First convocation of RGIIM Shillong today

The youngest Indian Institute of Management, Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management-Shillong, will have its maiden convocation tomorrow where its 63 students will be awarded post-graduate diplomas by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.  

Surrounded by pine trees, lush green lawns and kaleidoscopic mountains, the mood on the campus is upbeat as the institute could place all its 63 students; with the average offer being Rs 9.8 lakh and the highest being Rs 34 lakh. The institute will be the first among all its peers to webcast its annual convocation ceremony live.

Arijit C Majumdar, chief of corporate relations and external affairs of RGIIM Shillong, told Business Standard that the institute could overcome the logistic problems by arranging video-conferencing of many of its placement sessions.

 He said that 35 per cent of the students were selected by companies through video-conferencing.

As many as 20 domestic companies, like Infosys, Essar Group, Adani Group, Hewlett Packard, Gati, Tata Motors, Escorts, took part in the recruitment process, in addition to four foreign companies from Singapore, Indonesia and Dubai.

“We could very well overcome the logistic problems in placing our students by arranging video conferencing. We are happy with the response we have received from companies and the mood on the campus is fairly good. The highest domestic offer was Rs 18 lakh per annum and the highest international offer was Rs 34 lakh,” Majumdar said.

RGIIM-Shillong started functioning from 2008 from a makeshift campus. The work on its permanent campus, which will be spread over 120 acres, is coming up.

The institute offers a two-year post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM), besides some short-term courses.