IISWBM tailors new campus to N Bengal needs

KOLKATA: In its golden jubilee year, the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, is going places — literally.
The ‘first management institute of India’ is opening a new campus in north Bengal very soon, one that is tailormade to local needs. Apart from this, plans are also afoot to tie up with various institutes across the country.
The branching out is part of the institute’s programme to concentrate more on sectoral management .“Evolution of management is going to be in sectoral management rather than straight MBA degrees,� director of IISWBM, A.K.Dutta said.
The north Bengal campus was on track, he said. The government has already allotted land in Siliguri in a prime location — opposite North Bengal University.
“The new campus at Siliguri will concentrate on the tourism sector and in training tourism management personnel. Later we will branch out to the public service sectors, like sports and healthcare, which also have great takers in north Bengal,� he said.
The north Bengal campus is unique in that it is aimed at providing needbased programmes, producing managers who can be absorbed in the local industry.
“We are not going to open up just another MBA institute there.We are planning a campus that will be tailor-made for the region,� Dutta said.
The Siliguri institute will take off with short, one-year diploma courses in tourism management. Degree courses will be added subsequently.
The campus, which IISWBM authorities say will be operational within the fiscal year 2004-05, is, however, is somewhat hamstring for funds.
“We are working it out with many multi-lateral funding bodies. Finances will be sorted out soon,� an official of the institute said. The faculty on the Siliguri campus will have local teachers as well as IISWBM staff.
The institute which will be celebrating its golden jubilee year convocation on Friday, had pioneered the concept of management studies in the 1950s and sectoral management programmes in 1990.
“We want to continue this tradition by branching out to other parts of the country too,� Dutta said. The institute has nearly finalised tieups with institutes in Pune, Hyderabad and Delhi.