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INDIAN INSTITUTE OF FOREST MANAGEMENT

Established in the year 1982, the Indian Institute of Forest Management is one of its own kind catering to the management needs of the development sector particularly the in the area of forestry and its allied sectors. It is an autonomous educational Institute funded by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Over the years IIFM has evolved into a premier educational and research institution in South East Asia and has earned considerable global recognition for the same.

COURSES OFFERED

The courses offered at IIFM include the prestigious 2 year Postgraduate Diploma Programme in Forestry Management PGDFM, the M.Phil Level Programme in Natural Resource Management and Short term Management Development Programmes MDP's.

Post Gradulate Diploma in Forestry Management

Every year around the middle of June, a set of around 40 students from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds walks into the IIFM premises carrying aspirations of becoming competent professionals who would meet the managerial requirements of the corporate and development sectors after the next 21 months of the PGDFM course here.

Admissions to PGDFM:

How to prepare for the entrance exam

The final year of a Bachelor's degree in the life of any Indian student is the time to decide the destination and the right road to reach there. It happened with me too. I was pursuing my

Bachelor's in Arts in English and Economics from the University of Lucknow when I decided that I was to go for a career in management for all the points that I could find to justify this decision against the one proposed by my mother (Girls should always go for teaching jobs!!). Looking back, I realise that management for me at that time only referred to big multinationals and fat salaries. However, as the final year arrived we (me and a whole lot of my friends preparing for management) came to know that there was something called the 'sectoral management institutes'.

 My interest was immediately aroused when I first heard of IIFM since I was already associated with a monthly environment and health investigative started by group of friends who had just finished their Masters in Environmental Sciences as its assistant editor. A little more curiosity led me to open the IIFM website and there I discovered a whole new world….a world which offers enough challenges and excitement, unknown to many a 'MBA aspirants'.

Many such aspirants are not aware of the opportunities which lie untapped in the development sector of ours. Even I would have missed it, had it not been the information provided by the correspondence courses which are greatly instrumental in one's success in the entrance exams. I found the correspondence course provided by Institute of Management Studies ( www.imsindia.com ) which is the pioneer in training and counseling students for entrance exams of various professional courses like CAT, CET, GRE, GMAT in India, sufficient to be able to crack CAT.…atleast that's what I did apart from coaching from a local institute (which I did so as to be in regular interaction with other such aspirants like me and to know how they were preparing for the waterloo!!). I also referred to certain other useful books for building up a base like a vocabulary books written by Norman Lewis, Wilfred Funk etc, a couple of books on reasoning etc. Some books that I particularly remember are 'All about Words', M. Pandey's book on verbal reasoning and 'Trachtenberg system of Arithmetic' which gives many ways to make mathematical calculations faster which were developed by a German during his imprisonment in Hitler's regime.

The students go through enough rigour to be able to become PGDFM students. They undergo many months of preparation to appear for the highly competitive Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by one of the Indian Institutes of Management which is taken by over one lakh students every year. Those who wish to join this institution also fill up another form which can be obtained by the admission cell in IIFM so that their CAT scores can be considered by IIFM as well for admission to PGDFM programme. The announcement for admissions is generally made in the month of August in the leading national newspapers and the IIFM website ( http://www.iifm.org ).

The CAT exam is usually held in the month of December in all major cities of India.  

CAT is generally considered to be an extremely tough exam by the aspirants. I think more than the toughness it is the shortage of time and its demand for application of all reasoning and logic in a span of two hours that makes it appear so. There is never a set pattern to predict the expected trend in the next CAT. I would humbly admit that I generally avoid working hard specially if its for an exam. However, in case of CAT I actually enjoyed the preparation. I remember solving five test papers of IMS (that's 2*5 hours) every day in the last 15 days before CAT, apart from reviewal of mistakes. It was kind of addictive. There were various sections in this paper like Reading & Comprehension, Reasoning with Mathematics, Quantitative techniques etc. However, as I have mentioned before absolutely nothing is predictable about this paper.

How to prepare for the interview

Once the CAT scores reach IIFM, the candidates who are able to achieve the required level of score in each section of CAT are shortlisted and called for Group discussion and Personal interview at the IIFM campus itself. These are conducted in the month of May. It is advisable to keep a parallel preparation for the personal interview and Group discussion as well along with the preparation for the written exam. One just has to keep abreast of the latest in the world in general and Business in particular. I remember having occasional GDs with my friends on numerous topics. We also made presentations on certain important topics like automobile industry, Amartya Sen's works, Infosys, Bill Gates and his achievements, IT sector in India and not to forget I made one huge one on 'Environment and its Conservation' since I had IIFM well on my mind in this period. The interview at IIFM was the first feel of warmth at this place. The anxiety made me feel that I was not feeling well in the morning and the panel tried to make me as comfortable as possible by asking if I needed a doctor or any medicine. It was different that by the end of the interview I was literally feeling so light and fresh that I actually sat till the all the others who had their interviews on the same day got over with theirs to cheer them by describing how nice the panel was! I was mostly asked questions related to my subjects in graduation (English poetry to be precise) and certain other questions relating issues such as media projection of poverty in India which I now realise were meant to judge my attitude towards the sector to which IIFM caters. The group discussion had varied topics for different groups for e.g. my group got the topic 'WTO and India'.

 Evereyone gets a chance to speak atleast once….noisemakers are appreciated niether by the panel nor by other aspirants participating in the discussion. Attentiveness and polite presentation are the secrets to success here.

So, finally the ones who manage to pass through all the above mentioned filters are invited to join the IIFM community….nah….I should call it the IIFM family. It's a family which warmly embraced us when we first collected here as a new PGDFM batch. Most of us had heard the words Forest Management and development sector but did not have a clue what exactly will we be doing once we pass out of this place. Thanks to our faculty and our alumni we soon settled down into the beautiful surroundings and understood the nature of tasks that we'll be required to do as PFM graduates. It was only too pleasant to receive numerous emails from the alumni welcoming us to into this fraternity's fold, telling us which books to refer to, which place in the city to check out for fun etc…those who were in the city itself came down to treat us with ice creams and coke and shared their experiences in the field!!

In addition to Indian students, there are students from SAARC countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh who add to the cultural diversity.

(For more information please visit http://www.iifm.org/admission.html or contact ddebnath@iifm.org  , cad@iifm.org )

PGDFM course:

The structure of the programme has been designed to ensure that the skills developed are put to application during the course itself. The PGDFM programme is a unique management programme when compared to similar courses offered by other leading business schools of the country and the world. As part of the PGDFM programme, we spend almost one year (half of the total course duration) working in the field in different parts of the country. Day and night and through the next day, IIFM students work, read, and have fun too. There's always something new to finish, so study time is always broken by excursions into the nearby Museum of Man or the 'New Market' in the city in order to keep us all happy. Students learn to manage their time well here, but it's a general understanding that as soon as you finish, there's more to do.

PGDFM is a multi-disciplinary course which places an emphasis on knowledge and understanding of business processes, computer, quantitative and logical concepts, interpersonal & communication skills , financial management and accounting, natural resource management, marketing process and tactics, personnel management and organisational behaviour, social ecology and rural environment etc. Students are exposed to the different facets of the Development sector and they learn to empathise with the perils faced by the underprivileged. The wide array of courses equip the students with the required knowledge and understanding of the various problems confronting the rural India and also inspire them to direct their energies for the upliftment of the disadvantaged members of the society. The Association of Indian Universities has recognized the PGDFM programme as equivalent to a Masters degree of an Indian University.

IIFM has had a brilliant track record of 100% campus placement for the past 13 PGDFM  batches. It receives a large number of job offers for from diverse organizations, which include Corporate Houses, NGO's, Consulting Firms and IT companies. During the last few years, IIFM graduates have held with great distinction a number of job responsibilities in diverese areas as materials management and inventory control, Systems design,project management,MIS & Computer Applications, Marketing management, Financial functions, Organisational and personnel functions, Legal aspects, Community and forestry oriented programmes, Communication and extension activities, Natural resource planning etc.

Today IIFMites have a marked presence in the professional world

· As executives in

Action Aid, NABARD, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (I), NTGCF, Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd., Operations Research Group, ARAVALI, ORG, MARG, Ballarpur Industries Ltd., Oxfam India Trust, CAPART, Orient Paper Mills Ltd., CARE M.P., Seva Mandir, Central Pulp Mills Ltd., Pentafour Communications Ltd,. Citi Bank, Pradan, Core Parentals Ltd., Price Waterhouse, Coopers Deloitte Touche, Tohmatsu, Quantum Market Research Development, and

Research Organisation -Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Watershed Management, Ecotech Services, Research International India, EDA Rural Systems Pvt. Ltd., Risk Management Software, Forest Development Authority, RUDA, GIAN, Sanket, Gyandoot, Samiti, Siemens Information Systems Ltd., Harihar Polyfibers Ltd., Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Harrison Malayalam Ltd,. SPWD, Hindustan Latex Ltd., SRIJAN Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd., SRISTI, ICICI, Tata Consultancy Services, IFFDC, Indian Marketing Research Bureau, Tata Energy Research Institute, ISO/Swed Forest, UNICEF, ITC Bhadrachalam, WIMCO Ltd., J.K. Corporation Ltd., WINROCK, Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd. ,World Bank ,Lupin Human Welfare Research Foundation, WWF India,

· As faculty in

Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow and ASCI, Hyderabad

· As researchers in

Duke University, Buffalo University, Texas A & M University, University of Oxford, Virgina Tech. University, London School of Economics, Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon University, Brandies University, Syracuse University.

The average monthly salary for the last placement (2001) was around Rs.14000/- with the highest salary being above Rs.27000/- Almost all students graduated from IIFM last year had a choice of three jobs about four weeks prior to their graduation from IIFM.

M. Phil level course (MRM)

M. Phil level course (MRM): The course is first of its kind in Asia and is open to International participants. The course has been especially designed for practising natural resource managers and administrators serving in governmental and non-governmental sectors wishing to develop their knowledge and skills in the field of integrated natural resource management. The programme also provides opportunities for acquiring skills in research methodologies and critical analysis of decision-making options in sustainable management of natural resources

Management Development Course

Management Development Courses (MDPs): The Indian Institute of Forest Management is one of the biggest and most experienced quality training organizations in the India and South Asia region. With over 15 years of experience to its credit, IIFM offers a wide range of short-term training programmes, which we call Management Development Programmes, for executives and practitioners working in the area of Natural Resource Management.

The Campus

Yeah… how can I forget, IIFM looks the best at the time of the year when the new batch joins in and the monsoons showers have already begun. The campus has a rich flora and fauna despite the fact it was an absolutely bare and stony hill before the institute was established. It is a very attractive campus for the most part, particularly in the Spring and Summer, though it's nice all year round. The campus is located on the outskirts of Bhopal offering a panoramic view of the green meadows and scenic lakes. It has a main academic building, an administrative center, a guest house, sports and cultural facilities a beautifully designed mess and several residence halls. The landscaping is terrific. The campus generates a real feeling of comfort. The hostels have more amenities than we had ever thought of. As for the library extending to 3 floors, the advanced on-line system of library catalogues contains the rich collections of IIFM. The on-line system also gives students access to a great wealth of publications, greatly facilitating research and study.

The Faculty

The institute prides itself in having a multi-disciplinary, highly learned and experienced faculty specialising in diverse areas like Applied Computer Technology & Quantitative Techniques For Forestry Operations, Communication Methods And Forestry Extension, Ecosystem Management & Technical Forestry, Financial Management, Accounting & Control, Forest Resource Economics & Management, Marketing Management, Personnel Management & Organizational Behaviour, Sociology And Social Anthropology etc. The faculty is great when it comes to helping students with course work. The are very accessible and approachable when you need them for extra help even if it means having a lunch at their place.

Student Life

IIFM is a great place in that the students are friendly, the work is challenging and you see lots of cool stuff. The environment teaches much, especially humility. The diversity of students has had a tremendous impact on my experience. People are very approachable and welcome the opportunity to meet new people. It is the fellow students at this institution and the relationships created that make this place all the more memorable. However, one has to be prepared for huge sleep deprivation, but also for amazing, smart, crazy, fun loving people around. There are moments of great activity and movement, as well as periods of quiet and concentrated study. One must be prepared to learn, study, and take advantage of the resources that the institution and community can offer. Here, we live the two years to the fullest...after that, we know that we just would'nt have the same ability to sit up until 4 A.M. talking about world environment problems and/or favorite ice cream flavors with our roommates...and we'll only long for these diurnal nights.

At IIFM, I've realized the value of a comprehensive education, one that not only stresses academic performance, but also interpersonal skills, because academics really won't take you far independent of strong character and personality, attributes that are in far greater abundance at IIFM than at any other business school. IIFM has taught me responsibility and has allowed me to try out many things that I would not have dreamed of before coming here. Here, I have experienced change….change in every aspect of myself be it emotional, moral or personal After one year, I have made some great friends, am majoring in two things I really enjoy (Microfinance and Livelihoods in Natural resource Management) and I look forward to a successful future ahead.

'I'm thankful to my batchmates R.K.Arvind and Sonal Jamuar for their help in preparing this write up.

Shikha Kalra (skalra@envindia.com)

PFM 2001-03'