IIM Sambalpur Exits CAP, To Conduct Independent Admissions From 2025-26, Allowing More ‘Focus’ – News18

Last Updated:December 20, 2024, 11:29 IST

The admissions are based on an aggregate of CAT 2024 scores, academic records, experience at work, and gender balance.

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Sambalpur has decided to conduct independent admissions to its flagship MBA programmes, like the older IIMs, moving away from the Common Admission Process (CAP) from 2025-26 academic session, becoming another younger IIM to make the shift after IIM-Amritsar last year.

Being among the third-generation IIMs (those established after 2015), Sambalpur so far used to be among the nine younger IIMs that were part of CAP, where the institutes collectively conduct the shortlisting and personal interview processes. The major reason for the collaboration was to optimally use the limited resources during the initial years of the institute.

Now, introducing its own independent admissions, the institute said will allow prospective candidates to be directly interviewed by it, which will be more focused and allow them flexibility.

The admissions are based on an aggregate of CAT 2024 scores, academic records, experience at work, and gender balance.

Older IIMs, such as IIM-Calcutta, IIM-Ahmedabad, and IIM-Bangalore as well as other top B-schools have always conducted separate admissions.

Why the shift

Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, director, IIM-Sambalpur, speaking to News18, said that holding the admissions independently helps the institute select those who are keen on joining it and a more holistic evaluation of applicants.

“In CAP, interviews were conducted for a few IIMs simultaneously, which led to less clarity and focus on institutional needs. By moving away from CAP, we can adopt a profile-based selection approach where we consider candidates’ academic performance, relevant work experience, and additional credentials. This enables us to evaluate applicants holistically. We also allocate interview marks based on personality and institutional fit, which is important because we are looking at admitting around 400 students this year,” the director said.

Profiling involves evaluating candidates based on predefined criteria such as qualifications, work experience, and diversity. While there isn’t a separate personality assessment, the interview process emphasises communication skills and the candidates’ alignment with the institute’s ethos, he said.

The institute is going to conduct interviews in two modes: physical interviews at Sambalpur and Delhi campuses and an online option for those who could not come there in person. This is to ensure that accessibility can be maintained without losing on the evaluation process.

Also, he added, CAP was adopted by the new IIMs, mainly because they did not have enough faculty to handle interviews independently. At that time, pooling together efforts to conduct the process together was a practical solution.

“Now, with over 50 faculty members, we can handle admissions ourselves. In CAP, interviews were conducted for a few IIMs simultaneously, which led to less clarity and focus on institutional needs,” he said.

The institute offers two different MBA programs. One of the programmes is conducted here at Sambalpur campus, wherein student intake is 320. Second is a recently introduced special stream in the Business Analytics in Delhi Campus, with 70 students as the strength.

“The Delhi program is STEM-based and focuses on the integration of Science, Technology, Economics, and Management. Candidates must have at least one year of work experience; this program is not like a general MBA. This specialisation would not have been possible under the CAP framework,” the director said.

While both are two-year, full-time programmes, the one at Sambalpur is an all-around MBA experience, whereas the Delhi program is specialised in Business Analytics. It’s a new course designed in response to the increasing need for industries to make decisions based on data.

“We also offer the option of a dual degree through tie-ups with international universities. So, students can spend one year at IIM Sambalpur and the second year at a partner institution, which will enhance their global exposure,” he said.

What is the admission process

The candidates are screened through their CAT scores. But the cut-off differs across IIMs. At IIM-Sambalpur, general category cutoff normally ranges between 90 and 94 and reserved category cutoff follows the same standard. Each IIM sets its cutoff according to profiling criteria. Some may lower it a little for female candidates or to increase diversity.

When asked about the institute introducing the new MBA programme in Business Analytics, Prof Jaiswal said that it addresses an industry need to grow the numbers of professionals with analytics skills, AI, and related technologies.

“The decision was driven by the industry’s increasing reliance on data analytics for decision-making. This program is tailored for candidates with engineering, science, or economics backgrounds due to its analytical rigor. The proximity to Delhi’s corporate hubs enables us to collaborate with 15 industry partners, who contribute to course design and placements,” he said.

While last year was tough in terms of placements across premier institutes like the IIMs and IITs due to a global economic slowdown, this year, he said, is doing much better.

“Placements are much better this year. Last year’s economic slowdown had impacted all institutes, including older IIMs. This year, with double the intake — 320 students compared to last year’s 150 — placements are moving faster. While I do not have exact figures yet, early feedback indicates a significant improvement in both speed and salary packages,” the director said.