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We have our institutional biases and our rigid beliefs about tradition and rituals but we can rise above them. The strength of IIM Calcutta lies in its wonderfully diverse bunch of students, who are capable of rising to every challenge with trademark chutzpah and who never forget the debt they owe to the invigorating environment and culture that the institute has evolved.Initiatives mooted and executed entirely by students such as the Internet Solutions Group, which is responsible for website maintenance and intranet communication and the i2I business plan competition, which attracts huge international participation, add to the enviable reputation that the IIMCians have earned for their independent thinking, highly competitive streak and versatility.

If you think IIMC is laidback, come to the campus and we will show you the weakness of your perception. The other day, I met the mother of a student doing a soul stifling MBA. The first thing she said when she heard about my institute was "You guys have all the fun." I wish surveyers included a parameter called 'Mom's Perception' when they decide the B School rankings. Not many institutes can boast of having clubs with members who can actually take out time from the gruelling academic schedule to go trekking and water sporting on weekends and who, in their spare time, plan about scaling Mt. Everest. Or of having a thriving student exchange program that confirms the ability of its students to take on the best in the world and thrive.

Our Kweej Club wins more quizzes and the gifts that go with the wins than what is considered healthy. Our music bands spend more nights entertaining us than what would be considered normal for the ears. The gifted individuals who belong to these subunits of IIMC would not have it any other way and neither would we. I know of well intentioned people who still think that IIMC can become more formal by doing more of the formal things which everyone else is doing. That can be done with some effort but who wants to be just another B-School?

IIMC may be an island of excellence but it is not unaffected by the culture and business climate of the great metropolis called Calcutta. The biggest challenge it faces is to change faster than the pace of development around it and to maintain its preeminence in providing sound professional training that meets the requirements of the increasingly connected economy. The past few years have seen a quantum improvement in infrastructure and with ever growing support from alumni and the corporate world, IIM Calcutta is perfectly placed to set even more exacting standards of achievement.

Contributed by -
Bikramjeet Sra,
II Year,
IIM Calcutta.