Tejashwi Kumar's Review on Indian Institute of Management, [IIM] Shillong

• I have interned with J.P. Morgan in the Investment Banking division. My stipend was 1.5 lakhs.
• Most of the big shots in the field of management are there for placements which includes

1) Marketing- Dabur, L'Oreal, Perfetti Van Melle, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, GSK Pharma etc.

2) Finance- JP Morgan, Nomura, HSBC, SBI Capital Markets, ICICI, Ratnakar bank Limited, RBI etc.

3) IT- Wipro, HCL etc.

4) Operations- Flipkart, Amazon, L&T, Hero MotoCorp etc.

5) Consulting and general Management- Deloitte, Cognizant, GMC (Mahindra) etc.

• Out of the 119 students in 2013-15 batch, 118 opted for offers on campus and the average salary per annum was INR 13.04 lakhs. Highest salary was 21 lakhs per annum. 100% of batch gets placed consistently from the inception of institute.
• IIM Shillong is still in the first decade of its inception and understandably its alumni network is at a growing phase. But considering the recent increase in the intake of new batches, we are expecting the alumni network to grow significantly in the coming years. But still at present we have alumni in every reputed company be it Deloitee, JP Morgan, L'Oreal etc.

• There are 4 hostels in the campus and being a new institute, hostels are new as well. The campus is running out of Mayurbhanj Complex which was previously the erstwhile summer palace of Mayurbhanj Kings, so I suppose that would explain the scenic beauty and the marvelous campus that IIM Shillong has. Hostel fee is included in the overall fee of the course and there are no other hostel fee.
• MBA at IIM Shillong is strictly residential program and hence there is no requirement of any PGs. However for guests and parents, you would find various hotels at budget as well as luxury rates in the vicinity of the campus (3 to 4 Km). Taxi (reserved and shares) are always available near the gate of the campus and hence connectivity is never an issue and main market is approximately 4 to 5 Km away only.
• Food in mess is good (considering the fact that nobody likes mess food, I would not call it great). There is a fixed menu for every week and you would get veg as well as non-veg food, ranging from south Indian to western, easter and north Indian dishes. Also sometimes we get local north-east dishes like Mawphlang burger. The cost of food/mess is also included in college fee and students don't have to pay separately for that. But in case you are not satisfied with what you get in mess, you can order food in campus from KFC, Dominos, some local restaurants etc.
• Classrooms are aesthetically appealing and being in a hilly area it is perfectly suited for studies. We have latest technology like smart board in our classroom. You need not take notes, whatever teacher writes on smartboard, you get a scanned copy of it automatically in your mailbox. There is also a conference room in campus. The library is enriched with books of all genera from academic, research oriented to novels and magazines. Also our library has 6 terminals of Bloomberg which is extremely handy for any kind of research work. We have 2 separate dining halls for 1st year and 2nd year students. They are neat and well maintained. Wi-Fi and LAN is the heart of the institute and we have 100Mbps LAN and I have personally seen download speed of 8MB/sec. You will never see any Youtube videos buffering and can download 1GB file in 2 to 2.5 minutes. Every student is provided with a room heater for winters. Also every washroom in campus has a geyser installed. We also have a place for bone fire. In terms of sports, we have badminton court, basketball court, volleyball court etc.

Like most of other IIMs, IIM Shillong has a very hectic schedule. Classes start at 9 in the morning and goes on till 6 in the evening. Sometimes there are extra classes and I have personally attended classes up to 2 AM in the night, but that is very rare. Also the rule of minimum 85% attendance makes it absolutely critical to attend classes. But attending classes is not all, there is hours of preparation before attending any class. You have to read and analyze the case study that is supposed to be discussed in next class before going to class, there are frequent presentations, projects and assignments in every subject. There is a mid-term exam (20% weightage) and an end term exam (40% weightage).
That is just the start, best part is the pedagogy followed by IIM Shillong. We have a case study method of teaching and teachers act as facilitators. Students are the participants who are supposed to come prepared in class and then discuss the topic/case in class. Facilitators (teachers) are expected to help them out by showing them right direction during discussion and adding new dimension to it. Those discussions and cases are from real life companies and cases. By attempting those cases, you get an idea of real life problem and you can see what kind of decision as a leader you will make. Also by means of regular assignments, project and presentation exercise, it is made sure that everyone is well attuned to the corporate environment.
MBA being a 2year course and the fact that IIM Shillong is extremely challenging, I would say your tenure at IIM Shillong would be like a true Roller coaster ride which would be thrilling and quick. You will gain a lot, learn new things and one thing is guaranteed- You will be transformed into a completely different individual at the end of those 2 years at IIM Shillong.

• The course fee for 1 year is approximately Rs 6.5 lakh which included Tuition fee, Books, Hostel fee, Mess fee, internet and all other basic amenities. If we compare this to some of the other IIM and top 10 colleges like IIM A, IIM B, MDI, NMIMS etc., and the fee of 13 lakhs for 2 years is considerably less.
• There are two kinds of Scholarships available from institute. Merit-cum need scholarship is given to those students whose family income is less than 1st year fee and there is another scholarship for reserved category students. Apart from this, there are many corporate scholarships floated throughout the academic year which students (needy and talented) can avail like Aditya Birla Scholarship, OP Jindal Scholarship, and Yes Bank Scholarship etc.
• On an average merit-cum need scholarship is given to 25 students in a batch of 140.
• Overall course fee is slightly less than 13 Lakhs, so I suppose most of you would be taking a student loan. The process to avail loan is hassle free. On the first day when you are registering for MBA, you will find people from CBI, SBI etc. in the campus who would be giving you loans at attractive rates and without collaterals. 

There are total 9 committee in IIM Shillong

1. Alumni Committee
2. Cultural Committee
3. Hostel Committee
4. IT Committee
5. Placement Committee
6. PR Cell
7. Student Council
8. Symphony
9. Sports Committee

Following are the name of clubs in IIM Shillong:-

1. bITeSys, the IT and Systems Club
2. Finance club
3. Operations club
4. Marketing club
5. Golf club
6. Consulting club
7. HR Club
8. Eco-Biz Club

The flagship event of IIM Shillong - Golf Cup is conducted every year and corporates from all over the country are invited to take part in it. We have access to golf course in Shillong and even students can play and learn golf free of cost there.

Khlur-Thma, the Annual Management fest of IIM Shillong that invites participation from all premier B-Schools across India.

EmergE is the annual entrepreneurship summit of IIM Shillong.

Kopda Cup and Ranbhoomi are intra college sports fest and games like cricket, football, chess, badminton, volleyball etc. are played there.

The cultural committee celebrates every festival with students and that really makes our campus a home away from home.

The life in general will remain strained due to the rigor and hectic nature of the course but still once you get accustomed to the B-school rigor you will get time for yourself and even pursue some of your hobbies.