Indore? That is the first incredulous reaction. What is the industry located in the region which will be able to support the IIM, especially one which will offer specialisation in international business?

Dr V N Asopa, the founder-director, comes back with a robust reply. First, that their permanent location is at Pithampur, about 14 km from Indore, which has a sizeable manufacturing base. And the Indore Industrial Park at Dewas is another area which will be able to support the IIM.

The clincher, however, is the use of Information Technology. IIM-I will have the country's first electronic media-based library, which will become functional in the next six weeks, when the LAN is created. In an on-line environment, the physical location becomesirrelevant, was the thrust since the institute already has ERNET connections and will soon get VSNL connections for the Internet. Each student's room, moreover, will have a computer.

The course is also structured in a format representing the times. For the first time, the entire course is in modular form, with each topic being "contextually covered, through theoretical constructs, with an analytical framework and applications," Asopa explained. He added that though several B-schools had been talking of introducing such modular forms, none had so far actually done so.

He went on to refute the charge that the IIM's location would work against student placement in industry, pointing to the curriculum design which mandated up to 42 weeks work in industry in the first year itself, followed by the student having to go back to the same industry in the second year for a case study etc.

Moreover, the mandatory summer training will "preferably" be done abroad. With their access to the Internet, students areexpected to surf the Internet and find placements for themselves. This will help them overcome whatever drawbacks or shortcomings perceived in alumni of IIM-I at the time of job placements.

Asopa, who is on two years' leave from IIM Ahmedabad, said the Rs 65-crore project will move to its permanent location, on the Indore-Mhow road, about 14 km from Indore, in three years' time. At which time, its student strength is expected to go up to 120. Currently, there is a limit on the residential accommodation that can be offered, hence the smaller number.

The faculty strength is also expected to go up as the institute grows: from the present nine to over 30. However, this could prove a daunting task since Asopa insisted they did not want to lower quality standards yet attract the best in a competitive environment. And in keeping with the relative youth of the Institute itself, the faculty is also young: the average age of the nine-member faculty is 32 years.

While the number of students and faculty are bothexpected to grow by 2001, when they move to their permanent location, the courses on offer could take longer. Asopa was categorical that it would take at least another five years before they would be able to offer doctoral programmes. The time taken would be largely due to the effort at retaining the brand equity of the IIM brand, which is one that Asopa, for his part, is very keen on leveraging.

Since this is part of the IIM family, the students were selected from among those who took the common entrance examination for the IIMs. The fee structure, too, is in keeping with that of the other IIMs: the tuition fees are Rs 30,000 annually and other expenses are in line with those elsewhere: about Rs 45,000. The IIM-I has tied up with the State Bank of Indore for the granting of loans to any student wishing to avail such a facility. The Allahabad Bank has also shown its interest, Asopa added.