A word of caution though. This time is to refine your basics. Do not enter new and unfamiliar terrains. You’d only end up with knowing a little about a lot of ‘somethings’ and may not be able to apply it in the twelfth hour. Identify your strengths. Polish them. Refine them. Shine them till they sparkle like diamonds and then reap the benefits on the D-day. The CAT tests you in all the areas. The good news is that you can still crack it even if you don’t know the difference between permutations and combinations. But be sure to crack the remaining topics. That should suffice.

Also, most questions in CAT are designed based on pure logic. You needn’t remember all the difficult formulae in the reference books of class 11^th & 12^th. Remember, there are two ways of solving a problem. One is by observation and a little calculation. The other is by, well, pure calculation. Read the question twice. Understand the logic. Think of it like a manager would, in a real life situation and go for the kill! These people don’t want accountants or mathematics experts. They want people with an analytical, clear and logical mind who can take decisions when the need arises.

The verbal section (one of my favourites and vice versaJ) can be mastered if you have developed a sound reading habit for a few years. Read the newspapers religiously, especially the ones like The Hindu, The Economic Times and Financial Express. Observe the styles of the authors. Notice the way sentences are constructed. Examine and take mental notes of the phrases you come across.

One of the most important things that can’t be ignored is that this is a Computer based test (CBT). Get used to sitting on the computer for 2.5 hours. We do not want red, watery eyes during the exam now, do we? Get accustomed to using the computer. No time should be lost trying to figure out the computer mannerisms on the D-day. Selecting the right radio button and calculating on a sheet of paper and shading the circles may seem not much different, but on the day of the exam, trust me, even a sneeze is enough to ruffle a few feathers. Get used to the atmosphere, the methodology of the exam.

To this end, attend the mock cats diligently. I know it is difficult getting out of bed on a lazy Sunday morning, but keep the end in sight. It is just a month more. Attempt as many mock CATs as possible. Understand the undercurrent of the questions. Analyze your answers. Examine where you went wrong. It is as important to analyze your answers as it is to write them. If you take the exam for 2.5 hrs, analyze it at least for 3-4 hours. Make a calculation of how much you score, where you could have scored. Cherry pick the questions that are walkovers. Every paper has them. Search for them. Do not leave them unattended.

That’s enough gyaan for now, I think. Wish you all the best for your final preparations. Amen!

For Jokatimes

Brijesh Unnithan

 

The newly established Financial Research and Trading Lab at IIM Calcutta has definitely created a lot of interest among the various stakeholders. To know more about this initiative, we at Jokatimes interviewed our renowned faculty, Mr. Ashok Banerjee of the Finance and Control Group, IIM Calcutta.

What was the idea behind setting up a Financial Research and Trading Lab?

There were three main factors which inspired us to set up this lab. Firstly, the feedback from the students who had their summer internship in an Investment bank indicated that a finance lab would equip them with necessary practical skills – to supplement the theoretical learning. For example, the knowledge of operating a Bloomberg terminal and real time trading would go down well with the theoretical concepts learnt. The second inspiring factor was the fact that most of the reputed business schools across the globe have finance and trading lab. Thirdly, the idea of setting up such a facility was discussed within the Finance and Control group for some time.

What are the objectives of the Financial Research and Trading Lab?

There are five main objectives that we have set to achieve by this lab.

1.      To give cutting edge tools to understand financial markets, especially the Indian financial markets. For example, we have introduced a new course “Trading Strategies” in Term IV (Offered from 2009-2010 academic year)

2.      To enable research. For example there is a possibility of having a cross functional research on the effect of information on financial markets, an area of interest to both MIS (Management Information Systems) group as well as Finance and Control group.

3.      To use this lab as a testing platform for our designs. For example, you can design a trading strategy and test it – without involving real money, but using real, live data.

4.      To conduct training programmes – The knowledge that is developed can be transferred to both the corporate and the student community. We had a workshop “Optimization methods and Financial application” in March 2009.

5.      Finally, this is a platform for holding events like national and international conferences.

An International Conference during 3^rd to 5^th December is going to be held to commemorate the first anniversary of setting up this lab. We have already received confirmations from top notch financial experts all over the world. We want to make this an annual event from there on.

What are the facilities and special features of this Financial Research and Trading Lab?

Currently we are getting live data (without any kind of lag) from five financial markets in India – NSE Cash, NSE F&O, MCX, BSE Cash and NCDEX. We have a simulator, to which this live data is fed so that we can test our designs on this live data. All the features and options provided in these terminals are exact replicas of what the brokers use. All this would augment what the student learns through the regular courses.

Can you tell us more about the new course ‘Trading Strategies’?

We already have a course on Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management (IAPM). Here you would learn trading strategies, how to manage a portfolio etc. However, as a trader you would mostly be required to make intraday decisions – based on inflow of information and technical analysis. This new course on ‘Trading Strategies’ – which would be taught fully in the lab, will help the student make those crucial intraday decisions.

What kind of software suites are being used in this Financial Research and Trading Lab?

Apart from the simulation software that is available on all the 48 terminals and the Bloomberg terminal, we are in the process of getting a cutting edge analytical tool. We are also considering the addition of more ‘Bloomberg type’ terminals – more specific for use in the Indian market like CNBC terminals. Apart from all these software suites, there are also some specific add-on applications that we are looking at.

Three of our Alumni from the IIM Calcutta Class of 2009 also share their views on how the Financial Research and Trading Lab is going to benefit the student community.

The Finance Lab at IIM C is a great initiative by the institute to help students apply theoretical finance concepts to practical issues of the finance world. The lab gives students the access to hard to find real time data and a platform of applications to test their theories. From my personal experience the learning curve is very steep during internship and using up say 2 weeks out of 8 for getting a hang of the Bloomberg machine can make things really tight. Hence, I see this as an opportunity for IIMC’ians to hit the ground running in their internship stints with financial institutions. I’m sure this facility is going to add more value to student seeking any financial career.

C Abhijit 

(Interned with DSP Merrill Lynch Mumbai, Debt Trading, Fixed Income Currencies and Commodities Desk)

I did my internship in Merrill Lynch Hong Kong in the Exotic Derivatives Trading Division. My work included extensive use of Bloomberg, Reuters and Microsoft Excel. With the help of a training program (from Merrill Lynch), I got used to Bloomberg and Reuters in a week’s time. Since my internship lasted just 8 weeks, 1 week is really important. I’m glad that students from the current year are armed with Bloomberg training even before the internship begins. This can help them to perform better in the internship and secure that coveted PPO. The new Finance lab can also be used to provide new courses that can be very practical and useful in the career perspective. 

 

M. Natrajan 

(Interned with Merrill Lynch Hong Kong, Exotic derivatives Trading Division)

 For people who are seriously looking at a career in finance especially in the investment banking space this unique facility at IIM C is another reason to choose IIM C. The highly learned and experienced faculty now has at their disposal another tool to share their knowledge and students can test out ideas immediately which very few finance programs in the world offer. It’s also going to be a center of frontline research and the ideal place for getting to know the groundbreaking work taking place in the world of finance.

 Srikrishna Swaminathan 

(Interned with Merrill Lynch Mumbai, Investment Banking Division – Real Estate and Infrastructure Group)

 For Jokatimes
Guhan M

214 students were honoured with Post Graduate Diploma in Management, an equivalent of MBA and the flagship title from IIMC. 54 students were honoured with Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Aided Management, also an equivalent of MBA and the other flagship title of IIMC. 7 students were honoured the title of Fellow in Management, an equivalent of PhD. Apart from these, 37 students were honoured with Post Graduate Diploma in Management for Executives, the one year fast track course for company Executives. 29 students were honoured with Post Graduate Diploma in Management for Executives for Visionary Leadership in Manufacturing.

Placed in the institute honour roll for their excellent performance in academics (PGDM) were Natarajan Shankar, Mehul Agarwal, Prasoon Saurabh Jain, R Anand, Lad Prasad Bhaskar and Souvik Chakraborty. Arnab Ray and Rakesh T P were placed in the honour roll for PGDCM. Piyush Singhi received the award for Best Finance Student. Rahul Shanu received the award for Excellence in Marketing. Indibar Mondal received the Bengal Chamber of Commerce award in the area of Human Resource Management. In Extra Academics, K Anantha Krishna received the B.S. Dua Memorial Prize for Organizational Ability. Harsh Vardhan Chhaparia received the Bharat Chamber of Commerce Medal for the most balanced and progressive outlook to management problems. Swetha Vigraham received the Pawan Tyagi prize for the best sportsperson of the year 2008. Atul Mathur received the Dr. B.C.Roy memorial prize for the most outstanding contribution to campus life in the year 2008.

As the Chairman, Board of Governors declared the convocation closed after a three hour ceremony, yet another batch of students became a part of the illustrious alumni of the institute. The Chairman, PGP, in his closing address expressed confidence in the fact that these students would further enhance the brand of the institute. We, the present students of IIM Calcutta wish the passing out batch a life full of joy, happiness and success.

Rahul Dasgupta
PGP Students’ Representative

IIM Calcutta has announced a significant increase in the stipend for its PhD programme students. This decision was taken in the Board of Governor’s meeting held on December 23, 2008.

The institute has a doctoral fellowship programme leading to the title of Fellow of IIMC in various management and related disciplines such as marketing, finance, strategy, economics, behavioural sciences, information systems, sociology, regional development and operations management.

The new stipend policy provides Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 24,000 per month and a Rs. 20,000 annual contingency grant.  Students are also provided a one-time grant for field study, laptop grant and a fully supported international conference attendance anywhere in the world.  
The institute has also revised various rules and policies related to the Fellowship Programme in order to ensure a more enriching academic experience.  This includes Teaching Assistantships with exposure to designing courses and taking classes, which will fetch upto Rs. 11,000 per month for the students in addition to the monthly stipend. 

Professor Bhaskar Chakrabarti, Chairperson of the Fellowship Programme, said the increase in stipend will attract more students especially those with industry work experience to get into an academic career.

It’s a war out there. A successful manager must out-think her counterpart. This makes the understanding of the underlying motivations and driving attitudes indispensable. The rules of the game are changing every moment of the day. Age old organisational set-ups are making way for the smarter and leaner structures. The smart manager thus can either be a structural designer or a “virtual” outcast.

Centre for Development and Environment Policy

The Centre for Development and Environment Policy researches policy issues in the field of Environment and Development.

Economics

Ever wondered why MBAs were paid so high or that how the $ commanded such a premium. It’s time you were exposed to the dynamics of demand and supply. This is just the beginning of a journey to understand the rational drivers of all economic activities. Accompanying you on this journey will be arguably the best faculty in the entire nation. Acquire the differentiator to pre-empt competition and demolish all existing monopolies.

Finance and Control

Here goes the call to all the number crunchers, all those wall street wannabes. When you talk finance, to put it simply, IIM Calcutta just cannot be excelled. The different courses take you through the ins and outs of audits and accounts. We make you value your assets, help you minimize the costs and plan the fund flow. At the end of the journey a company balance sheet would be worth a thousand words. An enabled corporate citizen you shall evaluate stocks, play around with the ratios and thus select your own cocktail of equity and debt instruments. As an empowered manager you shall acquire the power to turn-around any company.

Human Resource Management

No points for guessing what set the IIMs apart. The people-human capital, they harbour. The same holds true for any firm worth its name. This source of competence can neither depreciate nor be blatantly copied. To attain the same one needs an appropriate incentive structure that fosters a co-operative environment, where the goals of the employee and employer are in consonance. All this needs to be carried out in the backdrop of Indian labour legislation. Through these courses we strive to help you transform your business through a better understanding of human resources.

Management Centre for Human Values

The Management Centre for Human Values is the crystallization of two decades of aspirations and effort to hold up to the members of human organizations and institutions – in India and abroad – contemporary adaptations of the perennial corpus of Indian psycho-philosophical wisdom. It has taken up the mission of integrating the soft and subtle dimension of human values with the mainstream of skill-dominated management education.

Management Information Systems

At IIM-C we firmly believe that information is power. In the years to come the need for increased sharing of information will govern the changes in organizational structure. A basic understanding of information systems is thus mandatory. We endeavour to ensure that you drive the e-commerce revolution. These courses not only equip you with software tools but also impart an understanding of the hardware which will help you set design your own database. It’s time you started your own dotcom at IIMC.

Marketing

Are you market savvy? Soon enough this will be less of a matter of choice and more of a survival need. Be it an individual or an organization, marketing has come to be the driving function. Consumer orientation is the buzz word. Get an insight into consumer behaviour, find out all that has worked so far and all that hasn’t. Design your very own marketing strategy – choose a marketing mix that works the best. A dynamic mix of cases, lectures and projects to place you leagues ahead of the maddening crowds.

Operations Management

In the context of decision making in increasingly more globally competitive, complex and dynamic environments in the presence of uncertainty, the role and importance of the principles of quantitative analysis and management science are evident and universally acknowledged. In terms of the relevant background and expertise for such quantitative orientation in the context of Operations Management Group, the areas of Operations Research, Production Management including Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and the basic disciplines of Mathematics and Statistics are relevant and these are represented in the Group. The importance of the basic disciplines in forming the analytical core on which the foundations of Operations Research and Production Management rest, is realized and the activities of the Group will continue to reflect this by pursuing academic activities in the above mentioned areas.

Understanding the diversity in background of students, the courses give an equal emphasis on developing the basic modelling skills. The OM Group, thus, seeks to impart an in-depth understanding of problem solving methodology, the associated techniques and the necessary tools.

Strategic Management

In recent years, the group has provided new inputs through its research, teaching and consulting on corporate restructuring, merger activity, competitive strategies and international business. A few optional courses on these are offered and more are planned.