It has been just a year since Debashish Chatterjee took over as the director of IIM-Kozhikode and he is already looking to make it count among the top ones. He shares his plans with Sreerupa Mitra. Excerpts:

n What are your plans for IIM-K’s expansion?

Since we are located on top of hills, infrastructure has always been an issue. Keeping that in mind we have acquired a 15 acre land in Kozhikode for infrastructural growth. The property cost us Rs 20 crore and was funded by the government. Further, we are also pros­pecting a site in Kochi to set up a satellite campus. We are in talks with a PSU in Kochi for taking one of its buildings on rent. If it goes through, we will look at new offerings and short-term courses on the campus.

n Is there any plan to set up a campus abroad?

No. But, what we intend to do is make the intellectual knowledge model of IIM-K available globally. That does not mean we will set up a brick and mortar campus. Today we have the technology available to ensure we address offshore markets by providing quality content without being present there physically.

n In that case, are you looking at any offshore destinations for providing your courses?

We have recently launched a two-year executive post-graduate diploma programme (EPGP) on an interactive distance learning platform in association with Hughes Net Global Education. The course, which encompasses all the executive programme modules that we provide at IIM-K, will help working executives acquire a career edge. We are planning to offer this course in few foreign locations including Dubai and Sharjah by the end of this year. We are also in talks with franchisee centres in Singapore and Mauritius.

n Are you looking to hire more faculty members?

As of now we have about 40 faculty members and we are always on the look out for more. Good faculty is never enough. However, at this point I cannot quantify as to how many more professors we are looking to hire.

n Has the placement salary level bounced back to the pre-meltdown years?

We have had a very good placement this year. As far as the salaries are concerned, we saw a huge improvement in the salaries offered this year compared to last year. However, the levels are yet to bounce back to the euphoria we saw in 2007-2008. It should be there in a year’s time.

n Do you think CAT should continue being an online examination?

Yes. CAT will remain online and we will ensure that it is more foolproof than the last one so that students realise that it will benefit them better than a pen and paper examination pattern.