide a range of activities to develop adaptability, creativity, and resilience among students. Moreover, they learn the basic skill of time management by maintaining a balance between academics and co-curricular activities.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Before covid, IMS used to conduct 6 hours of classes on the campus with the personal touch of the faculty members. These experienced and highly qualified faculty members used various student engagement practices and pedagogical tools like case studies, role plays, group discussions, presentations, etc. 

During the COVID-19 era, as classes were taken online, it became difficult for educational institutions to create a personal touch. Moreover, it also affected the concentration spans of students. However, IMS tried to devise new methodologies to engage students with the help of a lot of digital tools. It tried to deliver all the activities online as well, and that is the reason why the whole online batch got placed this year. 

IMS has also introduced new methods of pedagogy on the campus, like the E-library, which is one of the richest libraries in the region. Moreover, as part of the PPSP program, students are learning how to create video CVs and interact with the teams online. The COVID phase gave a lot of learnings to both students and teachers of IMS, and they have become better equipped to face any challenges in the future. Fortunately, the scenario has changed, and the institution now conducts full-time classes on campus.

Brand Value and Visibility

Of late, IMS Ghaziabad has reduced the branding budget significantly as the students have become the brand ambassador of the campus. An institution's reputation is greatly affected by word of mouth it receives from its stakeholders. At present, IMS has more than 8,000 alumni members working at senior levels in the corporate sector. IMS is proud to have alumni students working as CEOs, Vice Presidents, CMDs, etc., in India and abroad. These alumni students are creating the branding of the campus. 

Though IMS has greatly reduced its budget from the print media, it has a strong presence in digital media. The institute runs campaigns on portals like GetMyUni, Shiksha, etc., to increase awareness about its offerings among students. These portals help students to choose the right college by providing relevant information about various institutions available in the market. Besides this, the faculty members and global interface of IMS have also become its brand ambassadors. All these things contribute to the strong branding of the institution.

Road Ahead

The vision of IMS Ghaziabad is to become a world-class B-school transforming society through value-oriented education. The institute not only puts a lot of effort into developing competent management professionals but also ensures that students inculcate strong values to serve society in the future. 

The whole curriculum of IMS is centered on social responsibility. The university offers a specific program that focuses on corporate governance and social responsibility. In addition, IMS has a student-driven club called Abhaar, in which students have tie-ups with various NGOs. Students pursue internships in these organizations to help out underprivileged people. Recently, 48 students from IMS completed an internship with Goonj for two months. 

IMS has been consistently ranked among the top business schools in India by several reputed national and international organizations. Some of the USPs of the institution include its rich legacy, placement scenario, and focus on skill development. It also focuses on social responsibility and encourages students to serve society. Following its vision and mission statements, the institute aims to attain academic excellence through value-based education. All these aspects make IMS Ghaziabad an ideal choice for students to pursue their PGDM program.