IIM, Ahmedabad was established in 1961 as an autonomous institution by the Government of India in collaboration with the Government of Gujarat and the Indian Industry.

Vikram Sarabhai, a noted scientist and industrialist and other Ahmedabad-based industrialists played a major role in the creation of the Institute.

It was registered as a society with a Board of Governors to oversee the functioning of the Institute. The Board has representatives from the Governments of India and Gujarat, the Industry, the IIM-A Society, the IIM-A faculty, etc.

In its formative years, IIM Ahmedabad collaborated with the Harvard Business School. Largely as a consequence of this collaboration, IIM-A pioneered the case method of teaching in India.

The Postgraduate Programme in Agribusiness Management (PGP-ABM) is a programme specially designed for education and development of students seeking a career in management (related to the agriculture, food, rural and allied sectors of the economy).

Course content includes all different functional areas of management such as:

Environment Management Logistics Organisation Research Methods in Agricultural Marketing
Rural Advertising Design and Dynamics of Developmental Management in Agriculture Systems
Finance for Agricultural Production and Marketing Analysis in Agriculture
Management of Technological Change for Sustainable Agriculture
Forecasting Techniques and Their Application in Agriculture Agricultural Output Marketing
Management of Agro-Industrial Projects Management of Co-operatives
International Trade in Agricultural Commodities Agricultural Development Policies
Management of Seed Production Marketing of Agricultural Inputs
Business Development Strategies for Agri-Commodity Systems

One of the objectives of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, is to assist in the development of teachers, researchers, and trainers for management education. To this end the Institute has collaborated with a number of educational institutions in India and abroad and has organised a series of short-term University Teachers' Programmes. To further this effort, the Institute started the first Faculty Development Programme in 1978.

The programme is a full-time (one-year) residential one. Participants are required to stay in the students' dormitories, which provide modestly furnished single room accommodation. It is a programme in management and was built upon the experience gained by the Institute in conducting many programmes for university teachers.

The major thrust is to upgrade skills in management education, training, and research, of those management teachers who do not have exposure to recent developments in pedagogy and research trends and still continue to teach or are being earmarked to teach management courses, irrespective of their qualification. It aims at enabling participants to develop a sound competence in general management education and in management education pedagogy, while allowing them a limited opportunity to enhance their knowledge in specific management disciplines.

IIM-A also offers refresher courses for middle and top level management in the form of workshops, seminars etc., in its Management Development Programme (MDP).

The one year Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) is aimed at experienced executives who wish to acquire formal training in management. It has a general management focus, with an emphasis on managing across borders and cultures. It has an international immersion component besides teaching content drawn from many countries. The goal is to prepare participants to be ready to take leadership positions in the firms that they join.

There are two main events in IIM Ahmedabad are- Confluence ( called the 'national geek parade') and Chaos (cultural/fun fest).

There are many clubs - mostly centered around business: strategy, finance (beta club), marketing etc.