Guidelines for Reopening IIM

Bangalore for PGP Students

(Offline F2F classes)

Content of the document

Rationale......................................................................................................................................................2
Suggestions for re-opening IIMB for in-person classes................................................................3
Appendix A: Phased and Staggered Entry.............................................................................................. 4
Appendix B: Campus Quarantine and Other Procedures..................................................................5
Appendix C: Campus Operating Guidelines........................................................................................... 7
Contingency Plans (in case of infection outbreak)............................................................................. 9
References and other institute guidelines.....................................................................................10

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 Rationale

Some tentative reasons for offline session (compiled from students of PGP’19 - ‘21 batch)

1. IIMB is a holistic experience that is not just built by the delivery of content in the
classroom. Almost all students at top universities in India and the World agree that out-
of-the-classroom learning with peers, socializing, group discussions, and many other
components of life inside the campus shape the personality and thought process of the
students. Going online definitely is going to dampen and dilute this entire range of
experience that a premium institute like IIMB has to offer.

2. More importantly, QS did a survey within India about access to the internet (especially
broadband). More than 70% of Indian students use mobile hotspots that provide little
internet bandwidths. Only a paltry 15% have access to broadband in their homes. Many
Indian cities in the hinterlands won't even have available broadband connectivity. And
above all, the power systems within India are not reliable. As soon as rain showers hit,
many cities and localities face power cuts that run into hours, if not days. Additionally,
students may also come to IIM from not so privileged backgrounds. Their houses might
not be harboring enough space for them to sit quietly and attend classes. These are all
real and practical challenges. And because of these challenges, many students perhaps
run the risk of missing live courses, hence the experience. They might even have
difficulty streaming the recorded lectures.

3. All of us in our batch are pioneers now to experience virtual internships this summer.
Most of us slogged hours sitting at home, working remotely. The experience has not
been the best in many eyes. People had immense trouble getting things done. And most
importantly, the entire experience of working in top-notch companies took a hit for all the
summer interns. It would be even worse for folks without work experience who got a
glimpse of work-life for the first time. Hence, out of the experience, we say that online
has a lot of challenges and is not something that any of us is going to enjoy.

4. A lot of institutes in the US and the World (the likes of HBS, Kellogg, etc.) are
consistently taking feedback from students and are planning for an in-person instruction
this fall. A growing sentiment across the students is that they want to go back to

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 universities and colleges and get started with their learning. We can refer to two of the
articles in NYTimes and FT. If one searches across the web, we will find enough such
opinions.

5. For a lot of us, we have taken courses such as TOS, Corporate Strategy that heavily
relies on the anvil of class participation, and enriching discussions. And students don't
want to miss out on CP and discussions within the classroom when it comes to such
courses.

Suggestions for re-opening IIMB for in-person classes

Guiding Principle for the policy of reopening

1. Fraternity members’ health and well-being are of utmost importance and all policies
framed should address that as a priority.
2. The academic experience of the PGP classroom and peer learning forms a significant
portion of the development of MBA students. The policy should address that the quality
of experience does not suffer for both PGP2 and PGP1 students.
3. The vulnerable population (those with comorbidities) need to be taken care of.

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 Figure 1: Flow chart of activities and guiding principles for all steps of re-opening for F2F offline classes

Appendix A: Phased and Staggered Entry

Reopening of IIMB would require the following preparations-

1. Before students enter Campus- An online student entry form to be rolled out at least 2-
3 weeks prior in order to plan for phased entry of students. The form will collect data of
the whereabouts of the students in the last few months, mode of travel (travel history),
and health condition.
The form enables us to plan for phased/staggered entry to the campus. Special
guidelines for entry and more stricter screening procedures can be put in place
for students from severely affected states like Maharashtra based on the
information collected from these forms.

2. Entry in campus- We suggest that entry in campus should happen in a phased manner
spanning 4-5 weeks. The batch size for each entry can be decided post the analysis of
information gathered from the student entry form. A tentative guideline for phased entry
is as follows. All students will undergo mandatory quarantine as mentioned in Appendix
B.

Batch Timeline
Students residing in green zone areas 4 days

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 Buffer days 4 days
Students residing in orange zone areas 6-7 days
Buffer days 4 days
Students residing in red zone areas 8-9 days
Buffer days before commencing session 5-6 days

This schedule is subject to modification on the basis of data of students residing in each
category of districts. It has been recommended to call green zone students first as with time
procedures would self-correct and the learnings from onboarding of 2 batches could help in
smooth entry of students belonging to red zone. Also, each student that arrives will be first put
into quarantine in earmarked rooms in MDC. A Central tracking team will have to manage the
arrivals so that they are coordinated with respect to the availability of quarantine rooms.

3. COVID 24x7 Control Room: As students will arrive at different hours and with multiple
guidelines in place, there ought to be lot of queries that may arise. A COVID 24x7
control room is envisaged to deal with it. A control room can be established within IIMB
and the email ID and phone number details to be shared with all students. For example,
if a student is symptomatic on arrival at the Airport, she/he will have to be put under
institutional quarantine either in a hotel or any other place that state has designated. In
that case IIMB will maintain details of the student and keep track of her/him. Similarly,
students may arrive at night and will have to undergo testing in morning only, so they
would have to be kept in other rooms and contingency food packets and other essentials
might be given to her/him till she/he is kept in that place.

Appendix B: Campus Quarantine and Other Procedures

1. Installing disinfectant tunnels at all entry gates. One such disinfectant tunnel called
dwaar has been installed in IISC, Bangalore and we can take a cue from them in this
regard.
2. Mandatory Health checkup prior to entry in hostels: All students should be thermally
screened prior to entry. Along with this, all arriving students can be tested using RT-PCR

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 or with rapid antibody testing kits (or both) and to conduct these tests IIMB can
collaborate with organizations with these testing capabilities in Bengaluru which include
a. Neuberg Anand Reference Laboratory, Anand Tower, Bengaluru
b. Cancyte Technologies, Bengaluru
c. Sakra World Hospital Lab Services, Devarabeesanahalli VArthur Hobli
d. Centre Diagonstic Lab, Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
Centre, Bengaluru
e. Lab Services, Apollo Hospitals, 154/11, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru
3. In case students are arriving at night and can't be tested properly before entry, we need
to single out certain COVID rooms to accommodate them before they are tested
properly.

4. Post Entry Quarantine in Campus

As per the guidelines issued by Government of Karnataka, anyone entering the state
from outside needs to maintain a home quarantine for 14 days. In this regard, students
arriving in campus would have to stay in a quarantine for 14 days at MDC. Since the
entry will be phased out, at any particular point of time the campus shall have students
which are still in quarantine and those that have completed their quarantine and so there
needs to be separate guidelines for them. Every quarantine student should be stamped
and issued a quarantine pass and booklet and welcome kit explaining how they should
maintain quarantine and social distancing. Once their quarantine period is over, they
could accordingly update their status in record. Below are some measures that could be
taken to ensure post entry vigilance.

a. Digital Tracking: Every student should be asked to carry a thermometer and

oximeter. However, if students are not able to arrange them the institute
pharmacy should maintain enough stock of them so that students can buy them
once they enter campus. An excel sheet should be circulated in the entire batch
and student need to themselves take their readings on this equipment and
update the excel on a timely basis regarding their temperature and oximeter
readings on SPO2 levels. Quarantine students should be required to update the
excel daily and non-quarantine students can do it weekly or as is deemed fit.
b. Hostel: Since we don't have attached washrooms in order to maintain hygiene, it
would be best to sanitize the washrooms every 2 hrs. For this purpose, the admin

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 can create sanitization teams for each hostel block. Also, each hostel block can
create their own vigilant team to ensure that social distancing norms are
followed. The water coolers in hostels should be divided such that some in each
block are earmarked for quarantine students and others for non-quarantine
students.
c. Mess: There needs to be bifurcation in mess for quarantine and non- quarantine
students or the quarantine students can be delivered food in their rooms if that is
feasible. It is also advisable to create specific mess timings for each hostel block
so that at any point of time, the mess doesn't get crowded. The seating
arrangement in mess should also be changed to comply with social distancing
norms. Additionally, if possible, students who are in quarantine should be
delivered food packets in their room with contactless delivery.
d. Monitoring movement: Movement outside the campus can be restricted or
monitored. No delivery boy/vendors should be allowed inside the campus. All
food packets, e-commerce packets can be collected from the main gate of the
university after passing through sanitization tunnels. All vehicles entering campus
should also be sanitized. Movement within the campus should also involve
precaution, thermal screening capabilities should be created outside all publicly
used places like library, NDR, classrooms etc. and they should be sanitized from
time to time. The infrastructure should be adjusted at all these places to comply
with social distancing norms.

Element of choice: However, the risk perception of individuals can differ. So, if a particular
student or parent feels that at this point in time it is unsafe to travel back to campus, she/he
should be allowed to take online live classes provided she/he has internet bandwidth and
reliable power back up to attend live classes.

Additionally, as the campus is a closed community with restrictions in place for outside
travelers, we might be in a position to reduce any risk of contagion spread and restore to
normalcy once multiple weeks have passed in current settings.

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 Appendix C: Campus Operating Guidelines

1. Social distancing would have to be followed at all points in campus once the quarantine
period is over.
2. Mess timings can be extended to allow for social distancing. Appropriate markers and
chairs will be kept maintaining social distancing between students. Students may also
carry their tiffin and collect the food and eat in their room, if feasible. More space in the
open can be utilized to include more people in the dining area. Food will be served by
the mess staff only with appropriate gear such as gloves, masks etc.
3. Classes can also allow for social distancing. A hybrid model can be used for classes. A
typical class may have around 60-70 students. A batch of 35 can attend offline and the
other batch can attend online on campus internet facility. The batches will be rotated to
allow for at least 1 offline class for each batch in the week per course.
4. Appropriate awareness about social distancing will be made available time and again
and at various points in campus (by use of posters, WhatsApp groups, emails, etc.). A
COVID-monitoring empowered taskforce (volunteer group) can monitor such practices
time and again to see that they are being followed at all times in the campus for safety
and well-being of all fraternity members.
5. Large number of sanitizers can be placed in various locations for people to sanitize their
hands regularly. Students and all fraternity members will be advised to carry pocket
sanitizers at all times while roaming in the campus.
6. Face masks will be mandatory once the student steps out of her/his room to avoid risk of
spreading, if any.
7. Washrooms will be sanitized at appropriate frequency to remain safe for use for
students.
8. Housekeeping staff maybe advised to wear PPE kits/Hazmat suits while inside the
hostel premises during sanitization of washrooms and other procedures.
9. Students will be advised to maintain hygiene and cleanliness of their rooms on their own.
No room cleaning service will be allowed till the situation is deemed unfit.
10. Gymnasium, Sports Center, Library, Swimming Pool and all places of common gathering
will be closed till the situation is deemed unfit by the administration. SAC and COVID
empowered monitoring group may keep track of all updates and may advise the
administrations on potential re-opening and plans for it when deemed necessary.

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 11. Canteens (Haneenas, NC, Prabhakar) to offer contactless take-aways like Quick Service
Restaurants. All hygiene best practices to be followed by all the staff members who are
working in the canteens (such as facemasks, gloves etc.). A contactless window can be
created where students can place order, self-pay using the ID-card and collect the
packed food for consumption in open area with social distancing or their own rooms.
12. Similar contactless window to allow for shopping of other relevant items within the
campus such as grocery and other daily need items.
13. Haneenas, MARS to keep reasonable stock of sanitizers, hand washes, thermometers,
face masks, gloves and other hygiene and safety related things in campus for access to
fraternity members.
14. A separate colored dustbin to be installed at all convenient and accessible points within
hostels, residential areas, classroom complex, dining area and pathways to dispose off
face masks, gloves and other things appropriately. Housekeeping staff tackling with solid
waste in campus would be advised to wear PPE kit and dispose-off the waste in proper
manner and then undergo sanitization.
15. Classrooms maybe sanitized at appropriate frequencies (once in two days). The
frequency can be decreased as the situation improves and stabilizes further. No AC use
policy can be scheduled for the classrooms to allow for safer environment for all.

Contingency Plans (in case of infection outbreak)

 Coordinating with the BBMP commissioner/Incident commander (appointed by the

commissioner for each containment zone) for planning the perimeter and provide
manpower help if requested.
 Help in strict perimeter control, surveillance activity, provision of essential services, etc.
 Strategy of isolation, contact tracing, testing and containment will be aggressively
followed to contain the outbreak.
 Certain rooms in MDC will be earmarked for any such infections outbreak.
 Identifying a room or an area for use as an Incident Command Centre for 24/7 use with
basic amenities (will be needed).
 Health Centre to host the Health outpost which will host BBMP doctor and field staff for
outreach activities.

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  Medical dispensary to be operational 24x7 in case of any contingency that may arise.
 Maintaining sanitation, facility for disposal of biomedical waste should be arranged in
consultation with the Incident Commander.
 Psychological support through the Wellness Centre.
 Closure of all departments and labs, other than essential services.
 Arranging transport vehicles.
 Disinfection of areas visited by COVID positive patients as follows,
o 1% Hypochlorite Solution
o Readily available solution in market or prepare every 24 hours with bleaching
powder (320 grams of bleaching powder in 10 litres water or 1 kg bleaching
powder in 30 litres of water)
 Can be used for bus stands, railway stations, buses, trains, vehicles,
malls, cinema theatres, marriage halls, office spaces etc .
 Can be used for cleaning floors and surfaces
o Lysol Spray (Lysol IP: 50% Cresol and 50% liquid soap)
o 2.5% Lysol (1 litre Lysol in 19 litres water for bus stands, railway stations, buses,
trains, vehicles, malls, cinema theatres, marriage halls, office spaces, etc.)
o 5% Lysol (1 litre Lysol in 9 litres water) for Hospitals, Clinics and Ambulances.
 Apollo and Fortis could be used to provide medical emergency services to IIM Bangalore
or any other state/private hospitals as the need maybe.

References and other institute guidelines

1. Indian School of Business Hyderabad and Mohali Campus detailed guidelines for
on-campus operations:
https://www.isb.edu/sites/default/files/ISB_Post_lockdown_Health_Safety_Plan_V1.0.pdf
2. IISC, Bangalore: https://covidadvisories.iisc.ac.in/
3. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/no-institutional-quarantine-for-maharashtra-
returnees-karnataka-health-minister/articleshow/76283043.cms
4. IIM Raipur Guidelines: https://iimblr1-
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