The Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME) campus in Bangalore?s Electronic City is akin to that of a self-sufficient township. Located in this technology hub, the three-acre campus provides residential facility to all its students, a canteen, a lounge, basketball and tennis courts and a fully-equipped gym.

It is XIME?s belief that a healthy body houses an efficient corporate mind. ?The gym and the playground become the focal points of activity in the evening,? says Prof. T.C. Alexander, dean of XIME. ?Regular intra-college matches are held to create a fit, healthy and competitive environment,? he adds.

In sync with the times

Set up in 1991, this fully residential B-school was founded by a group of prominent educationists. ?The institute provides management education not only to those seeking a career in the corporate sector, but also to entrepreneurs, small scale industrialists and those working in public systems,? says Alexander. The dean claims that XIME is the only college in Bangalore to have received a five-year accreditation from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

XIME offers four postgraduate programmes. The B-school?s bread-and-butter course is the two-year postgraduate diploma in business management (PGDBM). Approved by the AICTE, its course curriculum is revised every two years to keep abreast of changing business management requirements. The two other full-time programmes include a one-year diploma in construction management and another in hospital administration. ?The hospital administration programme provides students with an understanding of the entire healthcare system,? says Alexander. The course is open to graduates in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and even the administrative staff of hospitals who have a graduate degree.

Management and the man

Apart from the three programmes mentioned, XIME also offers a three-year, part-time postgraduate diploma course in business management in collaboration with public sector undertakings like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. ?The objective of the programme is to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of modern management concepts and their application in real-life business situations,? says Alexander. The teaching methodology comprises lectures, case analyses, role-play, teamwork and fieldwork.

Entrepreneurship is a core subject in the course, and so is Socially Useful Productive Activity (SUPA). ?It is mandatory for every student to work as an intern with an NGO as part of the SUPA course. This helps them understand management issues in NGO development,? says Alexander. Second year PGDBM student Ram Prakash sees the internship as a lesson in reality. ?The 12-week internship with an NGO is a huge learning experience ? we get to see life outside our comfortable classrooms.?

Value addition

XIME?s campus facilities include classrooms, a conference hall, an auditorium and a computer centre. The library houses almost 20,000 books and journals. The students? lounge is a place to unwind ? with carom boards, pictionery games and the television. Alexander says academics and extra-curricular activities are granted the status of equals at XIME. ?We have awards for the best performer in academics, the most musically inclined student and those we consider have the potential to add value to the society,? he asserts. According to second-year student Prakash, non-academic activities are high on the agenda. ?The evenings are normally spent in club meetings or in-house sports events,? he says.

VARUNA VERMA

OLD MEMORIES

Padma Srinivas, freelance human resources consultant

I JOINED XIME in 1998. The institute was new and had not established itself. Even then, I opted to join it because of its ?Xavier? parentage. It was a good decision.

The institute?s USP was its faculty, some of whom were visiting professors from the IIMs. They gave us hands-on tips on organisation structures and crisis management.

Conferences, activities and interaction with the industry are the reaching tools at XIME. Also, there is a lot of emphasis on extra-curricular activities, like quizzes and inter-college meets. The faculty encourages students to organise events.

My social consciousness increased at XIME. As part of the compulsory programme with an NGO, I worked with Child Relief and You (CRY) and Little Sisters of the Poor. The experience helped me acquire an edge in my field.

AS TOLD TO VARUNA VERMA