IIM-B climbs 7 places in FT ranking

IIM-C's rank down 7 places, IIM-A by 1 for the flagship two-year post graduate programme

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B)'s move to bring in gender diversity in its classrooms has paid off with the B-school jumping seven places on the latest Financial Times (FT) Masters in Management 2016 ranking for its two-year post graduate programme in management.

IIM-B was ranked 19th this year, against 26th last year. It was also the only management school in India to lead in school diversity with 28 per cent women in the two-year programme, 21 per cent women faculty and 25 per cent of women on the school advisory board, the institute stated.

On the other hand, IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A) fell one place from the 15th position last year to 16th this year, although it continued to be the top-ranked Indian B-school, followed by IIM-B and IIM Calcutta (IIB-C). IIM-C, too, was ranked seven places down at the 23rd position this year compared with 16th spot last year.

The FT ranking is based on a relative assessment of the world’s top pre-experience degrees in general management, calculated according to data provided by schools and alumni. Since most of the two-year postgraduate programmes run by IIMs and other B-schools are open for candidates with or without experience, they are eligible for the FT Global Masters in Management rankings.

The ranking is based on data collected from two surveys: one of the participating business schools and the other of alumni who graduated three years ago — the class of 2013.

Commenting on the ranking, Raghavan Srinivasan, Director Incharge, IIM-B, said: “IIM-B’s moving up seven spots to gain a position among the Top 20 in the Financial Times Global Masters in Management 2016 Rankings reiterates our efforts towards achieving global excellence. It’s a proud moment at IIM-B to top the ‘school diversity’ criteria. We focus on building leaders in a diverse ecosystem as it helps to draw upon the widest possible range of views and experiences.”

The top 20 schools ranked by FT this year include University of St Gallen, HEC Paris, London Business School, and ESADE Business School. This year’s FT ranking featured 93 masters in management programmes, up from 70 in 2014.