Couple of days back folks from Times Executive Education Team https://timestsw.com/course/iimk-epgp asked me if I can give testimonial for IIMK EPGP program for them. Somehow they got my EPGP year wrong as EPGP-02 instead it should be EPGP-03. Anyways enclosed.
Given below is the City wise distribution of EPGP-05 applicants. It seems this course is more popular in Bangalore and Mumbai than other parts of India . Distribution wise – Bangalore – 31% , followed by Mumbai 22% and Delhi – 18%.
Between EPGP and EEPGM it seems more people are inclined for EPGP than EEPGM with 80% of people opting for EEPGP than EEPGM
IIMK has increased fees for its EPGP program from 4.99 lakhs to approximately 6.99 lakh + service taxes from year 2010 to 2012. Now question to ask is whether this increase in fees has deterred students in evincing interests in IIMK EPGP program.
Answer is ‘NO’ . If you look at number of students visiting my blog the trend has shown an improvement (slight though). However not sure of the conversion ratio from prospective students to students. Looking at number of queries which came this year I can certainly say that this time I got lesser queries than in year 2011 which may show a declining trend… Who knows.. Lets wait for couple of more days to watch out when student list for EPGP-05 gets published ….
On 09th June IIM Kozhikode (IIMK) had launced a Satellite Campus at Kochi and as per them through this center ‘Executive Education’ will be the focus. Kochi campus will offer one year full time, two year part time and short-term programs targeted at middle and senior level executives
We are yet to see how IIMK would brand EPGP program which would be full time and EPGP offered via Interactive mode. As probably all of you are aware that all other IIMs offer EPGP as a 1 year full time residential executive course. So there is some confusion as to how EPGP IDL would be positioned in the market and how will classes be conducted for both.
http://www.iimk.ac.in/abtiimk/SatelliteCampusKochi/SatelliteCampusKochiLaunching.php
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/iimk-launches-satellite-campus-in-kochi/476892/
In last Two days since the results are out I have been receiving calls and emails from well wishers and friends who have cleared EPGP asking me for guidance about this course. Some of the questions asked are given below –
But in general a word of caution here that these views are my own and what I have got to know in last 1 year studying at IIMK 🙂 🙂 🙂
A) How is the course in terms of depth? :: Entire EPGP course is divided into two years – Year 1 and Year 2. Each year is divided into 4 terms, 3 months each. Each Term has 6 and/or 7 courses. 2nd years is specialization. Each course has a certain Credits associated with it. E.g. an economics course has 2 credits while Environment Management has 1 Credit and Marketing Management has 3 credits. A 2 and 3 credits courses are taught for 18 Hrs i.e. (6 days – 3 Hrs each) in a class room session while a 1 credit course finishes off in 9 Hrs. For each of the courses evaluation mechanism consists of Attendance/Class Participation (Not mandatory)(5-10% weightage), Quizzes (20% weightage), Assignments (10-15% weightage), Projects (20% weightage) and End Terms Examination (50-60% weightage). Most of the Project and Assignment are Group assignments of 4-6 students
Now looking at this you would find that considering the number of courses and class room session hours available in hand and looking at syllabus to cover often it becomes a race against time. Course is very much compressed for EPGP students for two reasons – a) They are already having industry exposure of more than 5 years and b) There are only 9 hrs study classes in a week which is very less if you compare it with PGP student. PGP student has to be in more effort and program is of higher rigour.
B) How will it add value to my career after I complete 2 years course from IIMK? :: It depends on what kind of value are you looking at. In case one is fantasizing of higher pay packages just because he has finished his EPGP course then this is a far fetched dream. In case one is looking at jumping to newer function areas (like moving from Operations to Sales) and think that he can command same salary as he was getting in his current role then also it is not a good idea to think so. However if you are serious on doing this course and are aiming to enhance your knowledge and skills and are trying to get a better understanding of different Organizational functions. then this course is for you.
Learnings in EPGP happens mostly through various case studies of industry. Many of the cases are directly picked up from Harwards Business Review (HBR) and other journals. So going through tons of case studies and getting to know various subject would definitely give you a better insight and be more organized and focussed.In case you are looking at transitioning to newer jobs and/or higher responsibilities these learnings would definitely help you.
Career progression also depends on various skill set of an individual and is not solely dependent on EPGP program of IIMK only 🙂 If you are in s right sized organization which is growing and you have good inter personal skills and there exists an appropriate oppurtunity in your organization you surely would go to higher role/more salary.
C) How do you compare the courses with other similar courses being offered by colleges like XLRI, IIMC, IIML by Hughes / NIIT / Reliance :: Here again provider does not matter if you are doing it from Reliance / NIIT / Hughes … What it depends on is whether organizing institute and you as a student is serious enough to do the course. Among others I surely can say that this program is better managed, more organized and more professionally driven than other institutes. Professors seemed to be more serious about this program. There were also talks of IIMK establishing 5 satellite campuses in Delhi/Mumbai/KolKata/Bangalore/Chennai. Idea behind these centers are to establish more industry linkages and brand building of IIMK and get locational advantage (which is not there currently). Not sure how far are the talks with regards to actual reality but this point was surely discussed in campus. Again one another point to note is that IIMK not just got PGP program AMBA accredited they also got their EPGP also AMBA accredited which shows the seriousness of the institute. Again if you ask me, AMBA certification is more from branding purpose than anyone getting a value of it it. However it shows that program meets some basic requirements and necessary minimum creiteria of global executive MBA.
D) How is the faculty ? :: Overall faculty mix is good. Some of them are very passionate about teaching their subject like Prof Balooni of Env Management, Prof Atanu Adhikari of Marketing Management, Prof Abhilash Nair of Financial Management and Prof Subhashish Dey of Economics. There are some neutral professors too and in few cases classes are boring too primarily because of delivery not so good, subject awareness and mode of delivery (difficult to maintain focus sometimes). But then this would be same everywhere too.
E) Diploma / Certificate :: Again I would here link to what value you want to derive out of this program. There definitely exists a flexibility to convert EEPGM program to EPGP program and vice versa. One can take 1 year break in every year of the course study if situation permits (needs approval of IIMK though)
First of all let me congratulate all of you who have made it to EPGP-04 and EEPGM-11 course of IIMK. As per information I have IIMK has selected 300 people for the course of which 250 are for EPGP and 50 are for EEPGM program. I heard this time they have waitlisted few of the candidates as well possibly to cover 5% drop out cases as well. All the 300 students would be divided into two sections A and B with each having 150 each with 125 EPGP and 25 EEPGM students. In our batch we were 250 odd people.
Now how many of the candidates were called for written test and interview I have two conflicting information – as per one of the sources 1000 people were shortlisted for written test and interviews and another sources says that number of candidates were more. Not sure which one is true. In any case guys selected have reasons to rejoice and those who couldn’t get through can feel happy that they have other courses – executive/full time to look for and who knows there may be better things planned for them in future.
For the guys who got through they need to be doubly sure before paying up the fees that one has to sacrifice their leisure time, watching TV, time with family, friends and relatives etc. Life becomes busy thereafter and 2 years 3 months commitment is long enough (2011 Oct – 2013 Dec end). First 2 terms would go past pretty quickly but then third and fourth quarter would feel like a stretch. I am in fourth quarter (Year 1) so can’t say about Year 2 now.
If you have made up your mind then pay up the fees, book your flights early and in case IIMK is providing you the accomadation well and good otherwise you would have to book some hotel in nearby places.
Regarding hotels one can opt for Calicut Towers, Malabar Palace, Hotel Hyson. There will be designated Pickup points and from which IIMK bus (each bus has a number) will pick you up. Most of the routes and hotels are covered by bus route so no worries. All these hotels provide Bed and Breakfast services. Breakfast would be mostly Keralite. Not sure of others but I enjoyed the traditional food there. Similarly in the evening buses would drop at the hotel itself. Sumptous lunch would be provided at IIMK canteen itself which will be mostly North Indian to balance both the sides.
On the day of departure while at airport be it Delhi/Mumbai/Calicut you would mostly see EPGP/EEPGM guys in and around and on one look of it you would know that a confused guys is another fellow student all set to go to Calicut.
You need not carry Notebook as well since these would be provided by IIMK as well. It sometimes rains in Kozhikode during this time so check the weather and you may have to carry umbrella though it is not mandatory(I did not carry it). First day would be mostly Introduction, Overview etc.
So welcome once again to student life ….
In case anyone is interested in seeing how the EPGP diploma looks like here is the one sample
Guys,
Sorry for delaying in bringing out the 2nd Question Paper for EMAT. This EMAT was the one which was conducted for IIMK EPGP and/or EMEP program. One caution that files are bit heavy as they are scanned copy but then had no other option. Also recently from 2011 year onward paper is now 1 hr duration and no one is allowed to take paper back home.
EMAT – 1
EMAT-1-IIMK
EMAT – 2
PART – I EMAT-2-IIMK-PART-I
PART – II EMAT-IIMK-PART-II
Guys,
Good news for all of you who have taken admission or are thinking about EPGP course of IIMK through Hughes Network. As confirmed by EPGP chairman Mr Unnithan Anandakuttan yesterday i.e. 15th Mar 2011, the EPGP course which was being branded as being conducted through Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) will now be branded as EPGP (No IDL) and students passing out will be conferred Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Management with no mention of IDL in there. Also convocation ceremony is being planned for ePGP-01 batch on 19th March 2011. It seems out 0f 40 participants 36 have completed the course requirement for EPGP and is being conferred the degree. The ceremony will be together for both PGP and ePGP-01 which shows the level of importance and commitment being given by IIMK for the program.
Kudos to IIMK
Regards
Vinay
Guys,
For those who are looking at evaluating options to join for eMEP and/or ePGP program of IIM Kozhikode enclosed is one sample question paper. A snippet of eMAT is there at IIMK website but this one is a complete model paper. This would help you in preparing for the same. I tried locating the same in and around the web but couldn’t.
For another set refer to EMAT QUESTION PAPER
Ciao and Enjoy
Vinay Bhutani
Fee for 2 year ePGP course is Rs 6.99 lakhs plus service tax plus travel cost from your study location to Kozhikode (twice during the course). The fees is collected in installments and most of the amount gets collected within first 15 months of the course.
Nope! Books and other relevant materials are provided by IIMK during the course study and candidate need not worry about the same. There could be cost associated with your travel to Kozhikode and your Hotel stay at Kozhikode (FYI our batch ePGP-03 could not be accommodated in campus) and all of us stayed at various hotels in city. For Term 3 on-campus session the hostel fees to stay in IIMK campus is Rs 750/- per day which makes it Rs 6000/- for 8 days stay.
There are various study centers in different part of cities. Before choosing a study center and enrollment for the program it is recommended for candidates to visit the place and talk to the seniors already enrolled in the course. Normally center coordinators are helpful enough to guide you. Make your own judgment while deciding on the same. IDL platform has a computer with headphone and software where you can see professor delivering the lecture, a chat window to communicate and a video conferencing to do video calling with professor. One can raise a hand, ask questions. The effective of the program can be gauged from the fact that EPGP-03 has 19 candidates sponsored from PATNI (PCS) and 25 of them from SAP Labs. Oracle and other organizations (though my organization doesn’t) also sponsors for the ePGP program from IIMK
Course consists of Year 1 and Year 2. Year 1 for EPGP is general management and Year 2 is for specialization. Year 1 is divided into four (4) trimesters (terms) each of 3 – 3.5 months duration. Each trimester has 6-7 courses each with 12 – 14 credits. E.g. Environmental management is a 1 credit course and Marketing Management is 3 credit courses. Most of the courses carry a credit of 2.
The key to do the course is to attend all the classes and participate in the discussion during the class. This would help you get the depth which a professor would go while examining during quizzes and/or exams. Each course has an average of 2 quizzes, 1 project, attendance/class participation and a term exam. Each of evaluation criteria gets added to final total for the final grade.
Depends on what you are looking for. If a candidate is looking for salary hike, positioning and other tangible benefits then this course if not for them. If a candidate is looking for learning, skill enhancement, get an understanding of other organizational functions like HR, Marketing, Strategy then this course is a good fit. On an average a candidate is supposed to spend 2 hrs per day for studying the course for effective learning.
In such cases there exists an option where a candidate can request for session which is stored and can be viewed later. Please note that candidate needs to make such request in advance and it takes time to download the entire lecture. Also candidate can attend classes from other cities in case if that is a possibility
Evaluation is done using quizzes (on line medium), project and assignment submission using Blackboard(Learning Management System software). All messages, notifications are posted on Blackboard. Term end exams are held in a separate location in a classroom with two invigilators. Please note that End term exam is a paper and pen based exam.
Flexibility is provided that candidate can do the 2 years course in 4 years. During each year a candidate can take 1 year break and can rejoin again with newer batch. However each such request is dealt separately by IIMK IDL office. Also newer fees applicable would be levied on such candidates.
IIMK conducts executive Management Aptitude test (eMAT) with multiple choice format. Shortlisted candidates are then interviewed by a panel of professors. Then a final list is circulated. Typically the average selection ratio is 1:10 for EPGP. Candidates with 50% or more are normally considered for appearing for eMAT to be taken for EPGP.
It would be un-wise to compare PGP and EPGP as both differ in their rigor and the candidate mix. Typically a candidate in EPGP has more than 5 years of industry experience and a higher level of understanding. FYI our batch’s average experience level was 10 years. Course for PGP is of higher rigor than EPGP because the course in EPGP has been crashed for maximum of 18 hours per course. Level of interaction in PGP is higher because of active participation. However the course is taught by same professors and course curriculum is almost the same.
Yes, AMBA certification is valid for 2 years and then institute has to re-apply for AMBA certifications. EPGP prior to 2010 was not AMBA certified as there was some mandatory requirements were missing like lectures on Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Business Proposal, Business Modelling. During in-campus modules lectures on all these subjects were conducted and thats how IIMK could get their EPGP AMBA certified.
Yes, Calicut/Kozhikode is surrounded by beaches. There is a City Beach (1-2 kms) andBaypore Beach (20-25 kms from city) which is bit isolated and is not that crowded as Mumbai’s Chowpati/Juhu beach. Then there is Kappad Beach which is situated 16 km from the city. Buses are readily available from city bus station(New Bus Stand) you have to get down at Thiruvangure three KM away from beach, a stroll along the stretch takes you to the beach where,Vasco Da Gama the famous Portughese traveller alighted four centuries back, in search of the land of fantasy – India.
One can get wooden boats – both big and small one as a souvenirs. Karachi Halwa and Oman dates are famous as well. Karachi Halwa one can get of varied taste like pineapple, banana, dry fruits etc etc. One can also buy ‘Pathimukham’ a herb to be mixed with water while drinking.
There are lots of hotel in Kozhikode with Malabar Gate, Renaissance, Maharani, SPAN, Hyson, Gateway to name a few. Please note that you can negotiate with hotels for a cheaper stay as many of the hotels offer 10-20% discount if a candidate is from IIM Kozhikode. Stay includes Bed and Breakfast as well.
Good news guys… IIMK PGP/EPGP became AMBA accredited…. During the in-campus session it was promised that by Dec 2010 there is a possibility of getting accredited and yes here it is ….
For those who are not aware – Â EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA are the three most highly regarded international accreditations in the business field in higher education.
BTW SP Jain and MDI gurgaons PGP program and EPGP program are also AMBA accredited. Details below –
Management Development Institute
| Accredited Programme | Programme Name | Delivery Mode | Country |
| MBA | National Management Programme | FT | India |
| MBA | Executive Management Programme | PT | India |
| MBM | Postgraduate Programme in Management (PGPM) | FT | India |
SP Jain Institute of Management and Research
| Accredited Programme | Programme Name | Delivery Mode | Country |
| MBA | Post Graduate Programme in Management | FT | India |
| MBA | Executive Management Programme | MD | India |
| MBM | Postgraduate Diploma in Management | FT | India |
To know more about accreditions see below –
AMBA (http://www.mbaworld.com/)
With so many MBA degrees on offer, quality has become a key issue. The Associations of MBAs is commitment to management education and development. Since its beginnings in 1967, the Association’s objectives have been:
An accreditation process was established to secure these objectives. The accreditation is market-driven and has an international in focus. It assesses the characteristics of a business school and its MBA programme against a set of criteria established by our International Accreditation Advisory Board. The senior academics and corporate representatives who sit on the board constantly monitor the accreditation criteria.
The Association of MBAs has two main roles:
EQUIS http://www.efmd.org
EQUIS is an international system of strategic audit and accreditation designed by Europeans for the assessment of institutions in widely different national contexts. Although it is inspired by the particular needs of a European situation characterised by extreme cultural diversity within a large civilizational area, EQUIS is not limited to European problems in its scope. The standards are those of effective education for international management and apply to schools in any cultural environment whether in Europe or outside Europe.
It was launched in 1997 by the EFMD which has championed the issue of quality in management development for many years and has brought together the key operators in Europe in a common initiative. As Europe’s largest network association in the field of management development, with some 400 members from academia, business, public service and consultancy in 40 countries of Europe and the world, EFMD plays a central role in shaping the European approach to management education.
EQUIS has been designed through a process of close cooperation between existing national accreditation bodies in the field of management education assembled in an association called EQUAL. The role of EQUAL was first of all to define the criteria and the procedure of a future European accreditation system. Now that EQUIS is operational, EQUAL contributes to the monitoring of the system and provides qualified assessors for the audit teams.
However, EQUIS can only be obtained by an academic institution and not by an educational programme. There are only 64 educational institutions in Europe that have obtained the EQUIS accreditation. All five of the Euro*MBA consortium members already have the EQUIS accreditation.
FYI, IIM Bangalore got EQUIS accredited in year 2010
AACSB (http://www.aacsb.edu)
AACSB International was founded in 1916 and began its accreditation function with the adoption of the first standards in 1919. Additional standards for programmes in accountancy were adopted in 1980. AACSB International members approved mission-linked accreditation standards and the peer review process in 1991. In 2003, members approved a revised set of standards that are relevant and applicable to all business programs globally and which support and encourage excellence in management education worldwide.
Accreditation is a process of voluntary, non-governmental review of educational institutions and programmes. Institutional accreditation reviews entire colleges and universities. Specialized agencies award accreditation for professional programmes and academic units in particular fields of study. As a specialized agency, AACSB International grants accreditation for undergraduate and graduate business administration and accounting programs.
AACSB International accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Member institutions that earn accreditation confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review. AACSB accreditation is considered to be the hallmark of excellence in management education.
Through accreditation, business schools provide stakeholders with the assurance that they:
Day 2 up to Day 6 went by smooth attending lectures from various profs on different subjects. After the classes I was wondering why studying management is not made compulsory in schools and colleges as it is pure common sense and it helps individual in day to day operation and business … IIM-K had arranged for a cultural program in the evening at 7:30 PM for all the participants of eMEP-10/ePGP-03. It was at scheduled to be at Hotel Gateway and buses from Hotels were arranged for Pickup/Drop.. It was the same day 30th-Sep-2010 when the verdict on Ram Janmabhumi had to come… There was section-144 in Khozikode/Calicut.. People were anxious to know the verdict…and the situation in and around rest of India…. But it appeared absolutely normal in the evening with no traces of any disturbances in the city and city was calm and peaceful… As a part of Cultural program IIMK had arranged for a orchestra with live music… All the artists/singer  were localites and were singing songs of 1980s – various number of Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle etc… Food was arranged for all of us… Some of us after having dinner wanted to dance … and we did….. took snaps with various professors …..It was overall fun and I guess some of us danced after long long time ….
Pickup and drop facilities between Hotel to IIMK Campus for both ePGP and eMEP were provided by IIMK. There were designated buses with route number en-route from various pickup points(major hotels in Khozhikode). Pick up time was 8:25 AM and campus was almost 18 kms away. Bus started from designated stop on-time…. Almost after 25 minutes journey came across a big gate with IIMK embrossed in it… Suddenly everyone is the bus started looking out of windows to see the campus area…. It was very picturesque location with lush greenry, thousands of coconut trees and now the bus started moving up the hill…..
After winding roads and curvy lanes, bus came to halt in front of a place where there was Indian Flag hosted.. It was time for all of us to get down and find our classrooms…. Entire Batch was divided into two batches and two sections within each batch. I was in batch B2 and classroom C2… Each class room had seats  where name of each candidate was displayed… We occupied our seats …Within minutes each of our names were called out and we were handed over books weighing 15 kilo… I am sure mental pressure on each one of us on Day 1 was more than a tonne now after seeing pile of books ….
The first session was a Welcome Note by IIMK in their Auditorium. It as a almost a One hour session and various Professors were introduced where in they talked about values which IIMK stands for… From the introductory note came to know that the batch was almost 250 people strong with almost 180 enrolled for ePGP-03 and about 70 odd for eMEP-10 course. Experience of candidates who had come for the course rained from 5 years to 30 years. One of the candidate was CEO of the company as well. Average experience of the candidate was Ten(10). Some of the candidates were sponsored from their respective company’s. Major sponsorer included SAP Labs and Patni computers with 35 and 20 people respectively. Also during an informal chat with one of the professor came to know that the selection ratio was 1:10
After the introduction session and a tea-coffee break classes started Dot at 11:30 AM on 26th Sep. First class was of Financial Management – I. There were lots of learnings for us as many of the guys did not have background of Finance. Each class was 1 hr 30 minutes in duration followed by either a Tea break or Lunch break in between. There were total of 4 classes each 1:30 hrs duration. Evening 5:30 pm was the pack up time for all of us…. Day 1 itself  we got an assignment of Corporate Strategy which was to read a case study which would have to be discussed in next class…. Day 1 was an illustration of what was lying ahead for all of us for next couple of days … After heavy ‘mallu’ dinner eyes were becoming drowsy and closed … Somehow was keeping my eye opening. I somehow read one case study but then realized that it was not was being referred to in the class… Oops !!! I had instead gone through  some other case study …..Day 1 was over…
Otherwise sleepy Calicut airport seemed to be abuzz with lots of young crowd and few of them seems to know each other and had come in big group of eight to ten. It wasn’t difficult for me to figure out that all of them had also come for ePGP/eMEP course. All of us rented a taxi to go to our respective hotels. I had a spare evening with me and was looking out for ways to spend, it was then I was told that Calicut beach was just 2 km away from City Center, almost the place I was staying. I along with two of other colleagues headed for the beach in the evening… Had popcorn there and saw sunset at the beach …. By the time we were walking back to hotel we noticed that all shops are almost closed near to beach area giving it a deserted look…It was just 7:00 pm then …. We all three had our dinner in a hotel nearby…. At the table when we were waiting for the dinner to get served one of my colleague saw a glass of water on the nearby table which was Red in color …. I also confirmed the same and water was indeed red in color and was curious to know what was in the water …. I called up guy who was serving and was told that it is PATHIMUKHAM , an Ayurvedic medicinal powder (http://www.keralaayurvedics.com/herbs-plants/pathimukham-caesalpenia-sappan-ayurvedic-medicinal-herbs.html) …Also to our surprise everyone was drinking hot water there…. It is served in Kozhikode as default everywhere whenever you go to any place be it a restaurant or someones home … One need to explicitly ask for cold water (essentially tap water) …
Vinay Bhutani Blog 