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General Notes
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This Sheet won't be accessible from 11PM TO 12 AM as we will be adding responses to new queries.
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The given link contains the PGPSM Overview document as well as the admission guidelines every confirmed aspirant would have received along with their offer letter email. Please find the link for the same --> Click Me
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Placement Report link->Click Me
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Previous Batch Profiles->Click Me
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Link to raise NEW queries->Click Me
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QUERY RESPONSES
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S. No.Your Question/QueryAnswer
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1I require some basic idea about Sustainability managementEssentially, Sustainable management looks beyond short-term quarterly profits, and focuses on long-term gain by incorporating the environmental and social costs of doing business into management decisions. It is reflected by the triple bottom line concept that is based on the pillars of 3P (People, Planet and Profits)
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2How good is the PGP-SM program with respect to the course and the placements?A pioneer in the field of sustainable management, PGP-SM offers a holistic perspective on economic, social and environmental issues. In addition to offering general management courses, PGPSM’s curriculum stands out in management education by means of offering specialized courses on systems thinking, social entrepreneurship, externalities, lifecycle management, stakeholder management and public policy. It will provide an added advantage of the sustainability, which is currently the booming area in the national and global market.

Placements offered in the past can be viewed by checking the placement report available in the college website.
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3Classes conducted would be in online or offline mode?Depends on the Management's Decision.
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4Want to enquire about experience in pgp-sm program and about the faculty and differences from traditional pgp. My profile is suited towards finance, so I want to know about the finance related aspects in the program.The curriculum of PGP-SM is rigorous and is designed to equip students with the multiple facets of management such as operations, strategy, Finance, ethics, economics, decision making & sciences and marketing with the thorough understanding of business sustainability & public policy in the hindsight.
The curriculum is broadly divided into 3 content themes:
• General management related concepts
• Sustainability - including Environmental as well as Social aspects
• Decision making and analytical ability related concepts
The first year is divided into 3 terms which start with the courses in Finance, operations, organizational behaviour, macro-micro-resource economics, strategy and tactics, principles of sustainable management, Sustainability Reporting, creativity and innovation, environmental law, marketing concepts, consumer choice and buying behaviour, systems thinking and information systems.
The second year is divided into 3 terms with a 1.5 credit worth Integrated Project (IP) that happens across the 3 terms. 2nd year starts with advanced courses such as Supply chain management, Human Resource Management, Project Finance, Customer Relationship Management, Public policy, Lifecycle Management, Environmental and Social Risk Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Social Entrepreneurship & externalities trading and end with the choice of electives. The current batch is pursuing electives in Investment Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Brand Management, Applied Theory in Strategy & Competition and corporate valuation & restructuring.
The pedagogy followed is Case study method. Case study methodology helps infuse analytical thinking.

Finance aspects : The basic finance courses are more or less similar to that offered in PGP. Above that we have electives in finance related subjects
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5How is PGP-SM different from PGP in terms of its scope, placements and profile offered ?Sustainable management looks beyond short-term quarterly profits, and focuses on long-term gain by incorporating the environmental and social costs of doing business into management decisions. It is reflected by the triple bottom line concept that is based on the pillars of 3P (People, Planet and Profits)
Regarding placements and profiles, you can check the college website for previous year details.
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6Scope of SM program and future roles PGP-SM offers a holistic perspective on economic, social and environmental issues. In addition to offering general management courses, PGPSM’s curriculum stands out in management education by means of offering specialized courses on systems thinking, social entrepreneurship, externalities, lifecycle management, stakeholder management and public policy. It will provide an added advantage of the knowledge on sustainability which is currently the booming area in the national and global market. Placements offered in the past can be viewed by checking the placement report available in the college website.
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7How this course is helpful for Ntpc person in long termNot restricting to any company, PGP-SM is ideal for anyone who wants to explore Sustainable Management, something that is relevant across every field of management in today's world as well as in the days to come
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8Job profiles after completing SM courseThe roles offered to previous batches were a mixed bag i.e. roles offered in general management (related to marketing, finance, operations) and we got ESG related roles in sustainability as well. To quote a few, some of the roles offered were investment management, Corporate Sustainability, Product Managers, senior consultants etc.
Please refer the previous placement reports available in the IIM L website to know more about the roles/profiles offered.
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9As the PGP-SM program is taught at the IIML Noida campus, I would like to know how much interaction the students will have with the students and faculties at the main campus. Are the SM students allowed to go for campus visits and do courses at the Lucknow campus?Very interesting question, but to be honest depends on what you call as interaction. If you mean interaction with professors, yes we do have that every term, we have multiple courses taught by faculty from main campus only, but at the same time interaction with main campus students is limited, other than one personally reaching out to them. We have yearly visits to the main campus, but unfortunately that has been hindered by the pandemic. At the same time, we also have electives which are occasionally taught by main campus professors, and we have quite a few great professors here as well, who teach other courses like IPMX, WMP etc.
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101. How does PGP-SM differ from the regular PGP program at IIM L in terms of resources and opportunities available for the students?

2. What are some of the prospective organizations for the students incoming in terms of internships and placements?
1. Please refer to Q. 5, and all other previous questions related to the opportunities available to PGP-SM students, in terms of resources the Noida campus is spread over 20 acres in middle of Noida with a nearby metro station. The hostels are single room occupancy with all the room service facilities available. It has all TT, Pool, Basketball, Football and other sports facilities available. Contact us if you need any specific information regarding any of it.


2. Please refer to reports available on the website.
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11Will I get a refund of my token amount if I decide to change college after 30th May?Please refer to the joining instructions you have received as an attachment along with the offer letter email. As per the email, last date of withdrawal for accepted offer is June 20,2021. If you wish to withdraw your offer before that, you will be charged Rs 1000 and remaining amount will be refunded. Any withdrawal request after that will fetch no refund.
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12I have my nc obc certificate prepared on 27th march 2021. I could not go outside due to covid situation. Also as per the tehsildar this certificate is valid for 1 year. What shall I do.I have been selected for pgp sm. I am very much worriedPlease refer to the joining instructions you have received as an attachment along with the offer letter email. It's mentioned clearly that NC-OBC certificate issued after April 01, 2021 will only be considered for admission process. If you have further queries in this aspect, please get in touch with admission office. For contact details, please refer the attachment in your offer letter email.
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13Any update over the final placement of 2019-21 & summer placement of 2020-22 ??Yes we have successfully completed the final placement process for our 2019-2021 batch. The report has been uploaded on the official website.
The roles offered were a mixed bag i.e. roles offered in general management (related to marketing, finance, operations) and we got ESG related roles in sustainability as well.
To quote a few, some of the roles offered were investment management, Corporate Sustainability, Product Managers, senior consultants etc.
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14Details of Summer Internship of 2020-2022 batch and final placement details of 2019-2021 batch are not available on website. When can we get those details?
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15Do we have to be present on 1st July at Noida campus physically for Term 1 registration, right? Or will it be conducted online?As mentioned in your joining instructions the dates are tentative and are subject to change with respect to the government guidelines. The same goes for the mode of registration (online/offline). As of now, we have no official information regarding the mode of registration. In case we receive any update, we will be sharing it across. Also, you can try checking the same with Admission Office for more clarification as the decision has to come from their end regarding the same.
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16I am working in an organization which has notice period of 75 days. I won't be able to complete the notice as I have to join the college in July.

I will get my last salary slip, but if I am unable to get my experience letter, will it affect my college onboarding process or placement documentation process?
1. Please check with admission office for clarity as it is them who will be verifying your documents related to onboarding and proceeding ahead.
2. You should keep the joining letter, last pay slip, resignation approval/acceptance email handy to prove your work exprience (as an alternative); provided Admission Office agrees for the same.
3. As far as we know, your last date in the organization cannot exceed the start date of this program. Hence date of release should be captured in any email or interim release letter mentioning the date of leaving the organization; which may be asked for.
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17Do we have offshore placement opportunities at campus drive for pgp-sm students?We did collaborate with few companies with international offers, but couldn't finalize them due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. Let's hope things get back on track so that we can extend the collaboration for final placements this year.
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18Placement reports are not much transparent.....are there 5 students didn't got placement last year.... because batch strength was 33 but only 28 placedThe 5 students you are referring to had voluntarily opted to sign out of the placement process! Amongst these 5 there were some candidates who were on sabbatical leave with their previous employer and some were working with government bodies
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19Hi mentors.. Is there any virtual session to be conducted for converts from Management/Alum side? To answer all the queries form the students before joining PGP programme?1. At this point, we don't have the final list of confirmed students and the possibility of a virtual session is unlikely. If there are any pressing issues that you want the management to address, you can reach out to us and we would take it up with the management

2. Once the list of admits are finalized before the classes begin, you:
a. will have a session with us
b. might have a session with faculties (we had last year)

3. To address basic queries, we have provided you with a FAQ sheet to raise new queries and view answers to all queries answered in the past.

4. You can reach out to your mentor if you are not completely satisfied with the response in the FAQ sheet or post your query here in the WhatsApp group.

5. If you have not been allotted with a mentor during WAT-PI, you are allowed to reach out to us via LinkedIn or other mediums and have a one-to-one conversation regarding your queries.

6. Access to this Whatsapp group's chat history has been provided to everyone in the group so that new joiners can know what all were discussed here.
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20I am having work ex of 7 years . Will that have a negative impact for placements ? Also I wish to take sabbatical so will I be able to attend the placements ?We've had students with more than 7 years work-ex and they did not face any issue with respect to placements.
People on sabbatical are allowed to sit for placements after providing a no-objection certificate from their employer.
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21If a person selected in PGP-SM in first offer and waitlisted in PGP. if he don't accept his/her PGP-SM offer. will he/she be still consider for PGP in subsequent waitlist ?In case you have received an offer of admission to one of the Post Graduate Programmes of IIM Lucknow (whether accepted or not), it does not preclude your candidature for admission to other Post Graduate Programme(s) in the subsequent list(s).

The same has been mentioned in the point 6 mentioned in the email you have received as part of your admission offer from Admission Office:
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22Why is the batch strength been decreasing over the years in PGPSM even though the institute has been increasing the intake ? Has this been a cause for concern for the management?IIM-L does not compromise on the quality of students it admits just because of the number of seats available.

There have been several misconceptions about sustainability as something related to environmental studies and probably that is why in the previous batch few people chose to go to regular PGP program instead of PGP-SM. People often believe that sustainability is something restricted to CSR or EHS, but this is not the case. Corporate sustainability is about the way of doing business and strategizing business operations to ensure long term gains while considering environmental and social costs. Sustainability is an overarching concept and finds applications in every functional role including Finance, Operations, HR, Marketing, etc. With the rise of requirement to declare ESG performance, there is an increasing demand for managers who understand sustainability.

The moment candidates realize the scope of growth in this field, we can expect an increase in the batch size. Also, it is to be noted that the course does not restrict anyone from pursuing general management roles.
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23I was searching for people on LinkedIn who were working in Sustainability roles and I saw that every big Indian company/MNCs had such roles.

Did you or any of the batch mates try to apply for these companies? If so, what was the result and may we know why these companies don't come for summer/final placements

Thank you!
To answer your queries related to placement prospect in such companies:

Sustainability is a very specific domain whose importance was realised after UN released the SDG's back in 2015. Since then all the companies whether it be core consulting companies or any other giant conglomerate started focusing on ESG and sustainability related roles. If you see we hosted Tata trust a few years before for final placements and this year we had companies like MSCI and SSGA. We have a 3 step collaboration with Companies in form of summer placements, IP, and finals. You can also see candidates who got sustainability related roles were more than 60% in number and it shows the emerging importance of the domain. in countries like US/UK companies started giving importance to ESG way before and the same trend is slowly being incorporated in India. So to conclude I would say we are on a Rising track where we have collaborated with more IT giants and other companies for our forthcoming years. Hope it answers your query.
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24Due to covid-19 pandemic, is the international immersion program cancelled? & How was the experience of earlier students who visited Europe for the same - any testimonials you could share?Yes, it was cancelled for the previous batch due to pandemic. For the current year, initiative has been kickstarted; however the final outcome depends on travel restrictions set by government authorities. Please refer the below instagram post available in the official handle about the same shared by one of the senior batch --> Instagram
A detailed write up is available here --> Immersion Write Up
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25We have received the below set of queries from various students wherein we have promised that we will talk to Admission Office and share the response. The queries are as follows and the responses are captured to the right:

1. Will there be any compulsory reporting to campus considering the current Covid situation? Will term registration be conducted online or offline
2. Hi everyone, Can you please let me know about the EWS certificate? Do we need it to be valid for the year 2020-2021 (as it was during document verification and interviews), or do we need a fresh certificate for 2021-2022?
2.1. Can we be given some extension for the same? Form 16 is also not yet released by the government, based on which we can generate a new certificate.
3. Due to COVID restrictions, will we get some extra time to arrange certificates? If yes, how much time roughly can we expect. And what would be guidelines for the same?
4. Do we have to mandatorily complete the medical tests and get certificates from the doctor, considering the current situation? If we can have some sort of relaxation, please mention the details?
5. I am working in an organization that has a notice period of 75 days. I won't be able to complete the notice as I have to join the college in July. I will get my last salary slip, but if I am unable to get my experience letter, will it affect my college onboarding process or placement documentation process?
1. As of now and because of current situation we are in process of conducting everything Online. Rest depends on the situation that time.
2. They need to submit the fresh certificate for the AY 2021-22 at the time of registration. If you face any issue then after taking permission from the Chairman they can submit it later within given time duration.
2.1. Yes, after taking permission from the chairman at the time of registration.
3. Yes, you need to get the request approved by chairman and then you can submit document later. Exact timeline will be shared around the registration time.
4. You have to complete test but we will give extra time after taking permission from the chairman.
5. Admission is provisional in Term-1. So they have time to submit the document before the end of Term-1. Regarding placement process, check with placement committee.
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261. What can the incoming batch do to utilize their time in the next 4 weeks before joining IIML, particularly candidates with engineering background? [read as: things you wished you knew before joining]

2. What are some of the case competitions applicable for SM students?
1. You may choose to take some rest and do things that you enjoy before joining the course. If you are keen on preparing for the course then you may go through the fundamentals of microeconomics, financial accounting & analysis and statistics. Brush up your MS Office skills! You can solve cases & guesstimates in this link -> https://t.ly/aP0m
You can also arrange and scan your grade cards, documents and certificates (will save a lot of time later).

2. Please check the case competitions on https://dare2compete.com/
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27In undergrad, the internship and placement processes take place in the pre-final and final years. There is generally a GPA threshold for shortlisting, followed by tests and interviews. How do the firms shortlist candidates in B-schools as the internship processes take place after term-1?We do not mention our PGP-SM grades anywhere for both summers and finals. Shortlisting depends on company and the role for which they are hiring. There are various parameters which helps you get a shortlist. It may be relevant work experience, some certifications related to the role, in some cases exceptional pre-MBA grades also helps, and there can be n number of parameters. Sometimes, companies look for an all-rounder who has decent grades, relevant work ex and extra curricular as well. It depends solely on the company.
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28What are the clubs and committees available?Refer --> Link
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29I am taking sabbatical from my organization and I ll be getting relieved from my project on 25th June after that I wont be working in my organisation but my LWP/Sabbatical starts after I expire all my leaves . So will it be an issue ?
In the query sheet , I have noticed in an answer about getting NOC for people who are taking sabbatical , But my organisation doesn't provide that . So will a mail from my manager is enough?
Please check with pgpsm office directly if they can provide any relaxation like considering any approval email or other proofs. For placement activities, it is a must to have NOC certificate to avoid any legal issues at later point of time.
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301. Please guide on some of the materials one can refer, to be introduced to the SM side of things prior to commencement of classes. Considering the person is from a different background.

2. Is it possible to make available a POC for each of the committee and club so that we can get a better idea of the activities and responsibilities involved? Or once the list of students joining are finalized, can we have an interactive session for the same?

3. For regular classes are we expected to be in smart casuals?
1. Our best advice would be to wait for the classes to start as you would get the best lectures from the professors at IIM Lucknow. However, owing to your curiosity, we will suggest the below:

a. You can look upon the below topics on the internet:
Triple Bottom Line, ESG, Renewable Energy Sources, Climate Change, United Nations SDG, CSR, Decarbonization, Net Zero goals (at company level, country level)

b. You can follow World Economic Forum, check sustainability reports of companies, check into sustainability initiatives at ITC, Walmart, IKEA to understand what companies are doing out there in this domain.

c. You can check for courses related to Sustainable Development in EdX.

2. All committees/clubs POCs will interact with you once list is finalized. Also, there will be an interaction among the 2 batches before classes start and after list is finalized wherein if you have any queries or need any idea, we can respond to.

3. There is no specific dress code and we are free to wear anything comfortable and decent.
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31Per the email shared by admission office, the induction program is a 3-day event (12th to 14th July).

1. What will the 3-day program look like?

2. What will be the expectations from the new batch over the course of this induction program?
PGPSM office will share a detailed brochure with you containing the itinerary. Usually, the first day will have the batch inauguration, sessions by Director, Program Chair, Dean and a guest speaker. For the induction program, there will be a session by the PGPSM Chair giving an overview of the program, a session by the CDS chair regarding the career opportunities, a session by the Student Affairs chair regarding campus life, a session by the Incubator Team Chair regarding Entrepreneurship activities. Apart from this, different professors might have sessions on various management principles/topics/areas that are essential and act as a starter for management students.
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32Profiles after PGPSMPlease refer Question No : 5
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351. The clear picture of placements in a basic way as I still didn't get the placement report on website
2. Will the IIML campus placement companies and Noida campus companies for placement be same.
1. Past year placement reports are already updated on the website. Summer placement reports, final placement reports and IP placement reports for current year is also uploaded on the website.
2. There are companies which goes to both campuses and there are companies which goes to only one of the campus which depends on the profile/role the company is looking/offering.
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361. Will a PGP SM program equip me with knowledge on how to build a business in the sustainability domain?

2. Can other roles like product management/operations be explored after completing a PGP SM program?
1. PGP-SM program teaches you the basic management courses which a normal MBA program offers and in addition, few modules on the Sustainability domain. It depends on each individual regarding how he/she puts in use the knowledge gained and there is no limitation to it; be it for starting own venture.
2. One can always explore any roles based on his skillset and expertise. For final placements, it would depend on what the participating firms will be offering
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37How good are the opportunities and scope of SM in future? Please refer Question No : 5
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38What are the placements and other career opportunity after doing an MBA in SM?You can refer to question number 2. Along with that you can refer the placement reports that are uploaded on the IIML website.
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39What are the future prospects of doing Sutainable Management Course from IIML?You may refer to item 7 (Scope) under the IIM Lucknow PGP-SM Overview 2021 document shared.
In addition, some of the profiles offered to the 6th batch for their final placements included Corporate Sustainability Consultant, ESG ratings specialist, ESG risk assessment, General management, Finance, IT/ITES, Marketing, Operations, etc. Further information on the same can be found on the PGPSM LinkedIn page.
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40I have converted PGP SM in first list under obc ncl and hence got a mail to keep the documents ready for admission process. In the documents attached in zip file, there is format for obc ncl and a office order memo for obc ncl.
Can you confirm if we have to fill/submit that office order memo for obc ncl or is it just the guidelines document for obtaining the central obc NCL certificate?
I have already obtained my central obc NCL certificate.
You are ideally expected to have a certificate that is obtained after 31st March of the year you are taking admission in. If you have the certificate, then that is all that will be required. Other things in the folder are just for guidance
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411)I have a work experience of nearly 5 years. How will it affect my Summer Internships ?
2) Of NITIE SM and IIML SM What are the pro's and con's of each?
1) The average work experience of SM batches has been above 40 months historically. THe current batch has an average work ex of 41 months and a maximum of over 6 years. So you will fit right in with the batch and will gain eual opportunities. The candidates in the past have been offered better/higher positions in the final placements as well on the basis of higher past work experience.2) The program at NITIE & IIML are both called SM but taking a glance at the course structure reveals that both the programs are very different. PGPSM has a minimum work ex requirement of 2 years which allows experienced people to join the course and make a unique learning environment in the classroom with people bringing their varied experiences with them. PGPSM has a seperate placement committee focused on PGPSM placements that allows us to get very desirable, sustainability focused roles instead of just CSR roles. PGPSM program also has this never-seen-anywhere else component of Integrated Project(IP) in which students are required to work with an industry for 9 months compulsorily and gain valuable experience. From this year IIML has also started publishing the stipend from IP in the reports seperately as well and can be referred on the IIML website. And goes without saying that the IIM Lucknow name comes with a lot of advantages, a strong alumni network and it does open a lot of doors.
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42I want to know the feedback of Alumni from 2018/2019 pass-out batch or any previous batch.
Do they feel that it was worth opting for pgpsm and what opportunities they got in corporate world globally once they have 2-3 year of experience working in sustainability role after successfully completing PGPSM.
[From a 2018 passout] Yes, I feel PGP-SM is worth opting for. When I was graduating, the options for an SM graduate were few. Through campus placements, I joined the energy division of a Big-4 and helped many clients with the renewable energy and GHG emission targets. But later, I moved on to Accenture and have been helping the clients in various domains - clean energy, plastic waste, circularity, etc. Back in the day, consulting at the Big-4 was the premium opportunity. But now, the SM alumni can also been seen at MBBs, and other big corporate houses. With the stress from government, the scope of sustainability is beyond the corporates now, even smaller firms and start-ups are constantly in lookout for sustainability experts.
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43Is there any scholarship available at IIM L for PGP SM students? (Merit cum means or any other)Yes, there were multiple students who received the IDFC First bank scholarship. Also, students are eligible for the merit cum means scholarship as well as other government scholarships. To know more about the scholarships specifically offered by the IIM L, the student should get in touch with the financial aid team at IIM L once he/she joins the program. To know more about scholarships, please refer the buddy4study.com portal for external scholarships and scholarships.gov.in for government scholarships.
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44- Would you recommend PGPSM programme to someone who aspires to get into product?
- The campus seems really quiet. Is it always the case?
- What's the career trajectory like for a ESG consultant(best profile you can get into from this course it appears)?
- People say mba is mostly about networking. In your opinion, does networking take a hit when the batch size is so small?
- The fees mentioned is 24.25L. Are there any additional charges that are not covered?
1. Every year there are few roles that are offered for Product via the campus placements although it's not generally the most sought after role. The curriculum is designed in a way that is in coherence with the general PGP & that can give you similar exposure. Candidates will have to work on their profiles similar to other PGP program.

2. The campus houses approx 200 students as full time candidates with all the outdoor and indoor facilities available. It's about the preferences of the candidates how they would want to utilize the facilities provided and there is whatsoever no restriction on the utilization of the campus facilities. If this is not what you were looking for, please be more specific here.

3. You can climb up the ladder of a Sustainability domain of a consulting firm or you can work in the sustainability team (more of a mainstream recently) and climb up the ladder to be the CSO

4. Not specifically, rather you can be a part of a close knit growing community of alumni and stay upbeat of the development of sustainability domain. There are only few other colleges in India offering a similar course, so you can have a chance to grow your network with those students as well, while you carry an IIM brand with you.

5. The foreign immersion fees will be covered extra based on the college that the batch & committee decides to go. Mess fees are excluded in the amount.
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