facilities at the branches vary but are usually less extensive. Arindam Chaudhuri is Honorary Dean of IIPM. The regular faculty of the institute comprises its own alumni and visiting professors. About 20% of the faculty have doctoral degrees. According to the Financial Times, IIPM has recruited many international professors to teach in India. The institute has built up its teaching faculty by recruiting its own alumni. Under the Global Outreach Programme, IIPM invites faculty members from business schools across the world to its campuses to teach its students. Academics Offered programmes IIPM is an academic partner of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, which issues degrees to IIPM students. According to the institute, it offers international programmes and programmes under its School of Business and Economy. These include undergraduate programs in planning and entrepreneurship lasting three years and postgraduate programs in the same subject lasting two years. A one-year postgraduate course is available for working executives with at least two years of past work experience. The institute also offers PhD and Fellowship programmes for postgraduates. The institute does not award BBA or MBA degrees; it awards certificates for its students who can then apply for degrees from allied institutions. Since 2010, IIPM students can get MBA and BBA degrees from Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. Courses Under its programmes in planning and entrepreneurship, the institute offers certificate courses aimed at making students eligible for degree courses. The IIPM course lasts 22 months and includes 1,944 hours of teaching. The postgraduate programme has 1,920 contact hours. The institute tries to give its students a "hands on" approach to learning, assigning them to work on consulting projects in major firms. In the first year, core subjects include marketing, accounting, finance, economics and organizational behaviour. In the second year, marketing and IT courses are compulsory and students choose a major in human resource or finance. The institute also offers courses that take unconventional approaches to business management. There is a focus on developing executive communication. All students of the institute attend a 21-day compulsory trip to Europe as part of its Global Opportunities and Threat Analysis (GOTA) programme. The programme arranges visits to multinational firms and political organisations. Since 2008, students have visited Africa and Australia under the GOTA programme. Relationships with other educational institutions In 2006, IIPM collaborated with Stanford University's Center for Professional Development to organise a strategy workshop in New Delhi. In 2008, professors from