KOLKATA (TIP): In a bid to expand its global footprint, Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) has become the first institute in India to tie up with CEMS, an international alliance of management institutes across 28 countries in the world. “This is part of the internationalisation strategy by IIM-C.We will become the only school in India to be a part of this alliance.

We are going to sign a memorandum of understanding with CEMS, through which our students will have the opportunity to get masters in management (MIM) degree from CEMS,” said Ashok Banerjee, dean, new initiatives and external relations, IIM-C. CEMS currently includes 28 academic institutions from Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia.

It also has about 70 companies and some non-governmental organisations as its partners. “Based on the agreement, we will have a three-year exclusivity with CEMS in India. Our students will be able to study in the best global institutes and in exchange, the students there will be coming to IIM-C.

This will also help us in getting rated among the best management institutes in the world,” said Banerjee. The CEMS MIM is a post-graduate degree open to a selective group of students enrolled on a master’s programme in one of the 28 listed institutions. The course will be available for IIM-C students from 2013-14.

CEMS, formerly known as the Community of European Management Schools and International Companies, had gone on a globalisation strategy opening up to institutes in Asia, Australasia, and North and South America since the middle of the last decade. The last country to be a member of CEMS was China in 2011.