The Higher Education Review

If ‘startup’ is a language, then there will not be any illiterates in Bangalore; the city is already buzzing with entrepreneurs. A re-cent study showed that Bangalore is the second fastest growing startup ecosystem in the world. However, a large chunk of these wannabe en- trepreneurs fails due to inadequacy of guidance. Through mentoring, networking, education, incubating and funding, Bangalore based Inter- national Academy of Management & Entrepreneurship (IAME) has been transforming future business lead- ers to capitalize on the opportunities provided by the startup ecosystem.

“Through education we can create more employers than employees, thereby directly contributing to the progress of the country. However, Startup is not fashion world; one has to be prepared physically and men- tally to take the challenges. Here, we not only prepare our students to expect the best, but also prepare for the worst,” says Bilu M.V, Founder & CEO, IAME.IAME provides an intellectual- ly inspiring atmosphere and brings the latest disciplines and world-class management practices to its stu- dents. The institute is the brainchild of Dr. Ramesh Babu, a Doctor of Medicine and a social entrepreneur. He has envisaged IAME as a premier institute of management studies, unique in its emphasis on soft skills

enhancement and creating leaders in a multi-cultural business envi- ronment. Creating more employers than employees, IAME has taken nu- merous initiatives to actualize their vision. H B Shivakumar, Chairman, IAME says, “We work individual- ly with our students through one to one mentoring program. In addition to a strong academic base, we teach them how to handle stress effectively through regular yoga and art of liv- ing programs.” IAME is in constant relation with the industries through their Corporate Interface Program (CIP), which imbibes the students with practical knowledge, case study and long-term internship.

Unlike other B-schools who are in constant strife with their coun-terparts, Bilu pinpoints, “We don’t want to compare with any other B-school in the country. As each one of us has different pedagogies, we at IAME, treat ourselves as an incu- bation centre, thus treating all our students as budding entrepreneurs.” IAME has a strong team of faculty members who closely monitor the students to ensure that they receive the right guidance and motivation in the initial stage. The institute believes that innovation cannot be taught but can be inspired through discussions about success stories and challenge them by giving “out of the box thinking assignments” to trigger their innovative ideas as mentioned by the founder. With the help of ex- ternal funding, the faculty members of IAME provide a systematic guide to the students and monitor their ventures into a stable business.

Apart from emphasis on entrepreneurship, IAME con- cerns equally for students who wish to pursue career in the industry. The institute has introduced ‘buddy system’ among their students to take care of each other and help them throughout their learning process in the campus.

Students obtain pre-placement training through mentor- ing, grooming and soft skill sessions in addition to the ba- sic qualities of time management, integrity and discipline.
“As we have an advantage of strong alumni relation, bene- fit of placement opportunities pour in through corporate contacts apart from the one’s obtained through industry interface,” mentions Mahantesh B Nelavigi, Managing Director, IAME. The institute has an unprecedented placement record of 100 percent right from the inception batch. We have placed our students in organizations such as JP Morgan, ICICI, Myntra, Bharti Airtel, American Express etc. Many of the companies visit the IAME cam- pus for the final recruitments & Summer internships. We also have a strong overseas career opportunities through our international alumni. Students have received job of-fers with highest annual emolument from Rs. 37.72 lakhs per annum to average package of Rs. 3.72 lakhs per an- num till date. At present, IAME offers MBA, M.Com (IB), M.Com, PGPM and Post Graduate Diploma in Management. Va- rieties of teaching and learning techniques are employed to impart knowledge and skills to students at IAME in its various departments.

A home away from home, IAME’s environment fosters an overall development of their staff and students, boosting up their spiritual quotient (SQ) and emotional quotient (EQ). Chosen as one of the emerging B-Schools for entrepreneurship training by the young generation, IAME plans to obtain a more creative and holistic pedagogical model in near future. It foresees a vision to create local entrepreneurs incubating student’s business ideas through the expertise of faculty members and alumni.