Meet IIM Lucknow’s IPMX Class Of 2023

P&Q: IIM Lucknow is one of the most prestigious and selective MBA programs in India. What are two ways that applicants can set themselves apart and increase their odds of receiving deeper consideration for admission?

Mittal: “The first way for an applicant to an advantage is to demonstrate various spikes through the length of their respective career. Quality work experience that has truly made a difference in society is valued and respected.

Another way to stand out would be through examples of entrepreneurial drive. We look for self-starters and appreciate those who take initiative.

A strong application is one where an applicant through examples show-cases how they have done everyday things differently.”

P&Q: What are some aspects of IIM Lucknow’s programming and culture that make it appealing to women? International students?

Mittal: “IIM Lucknow’s one year program is one of the top programs of the country, making it eye-catching for international students. The cohort is an amalgamation of different professions, different cultures, and the batch thrives on diversity. IPMX is based out of the Noida Campus of IIM Lucknow, which is a part of Delhi NCR – The political capital of the country. It enables students to have access to the world’s top companies and gives them an opportunity to interact with leadership from various companies through their time on campus.

Most of the current leadership at IIM Lucknow is held by women. The Director, The Program Chair, the Dean of the Noida Campus are all women. This is itself is a strong signal about the culture at IIM Lucknow and this translates to the program through the rich gender diversity that each cohort has.”

P&Q: What are some of the MBA program’s most popular events and traditions? What makes them so special to your students?

Mittal: “There are quite a few popular events that happen all year round on campus. The first is an event titled “Shubh Aarambh” which translates to “good beginning”. This is the welcome party thrown for the incoming batch every year as soon as the session commences. This is the first (of many!) times that the entire batch comes together to put together an event which is 3 hours long. Full of dance, music, and even stand-up comedy, this is the first “unofficial” interaction that the students of the batch have.

The second most popular is the annual sports meet, Pravah. Not only do students of the campus wait all year round for this, even alumni wait eagerly to participate in Pravah. The event goes on for 3 days and invites participation from corporate teams, which is what sets the event apart. The students of the batch get a chance to network with industry professionals through the medium of sports.

Along with this, all cultural festivals are celebrated with grandeur on the campus, bringing together students of different cultures. India is a multicultural country and the same is represented through the cohort. Every student comes together to celebrate all festivals in harmony.”

5 REASONS TO CONSIDER IIM LUCKNOW

1) Brand Value: “IIM Lucknow’s brand name is supplemented by the exposure and access to industry-acclaimed faculties who deliver structured and well-curated pragmatic content developed in Indian and Global contexts. Also, some of the electives offered at IIML are uniquely progressive such as electives on sustainability themes. This complete package of academic rigor blended with industry interactions via ‘The Leadership Talk Series’ made my decision all the easier for selecting IIML.”
Ankur

2) Marketing Expertise: “The Best In-House Marketing and Strategy Faculty: We have had a chance to learn from best Marketing gurus in Prof. Rajeev Kumra and one of the best strategic gurus in Prof Anadi Pande. Apart from these two, most of the profs here have very rich industry interface, that makes the connections of industry come alive in the classrooms.”
Arpit Upadhyay (’23)

“I primarily applied to IIML because I was an absolute fan girl of the marketing faculty here. Professor Anita Goyal and Professor Rajeev Kumra are legends. As someone who is enthusiastic about all things Marketing, I had been following them for a while and wished that I could be taught by them. I truly believed that being taught by the professors would equip me with not just knowledge, but a shift in perspective – one which would play a critical role in my post MBA success.”
Dishari Dutt (’23)

3) International Immersion: “The international immersion module is the interesting part of the program. This module helped me in understanding the social, cultural, economic, and political nuances of European countries and helped me look at Indian problems through a global lens. The 3 weeks that we spent studying various courses in 3 different countries in Europe helped in a perspective shift within myself.”
Subash Reddy Boddu (’23)

4) Independent Study: “The IPMX (One Year MBA) course at IIM Lucknow offers a unique elective called “Course of Independent Study” (CIS), where a student gets the opportunity to write and publish an academic paper on a topic of their choice under the guidance of a professor. This is a proposition that caught my eye while I was doing research on business schools and intrigued me to learn more about the school. I am excited to opt for CIS in the final term.”
Suneet Kumar (’23)

5) Courses: “My Favorite course so far has been in the Finance domain – Management & Cost Accounting – by Professor Prakash Singh. I loved the way in which the course was delivered, which helped me in developing a more nuanced understanding of hidden fractures in the financial statements and how to deconstruct and derive meaningful insights from them.”
Ankur (’23)

“My favorite course so far has been Marketing and the most important takeaway has been the depth with which I have understood various brand stories in the Indian landscape. Through the immersive pedagogy, which constitutes case studies and real time problem-solving with projects, I have gained a deep-rooted insight into how the Indian consumer behaves. Marketing in India is largely emotional, even today, and I was able to use theoretical frame works in textbooks and apply it to the Indian market through their teaching.”
Dishari Dutt (’23)

ADVICE TO IIM LUCKNOW APPLICANTS

“Specific to IIML, my advice is to talk to the alumni of IIML. The MBA here makes you the perfect manager and executive. From the start, increase your rigour, know the institute better, know the campus and profs better, and know your courses really better. Also think about what you can give to the diverse batch. The batch in which average work experience is of 8.1 years: what role you can play to add on to the diversity.”
Arpit Upadhyay (’23)

“Being one of the top IIMs of the country, competition is high. A decent GMAT score coupled with a good work track record and extracurricular activities could help one gain admission into the prestigious institute. The Institute loves diversity and hence people from varied fields are encouraged by institute to apply. Apply early so that you stand a better chance to convert your application in case you are waitlisted.”
Rajesh Mohan (’23)

“My advice to all the future applicants would be this: be very thorough with their resume, essays and SOP. The resume is sacrosanct, anything and everything you have put on the resume you should be able to defend well in the interview. Equip yourself with the latest happenings in your domain and in your city and state. Prepare for the behavioral questions well and keep the interviews conversational.”
Uma Chauhan (’23)

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergrad Alma Mater	Last Employer
Ankur	Patna, Bihar	Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT)	Welspun Enterprises Limited
Abhinav Athavale	Mumbai, Maharashtra	University of Mumbai	Johnson and Johnson India
Uma Chauhan	Etah, Uttar Pradesh, India	MDU Rohtak	HCL
Dishari Dutt	Calcutta, India	Jadavpur University	MX Player
Manish Joshi	Almora, Uttarakhand	North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology	Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
Suneet Kumar	Patna, Bihar	Training Ship Chanakya	Fleet Management Limited
Subash Reddy Boddu	Guntur, Andhra Pradesh	NRIIT	Flipkart
Nalin Sharma	Jaipur, Rajasthan	Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee	Indian Oil Corporation Limited
Pranav Sharma	Meerut, Uttar Pradesh	IIT Kanpur	Bytedance India Pvt Ltd.
Arpit Upadhyay	Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh	Harcourt Butler Technological Institute	Teach For India
Rajesh Mohan	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	Anna University, Chennai	Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited