The Hindu Business Line : `IIPM grads getting good job offers'

THE first batch of students from the Indian Institute of Plantation Management's post-graduate diploma in agri-business and plantation management course is ready to enter the corporate world. Companies in the agri-business area, plantations and NGOs have lined up to recruit them, according to its Director, Dr Subhash Sharma.

The 15-month programme was introduced last year to cater to a new breed of professionals who could manage agri-businesses in the post-WTO era. "Students are equipped with knowledge of management of competition, product knowledge and market knowledge," Dr Sharma said. These three aspects were critical to success, he said.

He also described the course as bringing "new hope to India" and one that could strengthen the agri system itself. The first batch had 40 students, and the next batch of an equal strength had already been selected. In future, IIPM was likely to increase capacity, Prof Sharma said. "There is a lot of interest and since there are very few institutions catering to this industry, we expect a rise in demand," he said.

The course includes classroom training, fieldwork, corporate training (by being attached to an organisation and working on projects) and a special focus area on which students prepare a thesis.

IIPM was set up in 1990 by the Ministry of Commerce in association with various commodity boards to cater to the needs of the rapidly changing domestic and world economies. It started by offering training to plantation managers.

It also introduced the "reach out" model, where the faculty visited various plantations to train people on the field itself. Last year, it moved to a new premise in the Jnana Bharati campus.

The institute also acts as a think tank and addresses issues such as cost, labour productivity, commodity trading, international competitiveness, WTO and international trade, HACCP, organic products, futures trading and risk management, new marketing channels, strategic leadership and corporate ethics.

The institute also offers consultancy in policy, conducts workshops and networks with other leading institutions for post-doctoral work.

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