KOCHI: With a “university” campus proposed in Kochi, IIM Kozhikode is looking to grow beyond its traditional tag as a premier management school. This will be on the lines of a management university, said Debashis Chatterjee, director of IIMK. The project is in its initial stage and an appropriate location is being prospected in Kochi, he told TNIE.
“My vision is for an IIM university,” pointed out Debashis. “I am not thinking of a conventional business school. We should have students studying various subjects. The university will have management studies at its core. But it will also be a space where people study, for instance, psychology or digital enterprises,” he said.
It will be a campus offering undergraduate degrees in multiple subjects, Debashis said, adding that it won’t compete with other universities. “The aim is to make universities more relevant to the world. We are a bunch of very pragmatic people. We are not guided by ideology alone. We are guided by what you should be doing when the rubber hits the road,” he added.
The project will be implemented in Kochi, and we are trying to get a sizable chunk of land, the IIMK director said. “We have not zeroed in on any specific area. There are multiple sites under consideration. However, the board has to take a decision,” he said. Infopark is on the list of places being surveyed.
The director pointed out that connectivity will be pivotal in deciding the site. “But the fact is wherever we are, connectivity happens. Take the case of Kozhikode, and how our campus there and the region has evolved. Another clincher will be the atmosphere for studies. We don’t want the university to be located in a place where students will find it difficult to access amenities, utilities and all that,” he said.
Recently, IIMK opened a new Kochi campus adjacent to the Cochin University Metro Station in Kalamassery.
‘We’re eyeing nat’l talent at Kochi campus’
The premises, developed by Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), has as its showpiece a 40,000 sqft, six-storey building with a glass facade and built predominantly of pre-engineered steel.
Touted as one of the country’s most accessible management education centres, authorities have highlighted its seamless connectivity through Kochi Metro, national highways and major transport hubs.
Debashis said the Kalamassery centre offers a bachelor’s in management studies and an executive postgraduate programme.
“The cohort size of the undergraduate course is currently 112. But at some point, I’m conceptualising 1,000 students. So, this will be one of the largest undergraduate programmes with management as the core. We want national talent here.
We’re getting people from nearly 22 states. We received 80,000 expressions of interest, of which 4,000 were shortlisted. Of these, 112 were handed offer letters. So, you can imagine the level of competition,” he said.
