IIM Indore has jumped into the big league with focus on the basics: Placements and rigorous curriculum

What can a management institute do about missing children? A lot, it turns out.

The Indian Institute of Management Indore has applied itself to finding solutions to this problem in the city where it resides. Indore, widely celebrated as the cleanest city in India, has a significant number of missing children. In fact, the state of Madhya Pradesh recorded the second highest number of missing children in 2022, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. “Alarmingly, 85% of these missing children are girls,” says Himanshu Rai, Director of IIM Indore.

So when local police approached IIM Indore, it decided to collaborate closely with them to address this issue. It conducted a comprehensive study to understand the reasons for the high number of missing children in the city.

What it found out was startling. Contrary to the popular belief that trafficking is the primary cause, the study revealed that most of these children, particularly girls, had run away from home. The reasons ranged from excessive restrictions at home to physical or sexual abuse.

Even more disturbing was its finding that 80% of the rescued girls expressed a strong reluctance to return home, highlighting the severity of the issues they were fleeing from. In light of these findings, IIM Indore has proposed several initiatives to address the problem of missing children.

This is just one example of IIM Indore’s commitment to go beyond the classroom and tackle real-world problems.

Another example is the Centre of Excellence established in 2022 with a grant of Rs 19.95 crore from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. This centre focusses on capacity building and research aimed at helping other cities achieve Indore’s level of cleanliness. “Ayodhya was one of the first cities to benefit from this initiative, where IIM Indore developed an Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) strategy to promote waste segregation at the household level—a critical step in maintaining cleanliness,” says Rai.

Taking a broader view, IIM Indore has set itself five problems to address: inequality, rural challenges, urban infrastructure issues, environmental concerns, and fostering an entrepreneurial spirit. “We are actively working on each of these areas,” says Rai.

When it comes to entrepreneurship, IIM Indore’s focus is on nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit rather than simply producing entrepreneurs. This mindset, according to Rai, is crucial for all students, even those pursuing corporate careers, as it encourages initiative and independence.

“This year, we’ve allocated Rs 5 crore to support start-ups,” Rai explains. “Our goal is to minimise the financial risks students face when launching ventures, especially given the burden of educational loans.” The institute plans to support at least 10 start-ups with up to Rs 50 lakh each and, in the process, hopes to foster a spirit of experimentation and resilience.

One pressing problem the top B-schools in India face is that though they achieve 100% placement, the timeline has become longer. Two years ago, IIM Indore placed around 600 students in just two and a half days; last year, it took about two months. “The obsession with 100% placement is misplaced,” says Rai. “Even globally renowned institutions like Harvard and Stanford achieve 70-80% placement within six months. We need to shift the focus from placements to the quality of education and the long-term success of our graduates.”

Rai also emphasises that leadership is cultivated through a dynamic curriculum, innovative programmes and collaborations with other institutes. “Our joint Master of Science in Data Science and Management with IIT Indore is one such initiative, designed to keep our students at the forefront of industry trends,” he adds.

By providing a broader frame of reference for its students, IIM Indore is ensuring that they are not pigeonholed into roles. It is perhaps a reflection of such efforts that it has broken into the Top 5 in the BT-MDRA India’s Best B-schools Survey 2024 and has been ranked fifth, thanks primarily to an improvement in its score on placement.

@teena_kaushal