How IIM Calcutta cut timetable creation time by 70% using demand-driven, conflict-free automated scheduling
Overview
The challenge
Pain points
The solution
70%
95%
85%
100%
Timetabling at IIM Calcutta
IIM Calcutta implemented Registro's automated timetable scheduling system to replace a manual process that had become unsustainable as course offerings and faculty numbers grew. The system — built around demand estimation data, a course clash matrix, and faculty preferences — cut scheduling time by 70%, resolved 95% of potential conflicts, and incorporated 85% of faculty preferences into the final timetable.
Before automation, the scheduling team manually assigned courses to time slots — trying to balance student demand, course clash avoidance, classroom availability, and faculty preferences simultaneously. As complexity grew, the process produced inefficiencies, conflicts, and a growing dissatisfaction among students who could not enrol in preferred courses due to poor time slot allocation.
What the manual process couldn't sustain
Manual timetabling at IIM Calcutta required constant back-and-forth between faculty, administration, and students — trying to juggle demand predictions, conflict avoidance, and faculty scheduling constraints without any unified system. As the number of courses and faculty increased, this approach produced a compounding set of failures: scheduling conflicts, under-utilised classrooms, and student dissatisfaction from poor slot allocation.
The primary goals of the automation initiative were clear: increase scheduling efficiency, match course placement to actual student demand, prevent clashes and double bookings, incorporate faculty preferences without manual negotiation, and allow quick adjustments when enrolments or availability changed mid-term.
Where every term fell short
- Weeks spent manually assigning courses to time slots — without data on actual student demand
- No clash matrix in use — course conflicts discovered only after schedules were published
- Faculty preferences collected manually — inconsistently applied and frequently overridden
- Popular courses assigned to undersized rooms — mismatched to actual enrolment demand
- Classroom utilisation unoptimised — some rooms overbooked, others consistently empty
- No mechanism for rapid re-scheduling when enrolments or faculty availability changed
- Growing student dissatisfaction from preventable timetable conflicts
How Registro built the schedule
Registro's timetabling system was built around three core data sources — demand estimation, clash matrix, and faculty preferences — with a constraint-based optimisation engine coordinating all three into a conflict-minimised output schedule.
Demand estimation model
Historical enrolment data fed into a demand model — predicting course sizes and assigning popular courses to appropriately sized venues at high-availability time slots.
Course clash matrix
A matrix of common course pairings identifies potential conflicts — ensuring courses frequently taken together are never scheduled simultaneously.
Faculty preference integration
Faculty submit preferred teaching windows and constraints. The system accommodates as many as possible while maintaining a balanced, efficient schedule.
Constraint-based optimisation engine
Balances clash minimisation, classroom matching, faculty preferences, and time slot distribution — generating the most efficient timetable from competing constraints.
Dynamic re-scheduling
Quick adjustments in response to changes in student enrolment or faculty availability — without starting the scheduling process from scratch.
Optimised classroom assignment
Courses matched to rooms based on demand predictions — eliminating the mismatch between class size and room capacity that plagued manual scheduling.
Lessons learned
Data quality was the primary implementation challenge — accurate demand estimation and up-to-date faculty preferences were essential. Initial inconsistencies required cleaning and verification before the system could perform optimally. Faculty buy-in also required clear communication; once the system demonstrated it could accommodate most preferences, skepticism resolved quickly.
What the numbers showed
- 70% reduction in time spent creating timetables — weeks of manual effort reduced to days
- 95% of potential scheduling conflicts resolved automatically by the clash matrix system
- 85% of faculty preferences successfully incorporated into the final published schedule
- Classrooms matched to courses by demand — larger enrolments assigned to appropriately sized venues
- Dynamic re-scheduling enabled quick response to enrolment changes without full restarts
- Marked reduction in student complaints about course clashes and poor time slot allocation
- Faculty satisfaction improved — instructors received preferred teaching windows at higher rates
The automated scheduling system significantly improved our timetabling process. What used to take weeks is now done in days — with fewer conflicts, better classroom utilisation, and faculty schedules that actually reflect their preferences. The value of data-driven scheduling in addressing complex administrative challenges in higher education has been clearly demonstrated.
Explore More Case Studies
XLRI - Xavier School of Management
Placement Operations at XLRI
XLRI implemented Skynet in October 2018 to automate its Day placement process — replacing manual scheduling and student tracking with a single integrated platform. When the pandemic forced a shift to remote operations, EDTEX delivered a full Virtual Placements module, enabling XLRI to conduct its Summer Internship Process entirely online without disruption.
Since its implementation, Skynet has significantly enhanced XLRI's placement processes, demonstrating exceptional performance and reliability across multiple placement seasons for students, the Placement Committee, Institute Administration, and participating companies.
A process built for a different era
XLRI's placement process involves coordinating hundreds of students, multiple recruiting companies, and a placement committee — simultaneously and under significant time pressure. Before Skynet, this coordination relied heavily on manual processes: spreadsheets, emails, and ad-hoc scheduling tools that created fragmentation and limited real-time visibility.
When COVID-19 arrived, the challenge escalated — the institution needed to replicate the full placement experience in a virtual environment, without compromising quality, timelines, or participant experience.
Where the process was failing
- Manual Day placement scheduling prone to conflicts and coordination errors
- No real-time student tracking during active placement drives
- Fragmented communication between students, placement committee, and recruiters
- No infrastructure for virtual placement delivery during the pandemic
- High administrative burden on the placement office across every placement season
How Skynet changed Day 0
EDTEX deployed Skynet at XLRI to automate the full Day placement process — including structured scheduling, real-time student tracking, and centralised coordination across all stakeholders. When the pandemic hit, EDTEX developed a dedicated Virtual Placements Automation module with purpose-built interfaces for both students and companies.
Day placement automation
Structured scheduling and real-time student tracking across the full Day placement cycle.
Virtual SIP delivery
XLRI's Summer Internship Process conducted 100% virtually using Skynet's virtual placements module.
Dedicated student & company interfaces
Purpose-built portals for each stakeholder group ensuring seamless participation in virtual placements.
Continuous EDTEX support
On-ground support during active placement seasons with prompt issue resolution across all cycles since 2018.
What XLRI achieved
- Full automation of Day placement scheduling and real-time student tracking
- Virtual SIP conducted end-to-end with zero disruption during COVID-19
- Dedicated student and company interfaces for virtual placements
- Unanimous satisfaction across students, administration, committee, and recruiters
- Consistent, reliable operation across 6+ placement seasons since 2018
OP Jindal Global University
Course bidding at OPJGU
In 2020, OP Jindal Global University partnered with EDTEX to deploy Registro CBS — digitising its entire elective course bidding process through time-based selection windows. For the first time, more than 5,000 students could participate in a single registration window across 10+ schools and 45+ programmes, simultaneously and without administrative bottlenecks.
This innovation reduced manual effort by more than 97% for both Programme Offices and students, and allowed the institution to implement programme-specific credit policies, support multi-term bidding involving multiple elective rounds, and reduce overall student queries by 99% during course registration. To date, Registro has supported over 30,000 students and 5,000 electives cumulatively since its first implementation.
Bidding at impossible scale
Course bidding at OPJGU is one of the most complex academic operations in India's higher education landscape. The institution runs multi-term bidding across 10+ schools, each with its own credit policies, seat-sharing rules, and specialisation or concentration requirements.
Before Registro, this process required significant manual coordination between IT offices and programme teams — leaving room for error, policy inconsistency, and a high volume of student queries during every registration cycle. The existing approach could not scale with OPJGU's growing student intake.
What the manual process couldn't handle
- No unified system for multi-school, multi-term elective bidding
- Manual coordination between IT office and programme offices causing delays and errors
- Inability to implement and enforce programme-specific credit policies at scale
- High volume of student queries during every registration cycle
- No student visibility into course allocation process or seat availability
- Scaling limitations as student intake grew across schools and programmes
How Registro CBS took over
EDTEX deployed Registro CBS configured to handle OPJGU's full operational complexity — programme-specific credit policies, multi-term bidding rounds, seat sharing across schools, and concentration or specialisation implementation — within a single unified platform. EDTEX worked closely with the IT Office and Programme Offices to design the process, establish best practices, and customise the bidding system.
Time-based registration windows
5,000+ students managed simultaneously in a single real-time bidding window.
Programme-specific credit policies
Automated enforcement of individual programme credit rules and concentration requirements.
Multi-term bidding support
Multiple elective bidding rounds across terms — all managed within one platform.
Seat sharing & specialisation
Complex seat-sharing logic across schools with concentration and specialisation implementation.
Full student visibility
Students have complete visibility into the course allocation process — eliminating uncertainty and query overload.
End-to-end onboarding support
Power guides, live workshops, live chat support, and data preparation assistance for every bidding cycle.
The numbers that followed
- 97% reduction in manual effort for both programme offices and students
- 99% reduction in student queries during course registration
- 5,000+ students managed in a single real-time bidding window
- 30,000+ students and 5,000 electives supported cumulatively since 2020
- Programme-specific credit policies automated and enforced at scale
- Student satisfaction consistently rated above 4.5 out of 5.0
- First multi-term elective bidding cycles successfully delivered in India
Indian School of Business
Placement Operations Automation at ISB
In 2023, ISB Hyderabad & Mohali replaced its legacy placements platform with a fully customised deployment of Skynet — purpose-built to match the institution's unique placement workflows. The result is a unified, automated system serving students, the placement office, and recruiters across both campuses from a single dedicated cloud environment.
Recognising the unique needs of ISB's placement process, the Skynet platform was customised to fit the specific requirements of the institute — automating everything from student profile creation and CV generation to dream offer workflows, interview scheduling, and 50+ custom analytics dashboards.
A legacy system holding them back
ISB's placement process is not a standard workflow. It involves nuanced requirements — from dream offer management and PPT event tracking to custom access controls for different functional roles — that generic enterprise software cannot accommodate.
The existing legacy platform had become a bottleneck: unable to scale with the institution's needs, lacking the automation depth required, and demanding significant manual intervention at every stage. ISB needed a platform built around its process — not the other way around.
Where the old platform fell short
- Legacy platform unable to support ISB's depth of placement workflows
- Manual processes for CV generation, shortlisting, and offer management
- No centralised system for dream offer workflows and recruiter management
- Limited analytics and reporting capability for the placement office
- No cross-campus coordination between Hyderabad and Mohali on one platform
- High administrative overhead for invoicing, query management, and access control
A Skynet built for ISB
EDTEX deployed a fully customised instance of Skynet at ISB — designed in close collaboration with the placement office. The platform automates 16+ placement workflows across the full recruitment lifecycle:
- Student master profile creation, data validation & e-profile book
- Automatic CV generation in ISB's institutional format
- PPT event management with notifications & attendance tracking
- Applications and shortlisting management
- Dream offer workflows and offer management
- Interview scheduling across student and recruiter calendars
- 50+ custom reports and analytics dashboards
- Custom user access and functional control management
- Dedicated single-tenant EDTEX cloud for optimal performance
- Recruiter registration portal and invoicing workflows
- Query management system for placement season support
What the new platform delivered
- Legacy platform successfully replaced with zero process disruption at ISB
- Full end-to-end placement workflow automated across both Hyderabad and Mohali campuses
- 50+ custom dashboards delivering actionable placement analytics
- Dream offer workflows and recruiter portal live from day one
- Significant reduction in manual workload for placement office staff
- Improved transparency and real-time visibility for students and recruiters
Exceptional Support
Throughout the implementation and operational phases, the EDTEX team provided exceptional support to ISB Hyderabad. Their expertise in developing tailored software solutions ensured that the Skynet platform was perfectly aligned with the institute's specific needs. The team's responsiveness and commitment to addressing any issues promptly played a crucial role in the successful deployment of the system.
Conclusion
The implementation of the Skynet Placement Process Automation system at ISB Hyderabad represents a significant advancement in the institute's placement activities. By customizing the platform to meet their unique requirements, ISB Hyderabad has enhanced the efficiency, accuracy, and transparency of their placement process. The collaboration with EDTEX has proven to be highly beneficial, providing a robust and user-friendly solution that meets the high standards of the institution.
This tailored automation system not only streamlines the placement process but also ensures a seamless experience for all stakeholders involved, positioning ISB Hyderabad as a leader in innovative educational solutions.
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