Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition, Bengaluru

Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition, Bengaluru abbreviated as IHMCT&AN, Bengaluru or commonly called IHM, Bangalore is one of the finest hospitality management colleges in India. The institute is ranked 4^th by National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) which is accepted by Ministry of Human Resource Department and The Week for its outstanding performance in 2019. 

The institute is an autonomous body under Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and is ISO 9001:2015 certified. It is one of the central IHMs under Ministry of Tourism. It is also affiliated to National Council of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT), Noida which regulates its academic affairs. 

The institute was inaugurated as a Food Craft Institute in 1969 providing short term courses only jointly by both Government of India and Government of Karnataka. In 1983, its name was modified to its present name and it started offering long term courses as well which includes a 3 year under graduation degree program in Hospitality and Hotel Administration discussed in detail in later sub-topic.

LOCATION:

• The institute is surrounded by a lush green government campus called S.J. Polytechnic Campus, near MS Building (a State Government office) in Bengaluru. 
• It is situated in the centre of the city and near to Vidhan Sabha (or Vidhana Soudha as they call in their native language i.e. Kannada) i.e. at a distance of around 1 km. only.
• Conveyance facilities are easily available near the institute. Vidhana Soudha Metro Station and Sir M. Visveshwaraya Metro Station are situated near to the institute i.e. at a walking distance of 850m and 800m respectively which makes commute by metro easy. One can even travel by both public and private buses as many buses are easily available at the frequent interval of 10-15 minutes or sometimes even less outside the campus.
• There is a common spacious canteen called S.J Polytechnic canteen for all colleges in the campus. It provides delicious and nutritious South Indian food and hot beverages including coffee, tea and badam milk at very reasonable price.

COURSES OFFERED:

B.Sc. in Hospitality and Hotel Administration.: It is a 3 year under graduation program. The program is offered jointly by NCHMCT and IGNOU.

Following are the details regarding this course:

• Eligibility criteria: The applicant who has cleared his 10+2 class with minimum of 60% or going to appear for the final exams of 10+2 in the same year of registration are eligible for the course. Though people who have not got their result of 10+2 at the time of admission, will secure a seat on provisional basis and have to show their 12^th certificate later as a proof, otherwise, admission stands cancel.

Admission Process: 

1. To get admission in this prestigious institute, prospective applicants have to apply for All India Joint Entrance Exam of National Council of Hotel Management and Catering Technology i.e. NCHMCT-JEE. Application of the same generally starts in January every year and exam is held in last week of April or first week of May each year at various exam centres throughout India.
2. On the basis of the All India Rank secured by the applicant, he/she can secure a seat in one of the college affiliated to NCHMCT and is called for a counselling session at any affiliated college for submission of documents including copy of birth certificate, 10^th class certificate, medical certificate and transfer certificate. Seats in this college generally closes at around AIR 1100 for General category and intake is around 230 every year. Some seats are reserved for SCs (15%), STs (7.5%), OBCs (27%), physically disabled (3%), EWS (10%) and Kashmiri Migrants (1 seat in each affiliated institute).
3. After completion of these formalities, the applicant is called to the college in which he got admission for joining.

Subjects offered: There are four core subjects and some allied subjects. Core subjects remain same in each semester. On the other hand, 3 allied subjects are introduced in each semester. Core subjects includes Front Office, Food Production, Food and Beverage Service and Housekeeping which are core operational departments of an hotel. 

Fee Structure: Course fee for this UG program is around Rs.3,20,000 for 3 years.

M.Sc. In Hospitality Administration: It is a 2 year post graduation program jointly offered by NCHMCT and IGNOU.

Following are the details regarding this course:

• Eligibility Criteria: Applicant should have completed his UG degree or 3 year diploma in the discipline of hospitality or hotel management or any other equivalent field of study. Candidates appearing in final year exam may also apply for the same provided they have cleared their previous semesters.

Admission Process: 

1. Prospective applicant has to appear for NCHM MSC JEE and can secure seat in an NCHMCT affiliated college based on All India Rank in the exam. There are total 25 seats available for the program in the college.
2. After the result is announced, successful applicants are called for counselling and rest of the admission process is similar to that UG program.
3. There is also an option of direct admission if the applicant has a bachelors degree in hotel management by securing 55% marks from an AICTE approved institute/ university and have 2 years or more experience in 3 star or higher rated hotel.

Other details: The program focuses only on service sector which makes it set apart from most of the MBA programs. They are trained in such a way that they could be readily accepted by the hospitality and hotel industry through the blend of not only classroom learning but also counseling sessions and industry mentorship.

In the program, the students have an option to choose either Human Resource Management or Sales & Marketing as an area of specialization in Semester 3.

Fee structure: Course fee for the program is around Rs. 2,30,000.

Diploma Courses: Diploma courses are also offered in Food production and Bakery & Confectionery respectively.

The course includes 1 year of training in institute and 6 months of Industrial Training in a hotel.

Following are the details:

• Eligibility criteria: The applicant who has cleared his 10+2 class or going to appear for the final exams of 10+2 in the same year of registration are eligible for the course. Though people who have not got their result of 10+2 at the time of admission, can apply for the same on provisional basis.
• Admission process: Applications are invited by college through advertisement in leading local newspapers during the month of June every year and are selected through a transparent selection process.
• Fee structure: Course fee is around Rs.97000.

Craftsmanship Course: The institute offers this certificate level course in Food Production and Patisserie (includes 1 year of training in institute and 6 months of Industrial Training in a hotel) and Food and Beverage Service(includes 21 weeks of institute and 3 weeks of Industrial Training) respectively. Details for the course are as follows:

• Eligibility criteria: Applicant should have cleared class 10 from recognized board. He/she can even apply on provisional basis if he/she is going to clear the exam in the same year.
• Admission process: Applications are invited by college through advertisement in leading local newspapers during the month of June every year and are selected through a transparent selection process i.e. purely on the basis of merit.
• Fee structure: Course fee for Craftsmanship Course in Food Production and Patisserie is around Rs. 90,000 and for Craftsmanship Course in Food and Beverage Service is Rs. 35,000.

INFRASTRUCTURE:

The institute is a 5-storeyed building. Infrastructure of the institute is built by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Following are the key features of the same:

• It has spacious classrooms and well-equipped training restaurants and training kitchens. There are front office lab and laundry room also for front office and housekeeping practical respectively.
• The institute has its own training hotel named as Executive Development Centre. Some housekeeping practical take place there. It has some halls too which are not only booked by the guest but are also used for some college events as well.
• The institute has an amazing library with availability of local daily and national daily newspapers and magazines, besides, a good stock of journals and books regarding hospitality and hotel industry. 
• There is computer lab with 30 terminals and internet connectivity.
• It has two dining halls in which lunch is provided in college itself on working days.
• Hostel facility is also provided by the institute for both students and teachers. Hostel is at a distance of around 9km from the college. Room in hostel is provided on triple-sharing basis. It has an in-house gym and a table-tennis room also. The hostel’s premises have a lot of greenery offering a clean and peaceful environment. There are separate hostel buildings for boys and girls respectively but are connected through a garden. One could play games including lawn tennis, football and cricket there. There is also staff quarter for faculty.

TEACHERS:

The institute has very experienced and knowledgeable teaching faculty. They can polish a student in such a way that he comes out as a groomed professional. They teach not only about the syllabus but also give lessons on personal grooming, communication skills and management skills. They tell students about the grooming parameters in the first class itself and permits entry only when the student is perfectly groomed in the next class. One may initially think that this is too strict but they later realize how useful it is especially in hospitality industry. They not only provide theoretical knowledge but a lot of practical knowledge as well. One always has their back and can approach them anytime when they have any doubt or query.

EXTRA-CUTTICULAR:

Many annual events are organized by the college, besides, celebrating some local and national festivals. Key annual events include Theme Lunch, Annual Function, Sports Day, Ethnic Day and Food fest. 

Most of the events include beautiful decoration, cultural activities including dance and music and good food. 

Sometimes, Ministry of Tourism asks the institute to organize some events as well. For eg.- This year, the ministry asked to organize a theme lunch on Uttarakhand under “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” which was held on 29^th January, 2020. The organizing team was divided into Front office team, Kitchen team,  F & B service team, Housekeeping team, Decoration team and Cultural team with each team having its student and faculty coordinators respectively.

Students also go to participate in events and competitions organized by other colleges as well. Thus, the college helps in holistic development of an individual.

PLACEMENTS:

The college has 100% placement. Many hotel and retail companies come for campus recruitment. The package offered ranges from 2 lakh per annum to 6 lakh per annum after completing B.Sc. program and from 3 lakh per annum to 12 lakh per annum after completing M.Sc. program. Though the starting salary is little less but promotions are frequently given thus leading to an increase in the salary frequently.

Hotel and retail companies that come for campus recruitment includes The Oberoi, The Taj, The ITC, The Intercontinental Hotel group, The Park, The Lalit, The Leela, The Hilton, The Park, The Hyatt hotels, Club Mahindra Resorts, The Lemon tree hotels, The ITC Fortune hotels, The Marriot hotels, Bata, Tommy Hilfiger, KFC, Barbeque Nation, Starbucks, Café Coffee Day, Reliance Brands, Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Puma, Taco Bell, Cinepolis, etc.

These details of the institute clearly depicts that it is one of the best hospitality management college which trains a student to be a well-groomed and skilled professional. If one loves to interact with the people or likes to provide customer service or is passionate about the hotel and hospitality industry which is in fact one of the fastest growing industry in the world then choosing this college can be one’s first step towards success.

By Ankit Aggarwal, Jalandhar (Punjab)

Career in Veterinary Sciences