The Indian Institute of Management, popularly known as IIM, is one of the leading educational institutions recognized globally for imparting quality Business Administration courses. This, complemented with the rapid growth in social technology, is probably one of the biggest steps that could turnaround the prospects of Indian education system across the globe.

After politicians like Shashi Tharoor and celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, its time for IIM Bangalore Alumni Association (IIMBA) to make a mark in the social networking world. As part of the process, the association aims at connecting with its alumni through social networks, including Orkut and Facebook. Though the primary objective is to connect the alumni through their public portal www.iimbaa.org, it also aims at leveraging the social platforms to get in touch with them electronically.

One would normally expect everyone to have a profile on Orkut or Facebook with the explosion of social networking sites in India since the last 3 years. Taking this to its advantage, the association would work towards involving the alumni in various activities like course design, guest lectures and placements. Though these activities are termed as short-term goals, Prof. Sankarshan Basu, chairperson at IIMBA expressed that the alumni played a significant role in placements at the institute.

Last year’s global recession had a tremendous effect on the placements, especially during the month of September, thanks to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other financial institutions. Companies offering recruitment directly took a stride back, while institutes faced tough time in dealing with the placement procedure throughout the month. This was the period when the alumni played a key role in giving an additional push to the students whenever required, thereby alleviating their anxiety.

The whole idea builds on the concept of ‘sharing’. Similar to social networking sites where people share their ideas, thoughts, views and experiences with their connections, the alumni would be asked to share their experiences with the students through guest lectures. Besides, the association also wants them to give an insight into the industry to help the institute design curriculum as per the industry needs. As far as the long-term goal is concerned, IIMBA aims to seek help from the alumni to raise-funds through different activities.

So, will IIMBA set an example for other educational institutions to change their gears and accelerate towards the digital revolution? We’ll have to wait and watch!