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EVEN in the time of economic slowdown, the Indian Institute of Planning and Management ( IIPM), with 18 branches located across the country, has managed to secure jobs for 2,300 out of the 4,000 students of the 2007- 2009 batch. A record 750 companies participated in the recruitment process, which also saw 46 international placements. The results of another 100 campus interviews are awaited. Although the figures are down compared with last years 2,650 placements, IIPM claims it has been able to place more management graduates than all of IIMs put together, or for that matter, more than what the top 10 B- schools notched up this year. The average package so far has been Rs 4.2 lakh per year, which though a fall from last years average of Rs 5.2 lakh per year, is pretty good in view of the economic crisis. So what makes IIPM stand out among B- schools when it comes to campus placements? “ If you look at the other B- schools, youll notice that there is just one faculty in charge of placements and they wait for companies to respond. But at IIPM, 85 professionals work throughout the year to get the right placements for the students. For instance, the recruitment process for next years batch has already started,” said Amit Saxena, dean- administration & president, corporate communications and legal affairs, IIPM. This year, the institute has roped in several small and medium enterprises ( SMEs) such as IBIBO, India Infoline, iTrust and SMC Global/ SMC Insurance so that the numbers that were lost in the big names like ADAG, American Express and Yamaha Motors not showing up got compensated. “ Due to the economic slowdown, the biggies are not recruiting too much. So the shortfall has been made up for by including SMEs in our participating companies list,” said Saxena, adding that the response has been very good so far. “ It will be a great learning process for our students to work with growing companies.” The institute is quite positive about next year. “ The batch graduating in the coming session will certainly see better placement results. “ This year, the global meltdown has slowed down the entire sector. It had been particularly challenging for B- school placements. Recruitments from sectors like banking and investment banking have been very low — these used to be the largest recruiters at B- schools. The companies visiting campuses are recruiting fewer numbers this year. But we at IIPM have been able to beat the slowdown,” added Saxena. His numbers show he is right. |