Guwahati

Meeting people at IIM Shillong

IIM Shillong is the 2007 IIM in Meghalaya's pine-covered Khasi hills, where students study in the Mayurbhanj Complex, a former royal summer palace, and celebrate birthdays at midnight on The Ramp whatever the weather.

The story of IIM Shillong

IIM Shillong was founded in 2007 as the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong. Meghalaya Chief Minister Donkupar Roy formally inaugurated the first PGP batch on 4 July 2008. The IIM Act, 2017 later brought it under the common IIM name and framework.

The institute operates from the Mayurbhanj Complex, the renovated former summer palace of the kings of Mayurbhanj in present-day Odisha, while a new campus of around 120 acres is being built at Umsawli.

Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was a regular visiting faculty member. On 27 July 2015 he collapsed while delivering a lecture on Creating a Liveable Planet at the institute and later died. IIM Shillong honours him with an annual lecture and the Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research and Analysis, which works on development models for the northeast.

What the campus is like socially

Shillong, often called the Scotland of the East, shapes everything here. Students mix coursework with treks, waterfalls and the city's famous music scene, and the small batches mean everyone really does know everyone. The Podium lecture series brings industry leaders up the hills, while clubs run market simulations and even golf lessons.

The rituals are local and specific. Birthdays are celebrated at midnight at The Ramp, rain or shine. Late-night study runs on the Night Canteen and on Uncle's Shop outside campus. Diversity is a point of pride too: 42.46% of the 2018 to 2020 batch were non-engineers, from fields like law and urban planning.

Traditions every IIM Shillong student knows

• Khlurthma: The annual management fest in October. The name means Battle of Stars in Khasi, and it draws over 1,200 students from B-schools across India.
• IIM Shillong Golf Cup: The flagship event, played at the Shillong Golf Course, one of Asia's largest, with over 150 corporate participants.
• Nirvana: The cultural fest. The March 2024 edition featured Ash King, Devesh Dixit and the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project.
• EmergE: The entrepreneurship summit, held in mid-September.
• Midnight at The Ramp: Birthday celebrations at The Ramp at midnight, whatever the weather.

Campus lore and insider spots

• The palace classroom: Case studies happen in what was once a royal summer residence of the Mayurbhanj kings.
• Kalam's last lecture: Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave his final lecture at IIM Shillong in July 2015, and the institute keeps his legacy alive through an annual lecture and a policy centre.
• Uncle's Shop: The off-campus eatery that keeps late-night study groups going.
• Scotland of the East: The hills, pines and mist make for one of the most scenic settings of any B-school in India.

How to find your people here

At IIM Shillong, a club or committee is the fastest way to build a real social circle, since the two-year program moves fast and most lasting friendships come out of a shared case comp or event team.

Fests and societies at IIM Shillong

Signature fests

• Khlurthma
• Nirvana
• EmergE
• IIM Shillong Golf Cup

Notable societies

• ConQuest
• Markathon
• bITeSys
• Nurturing Minds

Societies worth knowing at IIM Shillong

• ConQuest: The consulting and strategy club, running case competitions.
• Markathon: The marketing club, known for market simulations and branding challenges.
• bITeSys: The IT and analytics club.
• usHR and EcoBiz: The HR club and the economics and business strategy club.
• Nurturing Minds: A student-run initiative that teaches local children, inspired by Dr Kalam's philosophy.

Careers, internships and placements

IIM Shillong's recruiters span consulting, sales and marketing, finance and IT and analytics, and domain clubs like ConQuest, Markathon and bITeSys work as prep pipelines for each track.

The institute also works on the region's development, through the Centre for Development of North Eastern Region, which offers training and skill development to local entrepreneurs.

Rivalries and eternal debates

IIM Shillong sits in the middle tier of the IIM family and is often compared with Ranchi, Rohtak, Kashipur and Trichy by CAT takers. Its supporters lead with the setting, the small batches and the Golf Cup.

What IIM Shillong is talking about now

The new Umsawli campus, diverse batches and the growing Nirvana fest are the big talking points.

Meeting people at IIM Shillong by interest

A lot of friendships here form around a shared interest rather than a class or a hostel wing. If you are into finance and investing, startups and builders, debating and mun, running, and reading and book clubs, those pages cover where that scene actually happens in India and how to find people near you who are into the same thing.

Colleges nearby

IIM Shillong sits close to IIT Guwahati and Cotton University, all part of the same Guwahati student scene. Cross-college friendships often start at inter-college fests, hackathons, or shared-interest communities rather than in class.

Similar campuses across India

If you are looking beyond your own campus, students at IIM Sirmaur, IIM Tiruchirappalli, IIM Udaipur, and IIM Visakhapatnam share a similar campus culture, and Zyber works the same way at each: showing you verified people nearby who match on interest, intent, or timing.

Zyber on campus

Zyber is built for meeting people nearby in real time, with verified profiles only. At IIM Shillong, that means showing you people near you who share your interests or your drive, whether or not you overlap on a class or a society.

New to IIM Shillong? Start here

If you are just starting out, these freshers guides are written for exactly this moment: first week of college checklist, how to choose societies in college, making friends beyond your branch, and case competitions for freshers.

the freshers guide, the Meet People pillar, or read what Zyber is.