Vital Statistics

• WHAT IS IT? A business school. • WHO’S THE BOSS? Amit Sengupta is the director. • HOW TO APPLY? Application is through a prescribed form available at EIM. The forms and brochures are given against a demand draft of Rs 650 (or Rs 600 in cash) favouring ‘Eastern Institute of Management.’ • HOW TO GET IN? The selection is on the basis of CAT/MAT scores, group discussion, personal interview and past academic records. • WHERE IS IT? Eastern Institute of Management, IISCO House, 50 J.N. Road, Calcutta-700001. Phone No: 2282-5792/93. Website: www.eimcal.com

Soft skills are critical to not only success but also growth,” says Amit Sengupta, director of the Eastern Institute of Management (EIM) in Calcutta. “It is these interpersonal skills that separate the leaders from the followers,” he adds. And the EIM focuses on just that. It teaches students everything from conversation etiquette to making presentations and writing up project reports. That is why an MBA from this four-year-old institute, an off-site campus of Kalyani University, is highly valued in the industry.

Intense work ethic

A major attraction is that EIM allows its students to pursue dual specialisation. They have to choose a major from marketing, finance, organisational behaviour and human resource management or IT management, and have to simultaneously specialise in another area. This second major could be from any one of the choices mentioned above or they could choose from retail management, insurance and personal wealth management and herbal and pharmaceutical management. The students get a special institute certificate for this. The institute follows the Kalyani University prescribed syllabus but also has its own special courses often taught by guest lecturers. The emphasis is on offering the students a mix of courses that blend theory with practice.

The full-time faculty is typically from IIM-A or IIM-C. Apart from its regular faculty, the institute also invites industry honchos to take classes. It even has visiting professors from US universities who teach intensive month-long courses. EIM has recently started a fund worth Rs 4 lakh, which encourages students to invest in the stock market. “The institute has also promised to arrange for funds if a student comes up with an excellent project,” says Vivek Aggarwal, a final-year student.

EIM has also tied up with IIM-Ahmedabad to offer management development programmes for senior executives. These include programmes on project management and revenue management. The institute also has an understanding with the University of Cincinnati, US, whereby EIM students get special consideration for pursuing doctoral programmes there.

Personal attention

The faculty shares a very cordial relationship with the students. “I like studying here because I don’t feel intimidated. I can ask any of my professors for help. In fact, we have special tutorials for students having problems in a specific subject. We also have a special English course for those who are weak in English,” says Shibani Halder, a final-year student.

“Our institute is Wi-fi enabled so that we can work on our laptops anywhere on campus,” says her classmate Aritra Pramanik. “We also have a well-stocked library apart from membership of the BCL, American Consulate and Dellnet libraries.”

Space crunch

The institute, which started with six students in 2002, now has 90 students on its rolls. And there are plans to take in 125 students in the coming batch. “The only problem is that we are likely to suffer a space crunch,” rues Arghya Mitra, another final-year student.

EIM also boasts of 100 per cent placement. “The placements here are as good as those in some of the well-known institutes in Delhi but at a fraction of the expense,” says Manisha Rashmi, who has come all the way from Delhi to study here. “The cafeteria, Ambrosia, has an impressive array of goodies on its menu. Not only is the food cheap, it is also prepared very hygienically,” adds Rashmi.

Paromita Sen

OLD MEMORIES

Arnab Gupta, area sales manager, Berger Paints, recounts his EIM days

When I joined the Eastern Institute of Management in 2002, it had just started classes with only six students. We saw it grow before our eyes and I enjoyed every moment of the time I spent there.

To be honest, we never expected that the quality of education provided by a brand new institute would be so good. However, it belied our expectations and turned out to be a wonderful place for studies. In fact, I am what I am because of the time spent at EIM.

The institute gave me a foundation that prepared me for the challenges of the corporate world. It taught me how to deal with people, how to run a team and work under strict deadlines. Not only did EIM teach me to be a good manager but it also made me a better person.

As told to Paromita Sen