Is IIM Mumbai really on an upward trajectory in the next 5-10 years? Genuine Discussion about the long-term trajectory.
Asking this because I came across several weird news reports tbh:
- While typical Tier 1 IIMs like BLACKI campuses hold 1200-1500 students across all programmes, IIM-M has plans to expand infrastructure at its present campus (good call), but at the same time admit 5000 students by 2030. Yes, you heard it right, 5000! Which would mean at least 1000 students in the flagship programmes, in my opinion: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/iim-mumbai-to-expand-capacity-to-5000-students-with-new-facilities-and-courses/articleshow/113187260.cms
- Other than this, the institute plans to expand by opening campuses in Pune, Navi Mumbai: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/iim-mumbai-to-expand-with-new-centres-in-navi-mumbai-and-pune-10261794/. We all know what happened to the "IIFT" brand once it opened up multiple campuses. Some people would say some other IIMs also have multiple campuses, but none of them run their flagship PGP programmes on these campuses. That's always run from the original/main campus only. I am not really sure about what IIM-M's actual plans are regarding this.
- This one's funny, but the institute plans to start a B.Tech. programme as well: https://iimmumbai.ac.in/pmgatishakti/proposed-program .None of the other IIMs offers an actual 4 yr UG course, yes, dual degrees are there, but never heard of anything like this!
Typically, state govt institutions/regional or maybe private institutions operate like this tbh, I haven't heard IITs/IIMs planning this kinda expansion or running arbitrary courses just because they have the IIM brand. Now, some people would say, none of this would really matter for the current admits, as the repercussions would actually be visible 5-10 years down the line. I agree with that from a short-term perspective.
But I wanted to understand from IIM-M/NITIE alumni and students, what the actual trajectory of the institute could be in the long term? In the last 2 years, it is surely on an upward trajectory if we check the placement stats, student quality, etc. But will it really go upward and get into elite Indian B schools like IIM ABC? Or the brand would start deteriorating after a few years? See, even ISB or IIM-I are struggling with placements/course outcomes, due to a massive batch size.
PS: I am not a WL mover or anything of that sort, genuinely concerned about the aspirants, as most of the IIM M converts/prospective converts are high percentilers & have some other decent options available right now. I am sure all of us want to be associated with something elite in the long term.