TNN, CHENNAI,

Classrooms in business schools in India have been growing in size over the past decade, spurred by an increase in demand for management professionals. Top institutes are opening new campuses and new B-schools are popping up everywhere like a bad case of rash. Management education is more accessible than ever before, but quality has taken a severe beating.

Around 2,500 institutes in the country now churn out one lakh MBA graduates every year. The problem, say industry leaders and B-school professors and alumni, is that there are too few teachers, even at premier institutions. While the number of students at IIM's flagship Ahmedabad campus increased sharply from 1999 through 2009, from 165 to 280, faculty strength went up only marginally from 83 to 90.

Indian School Of Business , Hyderabad, started with 120 students and two teachers in 2001. Today it has 570 students and 46 faculty members - a better ratio than 10 years ago but still not good enough for a top management institute , say experts. Harvard Business School has a student-teacher ratio of 7:1.

Students are feeling the pressure because of decreasing interaction with teachers. Amit Mahajan (name changed on request), a member of IIM-A's class of 2010, says there were 280 students in his batch. "At the end of the course, we barely managed to cover case discussions," he says.

"Larger batches can result in less student networking of the type that once helped old classmates set up new companies ," says IIM-Ranchi director M J Xavier, an IIM-Calcutta alumnus.

Lack of infrastructure in new colleges is also a concern. Tamil Nadu's only IIM will soon be a year old but the institute is still functioning out of the campus of National Institute of Technology, Trichy. Dip in quality of MBA grads worries India Inc.

The rapid growth in batch sizes at business schools could have a wide ranging impact on business and hinder the development of new companies, say experts.

Premier institutes like the IIMs have always had close-knit student groups and strong alumni networks, says IIM-Ranchi director M J Xavier, an IIM-Calcutta alumnus. "The networking within these groups that helped old classmates conceptualize and incubate start-ups and create business connections could already be on the decline," he says.

Heads of companies believe that course content does not reflect business realities. The cornerstone of an MBA course at a premier school is based on case studies that require intensive interaction between students, teachers and companies, but this contact is diminishing, they say.

"One reason why students from the IIMs are readily employable is because faculty members are in close touch with industry and understand its requirements," says K S Sundar Ram, an IIM-A alumnus and executive director at auto components company Natesan Synchrocones.

If batch sizes continue to grow, he says, teachers will not have much time for industry contact or research. Some institutes, like ISB, Hyderabad, say they are trying to address the issue by giving weightage to research work that includes publication of papers and industry interaction during annual appraisal of faculty members . "Faculty time is demarcated between teaching, research and administrative matters, with research being given the largest share," says ISB deputy dean Deepak Chandra.

But company heads say the government must also act and change its policy of inclusivity at the cost of quality. Six new IIM campuses have been set up since 2009, taking the total number to 13 by 2011. As with other premier management institutes that are expanding more rapidly than feasible, inadequate infrastructure is a worry even at the new IIM campuses.

Experts say the government's mandate to decide the pay of faculty members has also created problems.

"Because of this, IIM-A has been forced to find other ways to supplement compensation and this has led to many unintended consequences ," says Prafull Anubhai in recently-released book The IIM-A Story.

New Delhi:

Majority of graduates surveyed from top management institutes like IIMs prefer a job profile of their choice to hefty pay packages, a study by industry body Assocham said.

In the survey conducted by the chamber, about 83 per cent of the respondents said job profile of their preference would help them in the long-term and they can compromise on big salary offers.

It has surveyed over 500 management students from business schools, including IIMs, IITs, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Symbiosis Institute of International Business and Xavier Institute of Management.

Among the sectors popular among these graduates, banking tops the chart followed by consultancy, marketing and IT, the survey said. However, rest of the respondents said they prefer fat salary to a good job profile, it said.

According to survey, management graduates like to work for a new company rather than for an established one.

ET Bureau, NEW DELHI,

The Indian Institutes of Management, which sit at the top of the business education totem pole, can normally rely on the power of the IIM brand to land their wards well-paying jobs year after year. But as this year's placement season looms, some are being forced to do the unthinkable - seek outside help - in the process, painting a sorry picture of the economy where slowing growth is forcing companies to cut back on hiring.

IIM-Indore, a relatively new member of the IIM fraternity that was set up in 1996, plans to partner with some placement firms to make sure that all 450 students in the current batch receive offers. The institute is in talks with around five agencies.

"We are trying to help our students get good placements," said N Ravichandran, director of IIM-Indore. "At this point, we have to keep the names of these agencies confidential," he said.

Other IIMs may go down the same path. Sunil Goel, director at Global Hunt India Pvt Ltd, said apart from IIM-Indore, Calcutta and Lucknow had also contacted the firm. Tier-II and III B-Schools are also likely to feel the slowdown pinch.

"We are in discussions with some of the institutes, but nothing is finalised as yet. We may help them with some form of consulting if the need be," Goel said. But both the older IIMs - Calcutta was set up in 1961 and Lucknow in 1984 - denied they had sought help from external agencies for placements.

Final placements at Indore may begin in February, with about 60 companies. The 2011 batch had an average salary of about 14 lakh in 2011, up 27% on the previous year's level of 11 lakh.

Average Salary may Get Hit

IIM-Indore had not used external agencies in 2009, the toughest year in recent memory as it followed the financial crisis of 2008. The batch size that year was 180 and the institute was able to place all. This year the external agencies will carry on a parallel placement process, once the institute receives a definite number of offers by itself, a placement coordinator said in a mail to ET.

Officials say that given the large batch size - 450 is the biggest among all the IIMs - the average salary is likely to take a hit. This is because as the placement season draws to an end, the quality of job offers, both in terms of salaries and job profiles, gets affected. "These firms will help us in bridging the gap for the last 100-150 students," said a senior official from the institute's placement committee, who did not wish to be named.

The thinking is that these agencies will function independently of the IIM Indore placement cell and will provide opportunities to the participants beyond the existing pool of recruiters. The IIMs were set up at the initiative of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to train managers that were to run factories and businesses of a fast-industrialising nation. The ones at Ahmedabad and Calcutta were set up in 1961, while the business schools at Bangalore and Lucknow came up in 1973 and 1984, respectively. Ahmedabad, Calcutta and Bangalore, the big three, sit at the apex of Indian business school rankings, with Ahmedabad traditionally occupying pole position.

Lucknow, Indore and Kozhikode -- the last-named also opened its doors to students in 1996 -- invariably feature in the top 15. Whether the firms will get paid for their services to IIM-Indore is not clear. "We have not yet decided on how the institute will compensate these firms or what will be the payment structure. But we will choose only those that bring the best job profiles from their clients. We will also give them a threshold figure for salary packages depending on which sector the job offer is coming from," the official pointed out.

The lateral placement process (meant for candidates with work experience) has already begun at campus and the institute has been able to place more than 100 students so far. The process is likely to conclude in another week or so. Saral Mukherjee, chairperson of the placement committee at IIM-A, said the situation is not as bad as it was in 2009.

"There was panic in 2009, but things are not as bad this year. In 2009, many companies had put a hiring freeze, but this year, we have not seen even one recruiter who said it is not hiring. There could be some firms hiring lesser number of people, but the quality of jobs has not gone down as yet. We shall get a clearer picture during the final process."

The idea of engaging any external agency for placements did not seem very prudent to him. "When the institute and recruiters form a partnership, the engagements are on a much higher level. There is a constant dialogue between the two parties. Thoughts and expertise are shared on a regular basis. The relationship goes much beyond recruitment alone. External firms can not bring that on the table. They could be useful only in a few cases, for instance, tapping a new geographical location."

TNN, BANGALORE,

This is the season when all eyes turn to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs); when the country talks of the towering salary packages and companies that descend on the premier B-school campuses.

IIM-Bangalore has tweaked its placement process this year. Placements 2012 at IIM-B will be held only on weekends.

Hitherto, placements were conducted at one go which would stretch up to a week with no breathing space for students. And for those who failed to get through on the first day, the physical and mental stress would continue during the next days till they got placed. Days used to be long, with as many interviews packed as possible till late night. The process usually lasted for five days.

All that is passe for the Class of 2010 which will move to the corporate world. Classes will be on as usual during the rest of the week. The placement process for 2012 will be thus held on February 18 and 19, then on 25 and 26 and the following weekends.

"We do not want the process to be rushed, but space it out giving everyone ample time to make decisions. The process used to take around 5-6 days when we had 250 students. The number of days remained the same even later when we had 350 students. Imagine the rush! However, in this process, the order of how companies come will remain the same," said Sapna Agarwal, head, career development services, IIM-B.

At the summer placements this year, where first years students are placed for internships, the institute tried tweaking the system by giving a one-day break. "Everybody was happy with the break. So we thought of going ahead with it in the main placements as well," Sapna said.

Last year, Satish Pradhan, chief, group human resources, Tata Sons, had compared the placements in IIMs to the cattle fair in Pushkar mela in Rajasthan.

JOBCENTRE

Placements will be held on February 18 and 19 and following weekends

Around 120 companies visit IIM-B for final placements

In the initial stages, when concentration of the companies is higher, there will be around 35-40 companies per day.

The Hindu Business Line,

India figured second-last among 73 countries that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment test conducted annually by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) secretariat. This does come as a nasty surprise to those who believed in the prowess of India's scientific and technological manpower. There are, however, three ways of looking at this. First, Indian students aren't smart, despite having access to quality teachers. Second, Indian students are actually smart, but because of want of access to quality education they aren't able to perform well. There is also a third possibility: There are both quality education institutes, and smart students in India. However, these smart students prefer to explore options outside India — for jobs, or for pursuing higher education — leaving the poorer quality students in India.

DEMAND, SUPPLY FACTORS

From the demand side, quality education translates into graduates who are employable and have adequate skills to deliver to the needs of corporate India. Be it doctors, engineers, or even MBA graduates, there is a dearth of quality professionals in India. This is precisely why every year corporates like Infosys (service), ITC (manufactured consumer items), Apollo (medical), and L&T (engineering), to name a few, are left with vacant seats, or prefer to recruit people with foreign degrees, rather than employ graduates from India. Yes, there are quality education institutes such as IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, etc. in India. However, the number of pass-outs from these institutes are either too few in number, or decide to go abroad for higher studies, or even take up work there.

From the supply side, quality of education would be seen in terms of contribution to research and development. This means — education institutes serving as an incubator for developing new technologies that can be of use to the entrepreneurs, to produce goods and services more efficiently. This becomes evident from the number of patents, and research articles, published from universities and colleges. Although there has been an increase in the number of patents applied and research articles published from India, it is far less compared with the more advanced economies.

It is to be noted, per-capita income of any country can be increased either by increase in labour force participation and/or because of technological breakthroughs. The growth performance of the newly industrialised economies in Asia, such as Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, is typically driven by designing curriculum, so that more people can be employed. This model of increasing growth by producing more employable graduates, implies that growth has taken place through increase in labour force participation. On the other hand, the growth process in the West is attributed to technological innovation.

India faces a dearth of both quality teachers and quality education institutes. At a time when deans of Indian origin at Ivy league business schools in the US are making national headlines, in India, the newly-opened IIMs and IITs are scouting for professors. In fact, these newly-opened institutes survive by hiring visiting professors from other institutes and universities in India.

BRAIN DRAIN

A majority of the quality students regard education as they would any other commodity. Pursuing quality education comes with a cost. For example, many MBA students who take bank loans look at education as a return on their investment, that is, the jobs they are likely to get once they get their degree. In that way, most education institutes, especially the MBA ones, have now been transformed into sophisticated placement agencies. If the institutes cannot secure jobs, they are likely to get fewer students.

The preference for IITs and IIMs derives from the fact that the perceived returns from education in these institutes are highest here. Corporates come to IIMs and IITs, not by taking into consideration the patents and research articles published, but by being persuaded that the rigorous screening procedure in these institutes are assurance enough that quality students get in.

During a slowdown, the second-tier institutes provide more value for money for students and corporates. No matter what the business school teaches, the corporates have their own induction programme. During a slowdown, a corporate can hire students at a lower cost, compared with what it would have to offer to tier-1 graduates. Hence, in recent times, some of the IIMs faced difficulties, while second-rung business schools were able to achieve 100 per cent placement.

The other smaller group of quality students who are indeed passionate about pursuing, and not consuming education, typically leaves for the US, Australia or Western Europe, to pursue higher education. Recent evidence also suggests that because of want of adequate seats in medical colleges, students are actually going to the erstwhile Soviet Union, and even learning medicine in their local languages. Net result: India still loses out in terms of brain drain, because of adequate quality education facilities at home.

STIFLING REGULATIONS

Government regulation in higher education hinders supply of quality education. It is all-pervading, whether in terms of determining fees to be charged, or foreign collaboration. When it requires around Rs 6 lakh per year to produce an engineer, and anything between Rs 10-12 lakh per year to produce a doctor, asking a private institute to charge state-determined fees is unreasonable. In this fashion, the privately funded universities cannot survive, leaving aside, hiring quality teachers.

What is however do-able is asking the privately-run institutes to give scholarships to the needy, meritorious students. In fact, most of the successful universities in the US are privately-run. Most of the business schools in China are thriving, and provide a better education because of their collaboration with Universities in the US and Canada — something that isn't possible in India. To open any private institute, no-objection certificates need to be taken from multiple sources, such as the State government, State universities, and government regulatory bodies (for example, UGC, AICTE, etc.), instead of having a single-window clearance mechanism in place.

The government will do better by putting a grievance redressal mechanism in place, where the universities can be tried, or their license cancelled in the event of false promises. In the event of healthy competition, bogus education institutes won't be able to survive. So, let the students decide. Hopefully, this will add to supply of quality education institutes, human capital, and help to sustain India's growth.

ET Bureau, MUMBAI,

A year after top Ivy League institutes in the United States began revamping their MBA programmes, in the process challenging decades of conventional business wisdom, India's top-rung B-schools are attempting something similar.

An overhauled syllabus with new subjects thrown in and old ones scrubbed out is expected to be ready for 2012-13 at many premier institutes.

The Indian School of Business (ISB), Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), IIM-Kozhikode (IIM-K), and S P Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) are some of the schools attempting to bridge the gap between classroom wisdom and business realities.

Subjects like ethics, corporate social responsibility and management mantras from the Bhagavad Gita have made a debut along with hardship stints in backward villages and mandatory internships with NGOs.

That should come as soup for the soul of a battle-weary India Inc hunting for socially-responsible and innovative leaders, right? Not quite.

The view from industry is that most of the changes in the curriculum are cosmetic and do little to tackle the root of the malaise at Indian B-schools - that they serve to create an elite social network and are clueless about the way business is run in real life.

Senior executives say the top-tier schools, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), are out of sync with corporates and do not have enough good quality research emerging.

"Some executives I have spoken to find it hard to imagine that a student can grasp concepts of marketing without selling anything to anybody; or the concepts of operations if they have never spent time on a factory floor," says Professor Srikant Datar of HBS, co-author of 'Rethinking the MBA'.

The B-schools counter that India Inc is fixated on short-term goals, reluctant to provide information for research and has a limited knowledge base. "Our context is learning and not quarterly performance and that may be why there is seen to be no connect between our teachings and corporate life.

But our corporates too are obsolete in their knowledge, yet we take their voices seriously," says IIM-K director Debashis Chatterjee. "Each of us has different mandates; the shared space is defined by learning. That shared space needs to be explored," adds the professor.

IIM-K is doing its bit to become more relevant by cutting back 10% of its regular content and making place for unstructured thinking.

The B-school is also working on breaking silos created in B-schools.

These silos typically have specialised faculty for operations, human resources, marketing and other such fields. "We decided to change curriculum so that these subjects are integrated in some way," explains Chatterjee.

The attempt, he says, is to ensure that when students get into a company, they are able to integrate different functions for one goal.

"In fact last year, 32 members of our faculty got together to teach one course over five days," adds the IIM-K director.

That is a step in the right direction, but many more similar measures are needed to convince sceptical Indian business heads. As A Mahendran, managing director of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, says: "There is no real connect between the curriculum and managing real time business complexities." K Ramkumar, group HR chief at ICICI Bank, derides IIMs as placement agencies. "Management is a skill and merely teaching organisational behaviour in classrooms is a waste of time," he says.

The B-schools say it is unfair to expect a sea change overnight as the curriculum overhaul is still work in progress.

Efforts are under way to de-emphasise a lot of what is referred to as the 'normative' part of courses such as theories and discussions within classrooms and including a lot more of the 'subjective' part; the latter pertains to dealing with people, learning how to negotiate and studying consumer behaviour. For instance, IIM-A has set up a 'Negotiations Clinic' course that is based on real-life experiences of negotiation episodes in organisations.

At SPJIMR in Mumbai, faculty member Harsh Mohan says 60% of the curriculum is now focused on learnings out of classroom. These include attitude building, rural visits, how to deal with multiple cultures and getting sensitised to people at the bottom of the pyramid. "We get our students to go and interact with organisations such as the Railways and municipal corporations to learn how to deal with unstructured environments," explains Mohan.

ISB is looking at introducing revised courses to develop leadership traits and emphasise on self-analysis. It is offering more flexibility in the programme structure to allow students to customise their courses.

The effort is also to impart a global perspective by teaching students to manage situations of economic, institutional, and cultural differences across countries.

"The second major review process will be completed by 2012 and implemented from academic year 2013-2014. Currently, we are in the process of collecting data from all the stakeholder groups and, once this is done, the data will be analysed and further deliberated by the curriculum review committee," says an ISB spokesperson.

"The world has changed and we have now made it compulsory to review courses every year keeping the global economy in mind," adds Debashis Sanyal, dean, School of Business Management of NMIMS.

Similar efforts aimed at more diversity are on at other premier B-schools. IIM-K exposes students to a 'spiritual quotient;' the Mumbai Business School is introducing courses in philosophy that include along with the Bhagvad Gita and the Upanishads, eastern philosophies as well; and the Xavier Labour Relations Institute has a compulsory course called 'ethical ways of running a business,' for which it has professors who are not typical academicians but corporate practitioners.

But could the problem lie less with the institutes and more with insatiable students? HBS' Datar says the best students in B-schools want to join management consultancies and investment banks that offer top dollar.

So B-schools automatically tune their teaching methods to pander to their needs. "B-schools are focused on teaching students to advise and analyse and are not preparing them for entrepreneurship, leadership and action-oriented innovative thinking," says Datar.

Adds TV Mohandas Pai, former head of HR at Infosys: "It is just a case of demand-supply scenario and the hefty packages offered by investment bankers have set the tone for compensation. The corporate engagement at B-schools is superficial."

Still Datar adds "We cannot fault the students on choosing jobs that they think will give the right fillip to their careers." Atanu Ghosh, visiting professor in business policy at IIM-A, avers that the career choices are out of the control of the IIMs. "We do have students who join the public sector but if a large chunk chooses a line that will determine their course of life and lifestyle, we can do little about it. It is a market-driven economy."

Santrupt Misra, head of HR at the Aditya Birla group, says it is difficult to heap all the blame on either B-schools or on industry. "The current curriculum has not kept pace with the changing business environment, and limited research in our academia has aggravated the problem. I must also say that industry is not forthcoming in providing access to its research."

That has to change - and perhaps has already begun to. Says Leena Nair, executive director HR at Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL): "We are now sharing case studies so that students are not dealing with a 30-year-old case. Instead of blaming each other, we should work together and influence key campuses."

After serving the education sector for over four decades, Indira Parikh, former dean of IIM Ahmedabad and currently the founding president of FLAME was awarded the Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award at the 19th Dewang Mehta Business School Awards for her outstanding contributions as an educator.  Her spirit of educational innovation is reflected in her work at FLAME.

What are the areas in education that need to be addressed, so as to enable citizens for a better society?

Experiential learning as part of exploring roles and identity provides the students self-reflective space and time. Besides this, the young generation needs a perspective on national pride and astute understanding of the future scenario of the world. The world is undergoing transformation, and there is a need to understand its directions, consequences and the choices to give shape to it.

Institutions of higher learning need to design curriculum of tomorrow’s world of polarisation, race, gender, generation, wealth and technology. Simultaneously creative art, expressive talent and the continuity and preservation of heritage is equally important. There are various ways of integrating the expressive aspects of creativity to the functional knowledge.

What is the scope of liberal education in India, in terms of student growth and employability?

Liberal education has just begun to make its presence felt in India. Young students are exploring the multiplicity of courses, the different methodologies and most importantly, they are ready to take some time to finally decide the stream of education they would like to enter. Parents also appreciate this concept which provides a holistic education to their children.

How will the Indian graduates be affected by the ongoing global economic turmoil?

The whole education system and the learning environment are in turmoil. This is more so for the reasons of ethics in business. The focus of education shifted to employment opportunities and salaries. All nations have to go through this phase of plenty and its consequences. Eventually, though, education will become value-based, and occupations will based on merit and hard work. However, it is important for Indians to experientially discover that grass is not greener on the other side.

Your comments on receiving the Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award.

We are a young institution and receiving the award only tells us that we have made a realistic beginning. Although, the recognition tells us that we are on the right path, we have yet a long journey ahead of us to travel. There are many a mileposts and landmarks we are yet to reach. The faculty, of course, has played a critical role in rooting the credibility of the liberal education.

It’s that time of the year again.

The big wait is over. The results of the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2011 are finally out. The top scorers are waiting to jump through the interview hoop and make it into one of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

The IIMs were created in the Nehruvian dawn to create a pool of management talent that would augment the technology talent that was to emerge from the Indian Institutes of Technology. Despite the recent boom in management education, IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA) and IIM Bangalore (IIMB) continue to be the most favoured domestic business schools.

The IIMB says on its website that what sets it apart from peers is the carefully selected mix of students. Diversity is sought after so that students can benefit from each other’s experience. It’s an impressive claim, but for the yawning gap between intention and reality.

For instance, 95% of students graduating this year from IIMB are from a technical background (93% from engineering and 2% from science, commerce students make up 3% of the student body while other fields account for a mere 2%. Such data not only punctures those claims about diversity, but also raises uncomfortable questions about the preponderance of technocrats in leadership and managerial roles. It’s not much different at IIMA, where engineers constitute 91% of the student body while students from liberal arts or basic sciences constitute just 3%.

In sharp contrast, Harvard Business School​ (HBS) has the following division of its class of 2012 based on undergraduate majors: humanities and social sciences (43%); engineering/natural science/technology (33%); business administration (21%). Or look at Wharton: humanities and social sciences (43%), business (29%), engineering/math/science (25%); others (3%).

Such diversity has paid off for these schools. For instance, Harvard Business School has many illustrious alumni who have come from diverse academic backgrounds. For instance, former CEO of Goldman Sachs and US Treasury Secretary John Paulson had a bachelor’s degree in English before he finished his MBA from HBS. So did Mitt Romney​, 2012 Republican Party presidential contender and former CEO of Bain & Company.

The IIMs’ selection criteria of giving higher weightage to CAT scores have been blamed in the past for the lack of diversity in their classrooms. The CAT paper leans heavily of quantitative skills and thus puts prospective students from social science background at a relative disadvantage. In spite of the efforts of certain institutes such as IIMB, which has reduced the weightage given to CAT scores and increased the weightage for marks scored at graduation and in the X and XII board exams, the class profile does not look different. Other selection criteria such as performance during personal interviews might be keeping these candidates away.

The IIMs need to do more to increase the intake of students from diverse backgrounds. Remember: Ratan Tata trained to be an architect while Anand Mahindra​ studied film making at Harvard.

The news that Apple CEO Tim Cook was awarded a massive $378 million package in 2011 is a shot in the arm for the idea that the M.B.A. is a road to corporate riches. Admittedly the majority of his remuneration is in the form of stock options that do not vest for another 10 years, but the Duke – Fuqua M.B.A. graduate is proof of a healthy ROI for the ubiquitous business degree.

Analysts understandably focus on Cook’s operations experience, competitiveness and authority when it comes to running the iconic Palo Alto firm, and what is one of the toughest acts to follow in corporate history, but his days at business school don’t seem to have done him any harm.

So is the M.B.A. the way to make the earnings super league?

Not if you are an entrepreneur. As the Forbes Wealthiest Billionaires list shows, the super rich are more likely to have dropped out of school (Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Sheldon Adelson, Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs from the U.S., Eike Batista from Brazil, Mukesh Ambani from India, and Li-Kashing from Hong Kong). In the Forbes 2011 list, steel magnate Alexei Mordashov from Russia is the wealthiest M.B.A. at #29, just ahead of Harvard M.B.A. Michael Bloomberg. The only other M.B.A.s to make the top 50 are fellow HBS graduate and hedge fund whizz John Paulson, and family successor of BMW Pharmaceuticals, Germany’s Susanne Klatten who got her M.B.A. from IMD in Switzerland.

No, you are far more likely to make the higher reaches of the Billionaire List if you started from nothing and had something to prove (or at least a garage and a bright idea), were part of a family empire (Carlos Slim from Mexico, Christy Walton and other Walmart clan, and Liliane Bettencourt of L’Oréal), or have your hands on oil, metals and other commodities in Russia. If you do insist on graduate school, a Masters in Science would seem to be a good bet (Warren Buffett, Bernard Arnault of LVMH, the Koch brothers, and Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin all make the top 50).

The reality is that business school has a far higher success rate for graduates that make the corner office. This is after all a finishing school for the C-suite, particularly for a generation of executives who graduated in the 80s and 90s and are now at the top of their company ladder (Tim Cook graduated from business school in 1988). An impressive 40 of the 100 best paid CEOs in corporate America last year have an M.B.A., according to the Forbes list of America’s Highest Paid Chief Executives.

Interestingly, there are plenty among them that graduated from business schools beyond the ‘usual suspects’ that dominate the M.B.A. rankings – the likes of Washburn, Golden Gate, Indiana, Pace, Xavier University, New Orleans, Mississippi State, Case Western, Houston, Wisconsin, IIM Calcutta, George Washington, Rutgers and Loyola.

Only two women M.B.A.s made the MBA50 Best Paid CEOs list- Indra Nooyi, CEO at Pepsi Co. and Irene Rosenfeld at Kraft Foods. And though Chicago Booth, Wharton and MIT Sloan can boast of many highly successful and high-earning alumni, none of them made the best paid CEOs list last year. Stanford GSB has four to its name, Columbia can claim three, and UVA-Darden and Northwestern-Kellogg both have two alumni on the CEO list.

But the hands down winner is the Harvard Business School, with a remarkable twelve graduates who are among the top 50 best paid CEOs in corporate America last year with an M.B.A.. Beyond developing leadership skills, such a presence says something about the courses they deliver in negotiation.

 

Name                                    Company                                Pay ($m)              Business School

1     Edward A Mueller       Qwest Communications        65.8                     Washburn University

2     Lew Frankfort              Coach                                        49.45                   Columbia Business School

3     John C Martin              Gilead Sciences                      42.72                   Golden Gate University

4     James T Hackett         Anadarko Petroleum              38.94                   Harvard Business School

5     John T Chambers       Cisco Systems                       37.9                      Indiana University - Kelley

6     Ivan G Seidenberg       Verizon Commun                  36.75                    Pace University - Lubin

7     Gregory T Lucier           Life Technologies                  33.75                   Harvard Business School

8     John Hammergren      McKesson                               32.46                    Xavier University

9     Joseph M Tucci             EMC                                         31.63                   Columbia Business School

10    Michael D Watford       Ultra Petroleum                     30.04                   University of New Orleans

India Today, Mumbai,

The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector has emerged as the industry of choice for this year's management graduates, according to the latest Nielsen Campus Track-B School Survey. The sector is perceived by most students of the Batch of 2012 as the Industry of Future.

And Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has emerged as the No. 1 employer of choice for BSchool students, according to the Survey.

HUL has retained the Dream Employer status for the third year running and continues to be the top company considered for application by B-school students who will graduate in 2012.

The degree of independence at work, decision making, compensation, learning on the job and good growth prospects are the most critical factors claimed by the students that drive the choice of an employer, according to the survey.

The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector has emerged as the industry of choice for this year's management graduates, according to the survey. The sector is perceived by most students of the Batch of 2012 as the Industry of Future.

The Nielsen B-School Campus Track represents the views of 1,100 students of the Class that will graduate in 2012, from the top 35 business schools in India. This is the 11th year of the Nielsen Campus Track B-school study.

In the list of Top Companies for Leaders 2011 Study Results announced by Aon Hewitt, The RBL Group and Fortune recently, HUL was ranked sixth globally.

The Global Top Companies for Leaders is the most comprehensive study of organisational leadership in the world. HUL is the only Indian company that has been ranked in the 'global top 10' consistently since the Top Companies for Leaders global survey was first launched in 2007, HUL said in a statement.

HUL has improved its ranking in the 2011 study to sixth position globally from 10th position globally in 2009.

The unique thing at HUL is that it has formal processes for inculcating leadership. It also provides a culture of coaching and mentoring at every level in the organisation. The approach of identifying and grooming top talent has made HUL a source of leadership talent, both for Unilever globally and the industry in India.

Over 200 managers are currently serving Unilever globally.

HUL said that its philosophy of building leaders within has enabled it to establish strong systems and processes that help identify talent early, invest in them and build their skills.

For instance, HUL's Business Leadership Program provides an extensive cross functional experience within a period of 15 months to young managerial recruits and prepares them for greater responsibilities very early in their careers.

The firm also encourages reverse mentoring. Senior management team members often have young managers mentoring them on specific areas such as digital media.

The Hindu Business Line, Kozhikode,

The Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM-K) is entering into an agreement with the Abu Dhabi University (ADU), UAE, for collaborative education and exchange programmes.

The move is part of IIM-K's plans to accelerate its international activities through selectively establishing partnerships with institutions in different parts of the world, according to Dr M. K. Nandakumar, Chairman, International Exchange Programme.

According to the memorandum of understanding to be signed soon between IIM-K and ADU, both institutions will identify students interested in participating in the exchange programme, which may include courses and internship opportunities.

The institutions will look for opportunities for the exchange of faculty members and offer dual degree programmes.

Another objective of the collaborative agreement is to develop a yearly research conference and doctoral student colloquium to facilitate joint research and discussions between students and faculty members.

There are also plans to expand participation to doctoral students and faculty from other reputed institutions.

ADU, which commenced functioning from 2003, has about 5,000 students from 52 countries pursuing studies in various streams and the university has established partnerships with some of the leading universities in countries like Germany, USA, Canada, the UK, France and Australia.

The agreement will also allow both IIM-K and ADU explore the possibility of launching an Executive MBA programme in Abu Dhabi, which will be specifically targeted at immigrants from South Asia and Abu Dhabi.

It will also give opportunities for the students of the post-graduate programme at IIM-K to undergo internships at leading organisations in UAE.

The Economic Times,

Lessons in real life are often better than what's taught in the classrooms, even if they happen to be at the country's best Bschools. For students graduating in 2012, the real-time learning of managing their careers through economic volatility is the only consolation in what threatens to be a gloomy placement season across the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and at the Indian School of Business.

At least four IIM directors, two student heads of placement cells, recruitment managers, head-hunters and students told ETthey expect fewer recruiters, fewer jobs and lower salaries when the placement season kicks off next month.

They are bracing for the worst, and gently lowering expectations to cushion the impact on hundreds of students aspiring for dream jobs. Placing 350-odd students sitting for the final placements would be a challenge, admits Professor Amit Dhiman, IIM-Calcutta's placements chairperson.

"I want to understand how far the slowdown will impact us this year," says 24-yearold Vishal Sharma, a final-year student at IIM-Ahmedabad, flipping through a business magazine for articles on the slowdown. Batchmate R Sridhar is in touch with the alumni to gauge hiring sentiments across companies. The class of 2012 has seen global economic volatility at its worst. They sat for their entrance exams in late 2009, when the world economy was still reeling under the impact of the previous year's financial crisis.

They walked into the campus for the first day at school in June 2010, when the early hints of recovery were quite evident, at least in India. Those hopes have been belied as they prepare to pass out in a few months. "When we entered IIM-A in 2010, it was a good recovery year (after 2008 meltdown). But now when we are ready to enter the corporate world, there are fears of a double-dip recession," says Sridhar.

"The number of Day Zero finance jobs, including those from investment banks, are likely to go down," says Prof Dhiman. "But not every sector is doing badly. Consulting companies have multiple job offers, as do IT, technology product companies." Adds Debashis Chatterjee, director, IIMKozhikode: "The number of companies visiting and offers being made will be conservative."

FMCG and durables companies haven't dropped out. They are coming to the campus, but they will recruit fewer students. "Some have said they are coming just to maintain their relationship on campus. They will recruit only 1 or 2 people," says Dhiman. Some FMCG companies had hired 10-15 each last year. Pre-placement offers at IIM-C are down to 75 compared with 90-plus during the same time last year. Some Day 3, Day 4 companies have also dropped out.

Crore-Plus Salaries, Foreign Jobs Missing

"In 2009, we were banking on domestic offers. But this time, besides global offers, even the domestic ones will be affected," adds Dhiman. IIM-Bangalore has been tempering the hopes of its students for some time now, not just this year. "The students are mature now and many of them come with work experience; they understand they may not get their dream job.

Not everything is rosy," says Sapna Agarwal, head of career development services at the institute. The placement committee and faculty are trying to point students to other sectors that are equally good. "We have increased the bouquet of desirable companies. We are trying to help students understand the goodness of other industries (which may not have necessarily been part of their first choice)," says Agarwal.

Adds Ashish Dongre, an IIM-B PGP student, "The faculty is helping students come to terms with sustained recession." The Rs 1-crore salaries, foreign postings won't happen. "Instead of only Ivy League companies, middle and smaller companies are offering challenging and equally competitive jobs. It's right to bring down expectations," says Dongre.

At IIM-B, 370 students will line up for placements this year. "Most recruiters are reserving judgement on the number of people they are planning to hire," says Ashish Srivastava, placement committee member at XLRI-Jamshedpur.

"Most will recruit less. If the market picks up later, they will hire more from the market." "Consulting is looking fine, but finance is taking a hit. We are not sure about marketing yet, but no one seems to have any major expansion plans," he adds. Earlier in November, companies were enthusiastic in picking first-year students for six-week internships, raising hopes of a strong hiring sentiment. But free interns are one thing; paid hires are another.

Campus insiders say many students have cancelled holidays from their year-end schedules. CVs are being reworked and social networks actively accessed for the latest buzz on hiring. At IIM-Ranchi, consumer-facing companies, including those in the FMCG and durables sector, have been affected and a couple of those that had originally planned to visit the campus have backed out.

"It would have been a problem if we had a larger batch, even 120 students. But since we are going into final placements with only 44 students, we are not worried," says MJ Xavier, IIM-Ranchi director. Institutes placing a large number of students will surely face problems, he says. The average salary will come down this year.

"Those at the top of the class will still get good offers, but the average bunch will probably get a little less," he says. How much less is the questions B-school grads are fretting about. (Names of some students quoted in this story have been changed at their request.) Reporting by Tapash Talukdar, Parag Dave (Ahmedabad), Devina Sengupta (Bangalore) and Sreeradha D Basu (Kolkata).

NEW DELHI, The Economic Times

Consumer durables and electronics company LG Electronics has decided to go slow on hiring from campuses this year. The company is likely to hire only 20 candidates from management campuses this time, compared with the 60 it recruited last year.

Like LG, a number of companies in the country may go easy on campus recruitments , in the wake of a slowing domestic economy and the global economic crisis. The tremors won't touch the top management institutions such as the IIMs, though.

It's the second rung-B schools that will feel them hard. Most of their students won't land plum jobs this year. Not only are employers hiring fewer candidates this year, they are also deciding against an upward revision of salaries for B-school graduates.

Placements have begun at many such institutions , including Fore School of Management (FSM), International Management Institute (IMI), and IBS Hyderabad. IBS, Hyderabad, for instance , has witnessed a drop in the number of jobs being offered by each company this year.

"We are counselling students to be a lot more flexible in terms of salaries, roles and locations," says dean-corporate relations Srinivas Cheedi. The institute is hopeful of 150 recruiters participating in this year's placements, compared with 130 last year, but believes the current placement season will be much slower.

"The placements will drag on well beyond the end of the academic year," said the institute's dean-corporate relations Srinivas Cheedi. "There is no change in salaries being offered this year," he added. The average salary at IBS stood at Rs 5.8 lakh last year, while the highest was at Rs 11 lakh.

However, some companies are tweaking the compensation structure by adding a larger part of the salary package to the variable, says an official familiar with Bschool placements, who did not wish to be named. LG, for instance, is offering a fixed salary of Rs 4.5 lakh, similar to last year. There is the bonus element, but it varies according to the candidate's performance.

"Some companies have offered salary packages that are less by Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh this year," said a placement coordinator at a Delhi-based management institute , who too did not wish to be named. While it has been difficult to get organisations to look at an upward salary revision, a lot of recruiters have promised to look at revisions in the next fiscal, says Anita Lal, chairperson - placements, FSM. Yet, the institute is hopeful of a good placement season .

"We have confirmation from as many as 93% of recruiters which visited last year and despite the slowdown, 11 new recruiters have confirmed their participation," she adds. The average package at the institute was at Rs 7 lakh last year.

Cosmetic goods and toiletries manufacturer Emami plans to plans to hire up to 15 management trainees from various secondrung B-schools this year. The company also says it will follow the market trend while deciding on salary packages, although there won't be any cutting back.

"There will be an increased emphasis on variable pay," says Krishna Mohan, CEO of Emami. Hoping that business will remain as usual , IT giant Infosys is planning to hire more candidates from top B-schools as well as second-rung schools this year.

The company says it will stick to last year's salary offers, which were in the range of Rs 6.5 to Rs 12 lakh, depending on the role. "We plan to hire in the range of 1,000-1 ,500 candidates," said a company spokesperson.

Last year, Infosys had recruited about 1,000 candidates. Some institutes like IMI in New Delhi are tapping new companies to ensure the placement season ends well. "We are trying to increase the basket of the companies to achieve our objective of 100% placement," says Satish Kalra, dean of placements.

National News, Ahmedabad,

Dec 10 (TruthDive): In a survey based on recruiters’ opinion, the Indian Institute of Management,Ahmedabad has been ranked second in the list of top business schools from which Asia-Pacific employers most prefer to recruit executives.

The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2012, ranked 200 full-time MBA business schools by region and specialisation. Votes from more than 12,000 employers worldwide that recruit internationally were taken into account.

Asia-Pacific-based employers accounted for nearly a quarter of the responses coming from sectors such as consulting and professional services, banking and financial services, as well as HR and recruitment. In such responses, IIM-A bagged the second place in the long list.

“The rating is completely based on recruiters’ opinion. We have improved our rating, but more importantly, we are continuously there as a top business school,” said IIM-A placement committee chairperson Saral Mukherjee.

The same Ahmedabad institute was adjudged seventh-best B-School of the world earlier this year, in another survey by Financial Times. IIM-A stood sixth last year in the survey that did not take into account key features like GMAT scores, average salary and student diversity.

IIM-A improved its finance specialisation ranking to 11th from 15th last year in the QS Global survey.

“Indian Business schools are fast gaining popularity among MBA employers. In almost all specialization ratings, Indian schools have climbed considerably when compared to last year,” said the QS report.

It was a rank behind the INSEAD Asia Campus in Singapore which has been ranked top business school for third year.

The Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne took third spot.

Indian business schools like IIM-Bangalore was ranked fifth, Indian School of Business stood seventh and IIM-Calcutta was rated eighth. SP Jain Institute of Management and Research was ranked 16th and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, a new entrant to the list, ranked 21st.

Mumbai,

Lay-offs, closure of brokerages, occupy Wall Street fail to deter

Wall Street firms, investment banks and hedge funds still fire dreams as the fresh MBAs from Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Indian School of Business (ISB) and Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management await their final placements amid the morale-crushing lay-offs, closure of brokerage firms and slowdown in hiring.

Since the financial crisis in 2009, when many banks reduced hiring and left many finance-minded graduates in the lurch, the high paying, high-risk investment banking jobs are on the decline, but global i-banks, Wall Street firms and international hedge funds have not lost their allure on college campuses, B-School students and human resource (HR) consultants told Financial Chronicle.

Blackstone, Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, RBS, Standard Chartered (Global Markets) and UAE Exchange were some of the firms who picked up students from leading B-Schools in the summer placement 2011.

“Banking, Finance, Services and Insurance (BFSI) still remains the most preferred jobs of the leading B-School students such as IIM, XIMB, XLRI, BIMTECH, IIFT,” according to the 2011 MBA placement report released by MBA Universe, an India-based web site about business schools. While the demand for BFSI sector is high at almost 31.3 per cent in IIM Calcutta, it is 33 per cent at IIM Kozhikode as against 25 per cent at XLRI Jamshedpur and 33 per cent at FMS Delhi.

In the recent past, Nomura Holdings has laid off six-seven staff in its Indian operations while HSBC Holdings plans to axe around 3,000 jobs in its Asia operations in Hong Kong, according to I-bankers with direct knowledge of the development. Barclays is also believed to have laid off staff in Singapore, while Credit Suisse has reduced workers in its Indian wealth management unit by 20 per cent.

Nevertheless, for the B-School post-graduates yearning to get rich, the disillusionment is real. “The hiring climate is a bit gloomy with fewer banks hiring this time around. Though it is a risky terrain, the demand for lucrative banking jobs is still high and at par with last year,” said Sanket Kabra, an IIM-Ahmedabad post-graduate-finance student.

“Money is addictive. Unlike in the west, students here still consider I-banking jobs to be the most prestigious ones,” added Sanket.

One ex-Goldman Sachs employee and pass-out of IIM-A, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said while he does not support the ideals of the Wall Street firms and other private banks, he still feels it’s the smartest thing to do at a time of high unemployment and growing sense of economic hopelessness. “Fewer banks are offering jobs to the young finance graduates, it’s dropped by almost 30 per cent comparing with the year before,” said Sunil Goel, director at the human resource placement agency, GlobalHunt India.

“Despite the concerns, the students are as enthused as ever about jobs in I-banking, treasury roles and international placements in banks,” said Professor Balakrishna Parab at Mumbai-based Jamnalal Bajaj Institute Management (JBIMS).

Resha Hariya, a first year finance student at JBIMS, said JBIMS students are jittery about the job prospects in finance but they have still not shifted focus to any other field, because “they feel it’s the best path to get return out of their investment.”

ET Bureau, KOLKATA,

Are IIM placements akin to cattle fairs when the highest price tag symbolises the highest accomplishments? The remarks of Satish Pradhan, chief, group human resources, of Tata Sons, to this effect at an IIM Ahmedabad event on Friday have evoked strong reaction from the IIMs. Why blame us? Students have been bred on the success story and companies vie to pick the best talent, IIMs say. For their part, most recruiters want placements streamlined.

Pradhan had said on Friday that annual placements at Bschools like the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), and others are like a 'cattle fair' held in Pushkar, Rajasthan, every year. Every cattle which is to be sold is paraded before its potential buyer. Students too vie for the best companies and the highest price tag symbolises the highest accomplishment of two years, he had said.

IIM-A director Samir K Barua has taken strong exception to Pradhan's remarks. "What makes Mr Pradhan think that students have no perspective and just go for compensation? Some of them have several years of experience and it's most unfortunate that it is assumed that they are simply driven by salaries," he says.

In any case, at IIM-A, we have moved away from the day-based placements and have adopted a cohort system where one looks at the nature of jobs and signs up accordingly, says Barua. What's more, our students have contributed not just as entrepreneurs, but also as business leaders. About two-thirds of all professional CEOs have come out of IIM-A. "Anybody who becomes the chief of an organisation has shown the tenacity to last the distance. I think such comments need to be reconsidered," he adds.

'More to Life than Placements Alone'

"When the companies are looking at profits, why not the students?" asks IIM-Rohtak Director P Rameshan. He points out the two approaches. "One is that students are our products and we are releasing them into the Indian and world market. The other is that we are service providers and they are our clients. Either way, it is important that our students get the best positions."

Rameshan says it's a rare student who will start his/her own enterprise right out of school. "Look at the investment they have made. Everybody can't be a scientist or an entrepreneur. It's quite possible that a few years down the line, they may want to do something on their own," he says.

According to IIM-Calcutta Director Shekhar Chaudhuri, it is a mixed bag. "There are some students who are looking for jobs defined by the highest salary, but there are also those with work experience who are looking at the fit, the management, the culture of the organisation etc."

He, however, asks, "How many parents today encourage their children to take up a low-paying job in the social sector? Even companies vie with each other to bag students, and try to outdo each others' offers. It's a vicious cycle. So why blame only the institutes and the students? The society around plays a big role."

Agrees IIM-Kozhikode Director Debashis Chatterjee. "It's a materialistic society and students have been bred on the success story. The India they are looking at is slightly less idealistic and slightly more pragmatic. But having said that, there are several students who have refused placements and have started something on their own."

Beyond the provocative statement, the idea Pradhan was trying to put across was that a job is not the be-all and end-all of life; there's more to life than placements, Chatterjee says. "We are in the business of education, not the business of employment," he adds. "The IIMs are looking at grooming students for far more than just a job; we are looking at multi-dimensional students."

But IIM-Ranchi Director MJ Xavier feels Pradhan is 100% right. "The joy of learning, of becoming a better intellectual was what attracted the best people to the IITs and IIMs. Now, people are looking at the I-banks with croreplus salaries. They are not motivated to look at anything broader." Xavier has a word of caution for IIMs too. "Even we as IIMs need to remember that we are institutes of learning, not employment exchanges.

Then we become more market-driven. And markets are short-term oriented, not long-term driven. The country needs a lot of things in the long run. Everything is becoming placement-driven, it's like a bazaar."

RECRUITERS ROOT FOR IIMS, BUT WANT BETTER PLACEMENT SYSTEM

For their part, recruiters believe that IIMs prepare students in totality, but they agree that the placement system needs to be streamlined. Dhananjay Bansod, chief people officer at Deloitte India, says the placement process in IIMs has become a race for students to bag the best job, and for corporates to bag the best students.

"The system creates a lot of stress on students days ahead of the placements. There is no guarantee that the present process of slot zero and placement week is impeccable. It tends to ruin the self-confidence of students and adversely affects those who may not get a job in the first go," he says.

Bansod, who each year recruits one of the largest number of students from the IIMs, thinks that it's time to change the placement process in these institutes. "This is more so since the present system treats students like commodities. The companies race against each other for slot zero, which makes the process worse."

Bansod says the cohort system, which IIM-A has adopted, is a better process since all companies of the same industry will come together to recruit students at the same time. "This gives a narrow space for the race," he says.

Capgemini India's head of HR Rajesh Padmanabhan, too, says the placement process at IIMs creates a big rush and anxiety. He, however, thinks the IIMs groom students in totality and not just for the placements. "The quality of education no doubt has improved over the years and the exposure of the graduates is pretty holistic. However, there is scope to re-look at the placement system as student expectations have changed. It can be much more streamlined," says Padmanabhan.

Nokia India's MD D Shivakumar, himself an IIM-Calcutta alumnus and a leading recruiter, says the placement in IIMs is a free market between the students, institutions and the employers. He says the IIMs have played a big role and the country needs more such institutes.

"The Indian economy is going to grow at a faster pace than the fourfold growth in the last 20 years. There is already a shortage of talented people and we need more good institutes like the IIMs and more trained managers," says Shivakumar, who is about to take charge as head of India, Middle East and Africa for Nokia.

One of the biggest recruiters at top business schools, Cognizant, however, gives a thumbs up to the recruitment process at IIMs and at other premier B-schools. "The fact that most students from premier Bschools have work experience and are in close contact with the alumni of their respective institutions helps them evaluate companies better and make appropriate career decisions," says chief people officer Shankar Srinivasan.

PTI, Ahmedabad,

Nov 25 (PTI) Annual placements at B-schools like Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and others are like a 'cattle fair' held in Pushkar, Rajasthan, every year, said Tata Sons' Chief Group HR Satish Pradhan here today. Speaking at the 13th Annual Confluence at the IIM-A, Pradhan said, "the placements held annually (at B-schools) are like the annual cattle fair held in Pushkar, Rajasthan, where every cattle which is to be sold, is paraded before its potential buyer,". Pradhan said that first everybody competes hard to get into August institutes like the IIM-A and then after getting in, compete harder to get ahead. "By and large for me, the pinnacle of getting ahead is the cattle auction. When the highest price tag symbolises the highest accomplishment of two years," he said. Pradhan apologised for being very negatively biased but said that he was teasing at this point as he wanted to answer the question how does one compete. "Is it a zero sum game (where one gains at the cost of other) in our mind that we will compete and will continue to compete as we become leaders of industry, institutions, organisation, multilateral agencies, government," he said. "Will we compete with the sense of zero sum game or is there something that we will bring to the perspective of pursuing excellence and to make things different," he added. The 3-day confluence is an annual B-School meet with participants coming not only India, but from business schools abroad as well. PTI PB PD ABC

Mumbai,

Last month, Arjun Malhotra, co-founder of HCL Technologies and CEO Headstrong, an IT consulting firm, donated around Rs 5 crore to his alma mater Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur.

Malhotra, a 1970 BTech from IIT Kharagpur, has decided to pledge $5 million (Rs 25 crore) during the golden jubilee of the institute, which will use the money to establish the G S Sanyal School of Telecommunication in the name of the former IIT director and faculty member.

When it comes to raising funds, IITs are clearly the big daddy of the business. IIT Bombay, for instance, has over the last decade, generated Rs 200 crore, only via donations from its alumni.

Other IIT alumni who have given back to their alma mater include N R Narayana Murthy (Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Technologies), Nandan Nilekani (Infosys Technologies co-founder and chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India), Romesh Wadhwani (Chairman & CEO of Symphony Technology and founder Wadhwani Foundation), Kanwal Rekhi (Managing Director at Inventus Capital), Vinod Gupta (founder and CEO of Database101.com and Everest Group, LLC)and Vinod Khosla (co-founder Sun Microsystems) and many more.

Till recently, for IIT Bombay, bulk of the donations were raised in the US, where close to 90 per cent of funds contributed were by large donors with some 25 donors giving in excess of $100,000.

“We encourage smaller donations from alumni across the world,” the institute had said in a press statement this August. “It works on the premise that if 50 per cent of IIT Bombay’s 40,000 string alumni choose to donate a mere Rs 10,000 to their alma mater, IIT Bombay would have access to an additional Rs 20 crore at its disposal.”

To facilitate the process, IIT-B also unveiled a new online donations portal. Over 40 per cent of the funds donated have gone to infrastructure projects that include the Kanwal Rekhi School of IT, Shailesh Mehta School of Management, Gaitonde Lecture Hall Complex, D S Foundation Gymkhana and Victor Menezes Convention Centre among others.

Donations to IITs are wholly tax-deductible for both corporate bodies and individuals, with 100 per cent exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. To facilitate foreign donations, various IITs have acquired non-profit tax exemption status in the US.

At IIT Madras, the coffer is filling up too. Per year, the institute generates overs Rs 10 crore. This in addition to having alumni-sponsored infrastructure on campus.

“We use faculty to coordinate fund-raising,” says R Nagarajan, Advisor, Office of Alumni affairs, IIT Madras. “This is not done at a professional level. We just ask alumni to volunteer contributions.”

Early this year, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras came up with a scheme wherein every graduating class is asked to pledge any amount they wish to, for their institute, before they leave the campus. A year after they graduate, the institute reminds them if they wish to make good the pledge.

“The first year, the student participation was 40 per cent. Last year, 80 per cent pledged. We don’t look at it as a major fund raising theme, but we use it to be in touch and stay connected,” adds Nagarajan.

IIT Delhi, however, says in the past decade, contributions from its alumni would be anywhere around Rs 75 crore. The institute which has got aggressive on fund raising in the last four years has garnered a neat Rs 40 crore plus in the past year-and-a-half from two of its ex-students.

“Seeking donations from alumni members has picked up only in the last few years,” notes professor Ashok Gupta, Dean, alumni affairs and international programmes. “Unlike universities in the west, we have never really tapped into our alumni network and sought donations aggressively.”

DIFFERENT AT IIMS
While the IITs say they stand tall when it comes to their students paying back to the alma mater, the Indian Institutes of Management do not have much to boast about.

Agrees professor Atanu Ghosh, dean, alumni and external relationship at IIM Ahmedabad.

“If you do a scale comparison, IITs fare better than IIMs when it comes to receiving from their students,” he says. “But it is also a fact that IITs have created more techno entrepreneurs largely from the Silicon Valley. Probably in IIMs there are not too many success stories.”

At IIM-A, corpus from alumni donation could be around less than Rs 10 crore. The institute says donations happen for creating infrastructure — a new dormitory, technology renovation, supporting needy students and creating a sport complex.

IIM Bangalore’s corpus from alumni donation is not very different from that of IIM-A. These institutes have recently got serious about fund raising from their alumni network. IIM-A is trying to connect with its alumni and in the last one year, created a new position to manage alumni relations.

“IIMs have never really put thought behind leveraging their alumni network,” says the director of an IIM who does not wish to be identified. “It is only in the past couple of years that IIMs have decided to get aggressive on this front. Largely our corpus from alumni donations would not go beyond Rs 7-10 crore.”

According to Ghosh, the entire culture of giving back to alma mater and connect with alumni is much stronger internationally.

And, Indian institutes will have to work on both fronts — changing the culture and also take initiative (at the institute level) to have more stronger relationship with alumni.

But Nagarajan thinks that for IITs, seeking donation is pretty much need based due to their sheer size. “IITs are huge institutions,” he notes. “They offer both, an undergraduate and a post graduate programme for reasonable batch sizes. The IIMs on the other hand, are able to charge high tuition fee and don’t need funds as much.”

IIM faculty members differ. “Donating to one’s alma mater is largely about their connection with the campus,” says Ghosh.

“You always have more loyalty towards your undergraduate campus as you spend more time there than you would at the post graduate campus. Besides, batch size that IITs have is far more than that of IIMs.”

But IITs and IIMs unite in expressing their displeasure towards Indian corporate houses donating internationally.

Last year, in one of the largest gift for the Harvard’s Humanities Centre, Mahindra and Mahindra vice-chairman and managing director Anand Mahindra, gifted $10 million to the Harvard University. Mahindra had graduated from Harvard in 1977 and earned an MBA degree in 1981.

In 2010 again, the Tata Group donated $50 million to Harvard Business School which was the largest international donation in the school’s 102-year history. Ratan Tata was a student of Advanced Management Program at Harvard in 1975. The donation is to fund a new building that will support a broad range of executive education programmes.

“It is rather displeasing to see Indian corporate heads donating internationally when institutes back home need such generosity,” the IIM director adds. “I hope they take a leaf out of how IITs get donation from entrepreneurs internationally and help their institutes grow.”

What had restrained fashion designer Deepika Govind from expanding her business was her lack of management skills. Determined to change that, she took up a course at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. Armed with knowledge of branding, merchandising and retailing, now she is taking her business forward.

Deepika took two short-term courses five years ago. It has now become a trend for fashion graduates to go to B-schools. “To make a business venture successful you need to have holistic knowledge. In the fashion industry, manpower management is more important than the number of years you have spent. When you expand, it becomes a different ball game and acquiring managerial skills becomes essential. I attended the ISB courses out of this necessity,” said Deepika, who now owns four labels.

Khyati Madan, a graduate from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore, realised the need for a management degree after working with designer JJ Valaya. “The job brought a new set of challenges. As retail head my responsibilities included managing the production, supply chain, retailing and finance. And it did not take me long to understand the importance of having a management degree,” she said. She is doing a management course at IIM-Indore.

Khyati is planning to launch her own label after the course. “I see myself as a fashion entrepreneur. Management skills that I am acquiring at IIM will help me make less mistakes because I know how the business works. I plan to handle the management part and have designers to take care of the creativity bit while launching my brand,” she said. There are four fashion graduates in her batch at IIM-Indore. And a quarter of her former classmates at NIFT have opted for management courses.

With design becoming an inseparable part of management, cross-disciplinary learning is gaining importance. Bharti Moitra, chairperson of the department of fashion management studies at NIFT, Kolkata, says about 10 per cent students of her department readily take up the fashion management programme in the same institute. While a design background opens the mind, the knowledge of management helps in developing the business.

“A successful business is one that has the right proportion of creativity and management. As a professional I understand the value of management,” said designer Raghavendra Rathore. He has completed a certificate course from an institute in the US. “As financial tools and market dynamics are evolving, one needs to understand them for a demand driven business,” he said.

Designing these days is often done keeping in mind the target customer base. “If you know your customer base and do the business accordingly, then it becomes easier to succeed,” said Poorti Sangal, a designer-MBA student at NIFT, Delhi.

The emergence of luxury retail offers fashion graduates with a management qualification good opportunities. A recent survey by consulting firm AT Kearney and the Confederation of Indian Industry estimates the luxury industry to be worth $5.8 billion and it is expected to reach $14.7 billion by 2015. Taking the cue, many premium institutes have started courses in luxury management. IIM-Ahmedabad offers a short-term course in luxury management in collaboration with ESSEC Business School, Paris. The three-week course includes sessions in India and Paris and costs about 05 lakh. The institute has plans to make the course one of the electives in its full-time postgraduate and executive MBA programmes.

“As a leader in business education it is our responsibility to bring in new ideas and develop them into disciplines. The idea is, this short-term course on luxury and fashion business in future can be converted into a full-fledged stream so as to  make it a career option,” said Piyush Kumar Sinha, professor and chairperson, Centre for Retailing, IIM-Ahmedabad. “It is not about selling, it is about building an enterprise. Otherwise you end up having one or two boutiques.”

IIM-Lucknow has asked Amit Dutta, director of Luxury Hues Consultancy Services, to design a dedicated programme on luxury management. According to ISB's deputy dean V.K. Menon, the trend is a direct result of globalisation, as many global brands are showing interest in the Indian market. “In the last three years,” he said,  “about 15 global brands have come to recruit from ISB and this is fuelling student interest.”
“The retail industry has become very competitive and a management degree gives you an edge over others,” said Priyanka Mishra, an MBA student. After graduating from NIFT, Bangalore, and working for a year with Bharti-Walmart, Mishra joined ISB last year. She aspires to have her own fashion retail brand in the near future. “While a degree in fashion technology gives you  thorough knowledge about the product, a management degree gives you the business sense,” she said.

India's growing stature as a fashion powerhouse is also contributing to the trend. Said Pradeep Hirani, owner of Kimaya Fashions who is on the board of the Institute of Apparel Management: “The west is struggling to regain dominance in the fashion circuit as it still reels under the effects of the economic uncertainty. Here India has the strongest candidature. In the next five years efficient fashion management professionals would be a crucial lot.” His company prefers hiring professionals who are fashion management graduates.

“It's the need of the hour,” said Sunil Sethi, managing director of Sunil Sethi Design Alliance and chairman of the Fashion Design Council of India, about the trend. There is a shortage of skilled manpower in the industry, he said, and any effort to improve the situation is good for the sector.

ET Bureau, NEW DELHI,

Companies are not shying away from B-school campuses in the current round of summer placements even in a difficult economic environment. Recruiters, particularly from the finance, banking and consulting sectors, are picking up talent in large numbers and offering an increase of up to 100% in stipends over the previous year.

While some B-schools, including the premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have commenced their summer placements, others wrapped up the process early this year. Typically, summer placements begin in November, but some IIMs initiated the process in October itself, to get good results.

"This year, summer placement is better not only in terms of the rate at which the participants have been placed, but also in terms of the quality of offers. We have seen participation from many recruiters across some new sectors like digital marketing, online education, modern retail, ecommerce, offering excellent profiles," says Ashish Sadh, chairman, placements.

IIM Indore has already placed more than 320 candidates, in its total batch of 450. The institute told ET that this year, finance and e-commerce companies have recruited in large numbers. "There have been some new summer recruiters like Bank of America and Amazon, among others," says Sadh. Most companies in the banking and financial sectors have increased their stipends from their previous visit to the campus.

"The percentage increase in some of the firms is as high as 66.7% to 100%. This includes all the major banks, domestic as well as international," says Sadh. He did not, however, reveal details of the stipends, citing confidentiality. IIM Bangalore received 71 preplacement offers and saw 37 interviews for the batch of 2012.

"This year, the conversion rate for consulting firms was in excess of 90%, with a large number of interns being offered permanent positions. Simultaneously, we are also witnessing a strong demand for summer internship placement, and pre-placement talks are in full swing," says PD Jose, chairperson, Career Development Services.

Blackstone (London), Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank (Global Markets, London), Both quality of offers and placement rate substantially better than last year Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, RBS, Standard Chartered (Global Markets) and UAE Exchange were some of the firms who picked up students. Locations include Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore. "We expect an increase in the number of PPOs this year as compared with the previous year," says Sreekanth CS, a student from the placement committee. Aditya Birla Group, HUL and P&G were also part of the placement process.
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai too reported a significant rise in stipends compared with the previous year, reflecting the potential growth in monetary incentives to candidates graduating from management schools. The highest domestic stipend for the two-month internship hit the Rs 2 lakh mark, a 33% jump over last year's highest domestic stipend of Rs 1.5 lakh. With 79 companies participating in the process, the average domestic stipend touched Rs 89,000, a 23.6% increase over last year's average of Rs 72,000.

XLRI, Jamshedpur wrapped up its summer placements last month itself, in four days flat. The process saw nearly 77 recruiters giving out 365 offers to a batch of 240 students. The average stipend for the internship period was at Rs 1,23,000, an increase of 10% over last year, the institute reported. Companies such as Microsoft, ITC, Standard Chartered, Aditya Birla Group and Tata Motors were among the largest recruiters.

"The number of international offers has seen an increase as well, with students being offered assignments by investment banks, FMCG majors and the other giants of the industry including Novartis, Hay, HUL, P&G, Kraft Cadbury, PepsiCo, and Aditya Birla Group," says Father E Abraham, director.

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), being important public institutions, frequently have their governance examined and discussed. The Government of India's Bhargava Committee Report (2010) is the result of a recent such examination. Private business schools are not held to account in the same way. That business schools are in fact educational institutes and to that extent perform a public service is often overlooked.

The recommendation is that private business schools should also have their governance periodically inspected by a neutral regulatory body. Initially, the effort can be limited to the private business schools rated among the top thirty in the country by the better known ranking agencies. The lack of governance at even these business schools will be an eye-opener. Most of these business schools struggle to obtain suitable directors. This problem is often exacerbated by the fact that the promoters of private business schools do not have the time to search for appropriate directors.

The next blunder that is often made at private business schools is the bestowing of the director with sweeping powers. Lack of directorial ability and excessive powers then combine into a heady cocktail.
Coterie around director

What then happens is the creation of politically charged work environments within private business schools. Faculty members vie with each other to be part of the coterie around the director. The coterie that succeeds in becoming the director's inner circle then seeks to influence the dispensation of favours. Thus rewards are often based on proximity to the director rather than on performance.

These directors are frequently professors from the older IIMs/tier-I private business schools, who are lured for two-year periods with gargantuan salaries. One such director of a leading private business school was a low-profile professor at an IIM, and had never held an administrative post there. Overnight, he was placed at the centre of power by being made a director. What does he do to compensate for his lack of experience? He embeds himself among the faculty members who speak his mother tongue, or belong to his caste. This group quickly constitute themselves into a pressure group. They become his champions and protectors.

This situation generally leads to poor governance as a director of limited abilities has to spend time defending his turf. That becomes a reason for him not to engage in any teaching or research. And yet, he evaluates the performance of his peers. In the final analysis, his faculty members are his peers, not his subordinates. And they should evaluate his academic performance as well. This would require him to assume academic responsibilities and delegate some of his administrative ones. Both his powers and the supernormal part of his salary will have to be shared with his faculty body. He would then have to descend from his pedestal and stand on terra firma.

This would then set the ground for distributed leadership and participative governance.

This arrangement, however, could lead to the anomalous situation where oppression by one (the director), is replaced with oppression by a group. Or it may give rise to the formation of several groups which are internally cohesive, but opposed to each other. The result would be gang warfare minus the physical brutality. The meek would get crushed. This would not be good governance. Hence it is necessary to have an external regulatory body which can ensure fair play.
Overemphasis on placement

An oft-used argument advanced in favour of private business schools being left alone is that placement acts as a winnowing out device, separating worthwhile private business schools from the worthless ones. If students have not mastered management tools and techniques at the private business school they studied in, they will not get jobs. However, just because students have mastered management tools and techniques does not mean that they will be ethical, civic-minded, and caring citizens. Instead, many private business school graduates focus on making money by any means. All that matters is that if foul means are used, they should not be found out.

An indicator of this is the extent of rampant plagiarism found in private business schools. Usually the top management echelon is aware of this malaise, but prefers to look the other way. Faculty members are reluctant to bell the cat since tackling plagiarism will result in their “teaching feedback” getting eroded.

When Harvard Business School (HBS) was founded, it kept in mind the needs of the business community. Its philosophy was aligned with the American culture as it was then and continues to be aligned with American culture as it is now. America has a very individualistic culture. Hofstede's seminal research (2001) notes that the Americans are the most individualistic people in the world. Hence, a business school philosophy which emphasises individuals aggressively pursuing their own goals without thought being given to what happens to other people in the process may be alright in a culture where most people are hardy and few people are severely disadvantaged.

But the Indian culture is different. We are not that individualistic. Hence, the business school philosophy used in India produces a cadre of managers who strive to be individualistic when it actually goes against the grain, culturally speaking.
Manipulations galore

In order that business schools have credibility, it is imperative that they practise what they preach. MBA students should be able to refer to their alma maters as blueprints of what transformational organisations look like. But usually, MBA students do not see a supportive work environment at their alma maters. What they actually see is faculty members plotting their colleagues' downfall.

Clearly, civil society stands to lose if young minds are exposed to political manipulations at the very MBA institute which should teach them how to be professional.

Hence, civil society needs to get involved in the creation and conduct of a regulatory body overseeing private business schools, even if it proves to be an onerous task.

(The author is an academician in the area of business administration.)

SiliconIndia, Bangalore,

In India, the trend in higher education is changing day by day. To make the higher education more attractive and interesting, many universities are taking innovative steps by introducing new interesting courses. The introduction of new courses can increase the value of higher education as well as the aspirant students will also have more option.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal told that for the first time all the IIMs have decided to go beyond the world of finance and business management and they have decided to start new courses in the areas of energy management, academic institution management, health management, health management, agriculture management etc and a taskforce has been setup for establishing the contours for those programs, reports Times of India.

Moreover, to make sure that there are no vacant seats left behind, Indian Institute of Management will share admission information among the students and post individual admission criteria in their websites.
The IIMs also have agreed to explore the possibilities of offering academic programs in the areas of health, education and infrastructure and in order to attract international students without affecting the national intake and to build diversity on campus the IIMs have decided to jointly organize an international road show pooling their resources for the purpose of attracting talents from abroad.

Even the Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU) had also started post graduate courses in the fields of agriculture, education, plantation management etc.

This development from the Indian Institute of Management by introducing new management courses apart from the regular courses of finance and business management is quite new in India when it is compared to the business schools of United States because in Columbia Business School and the Boston University School of Management they have introduced the topic philanthropy for both the graduates and under graduate students.

Likewise the same topic has been included by the other top business schools into the curriculum of social-enterprise courses. In Columbia Business School they have introduced MBA courses in health care and also a course in the marketing arts, culture and entertainment.

What are the results of GMAC’s Application Trends Survey in terms of the number of students pursuing MBA?
The 'Application Trends Survey' revealed that applicants from the Asia-Pacific countries (mainly India and China) have increased for full-time programmes around the world. In fact, India continues to contribute the most number of foreign applicants to the two-year, full-time MBA courses, with 61% of MBA programmes having India as their top source of foreign talent.

However, there was a caution in the number of students pursuing full-time MBA programmes from across the world. About two-thirds of the two-year, full-time MBA programmes reported a decrease in the application volume. In the current economy, students weigh the financial and time commitments required to pursue a graduate business degree. Interestingly, specialised Master’s programmes in finance and management have shown strong gains.

The steadiness is reflected in executive and part-time MBA programmes and specialised Masters programmes. Schools abroad have reported gains in the quality of candidates, and a 57% growth in international students from Asia-Pacific applying to programmes in the United States.  

What are the trends in undergraduate management education across the Americas, Europe and Middle East?

The trend in the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East has been toward a greater proportion of examinees with undergraduate degrees in business and commerce. Examinees in the Americas and Europe are more likely to have business/commerce backgrounds and students from the Middle East fall somewhere in the middle.


IIMs use GMAT scores only in certain executive level programmes. Which colleges form a part of your Indian core market for the GMAT score for the full-time MBA programmes?

GMAT is the most widely used assessment for admission to management programmes the world over. While the IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow and Indore use GMAT for the one-year, full-time management programmes targeted at executives, GMAT is used at the country’s top schools such as ISB Hyderabad, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research Mumbai and School of Management, NMIMS University Mumbai, TAPMI Manipal, ICFAI Hyderabad and others for intake of candidates into their flagship programmes.

Several other schools leverage GMAT scores to create greater diversity in their class by attracting NRIs, PIOs and foreign nationals. While this trend is recent, it is likely to accelerate given the interest in Indian economy.

By 2040 our country will have 65% working population. The B-Schools have always looked to the West for developing their education models. Is this trend going to change? If yes, how?

B-schools around the world will always look to create innovative programme offerings that cater to the needs of the marketplace. Indian business schools are no different. As an example, over the last few years we have seen a preponderance of PGP-X programmes in India, which are one-year, full-immersion programmes for executives with a minimum of (7+ years) of work experience to cater to the needs of the industry. These programmes accept the GMAT as an admissions criterion and have continued to grow.

Similarly we have seen the establishment of programmes such as agri business management, infrastructure management and family business to cater to the unique demographics and needs of the Indian economy. As the Indian economy grows, we will see more innovation in the design of management programmes to cater to a burgeoning workforce. However the fundamentals of management education encapsulated in core courses such as finance, marketing, operations, organisational theory amongst others will continue to be taught at business schools the world over. In India, they will just be applied to a local context.

Is the GMAT preparation material available on the computing device enough? Do students have to continue to thumb heavy textbooks and question banks?
 
When GMAC develops test preparation material, it is done after conducting a survey, which focuses on the format and modes that test takers feel comfortable with when it comes to access of test preparation material.

The individual test taker these days is very busy and needs the flexibility to access test prep material in different formats depending on when and where she can prepare for the test. Our current test preparation material is available in textbooks, on devices and over the web. As the GMAT takes advantages of the computing technology to enhance the test, test preparation material will follow suit. Ultimately, the individual test taker will need to determine the quality, quantity and format of test preparation material that helps her best prepare for the GMAT exam.   

B-schools believe that GMAT will get slightly tougher as the exam is introducing an integrated reasoning section in June 2012, intended to measure applicants’ data analysis and decision-making skills. Why do people that this section is tougher? 
 
The Next Generation GMAT, scheduled to launch in June 2012, was actually designed taking B-Schools into account. A new integrated reasoning section (of 30 minutes) will be included on Next Generation GMAT, taking the place of one of the AWA essays. Integrated reasoning measures the ability to analyse and synthesise information from multiple sources.
In that sense it is a real measure of the kinds of skills applied every day, whether in business school or on the job. Given that the integrated reasoning section will have a separate score, it will only enhance the exam’s value providing new ways for students to demonstrate their skills, testing skills that are relevant to the classroom and the workplace and providing schools with new data, which can be used to make better and informed admission decisions.

Business Standard,

It's not just the special economic zones (SEZs) that have attracted investments in Gujarat. Known for housing reputed educational institutes such as Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A) and National Institute of Design (NID), the state has now caught the attention of top corporate groups planning big investment in the education sector.

Reliance Industries (RIL) is planning to set up a full fledged university in the state. The company is learnt to have zeroed in around 800 acres on the outskirts of Vadodara for the proposed university project. Industry observers peg the value of the land deal at around Rs 50 crore.

Apart from management and information technology, the university would offer multiple courses. The university is also expected to have tie-ups with at least two reputed foreign universities.

After roping in Bakul Dholakia, former director of IIM-A, Ahmedabad-based Adani Group has left no stone unturned in entering the education sector. Adanis are planning to establish an Institute of Infrastructure Management, a university and an Adani Knowledge Centre.

The university being planned would be a cluster of institutions hosting undergraduate as well as post-graduate courses in engineering, management and other fields while the Adani Knowledge Centre would be a large facility to train its own executives.

Another reason is lack of professional colleges in the state resulting in a large number of students moving outside the state to pursue quality education. "Students in Gujarat are open to career opportunities not only in India but abroad. Instead of going abroad to take the same courses, we will offer high quality long-term and short-term courses for students in the state, " said Yogesh Sethi, CEO (services and education business, Indian sub-continent), VLCC Healthcare. The company plans to set up up to four beauty and health institutes in Gujarat in three years.

Estimates suggest that Gujaratis spend nearly Rs 2,500 crore a year on education outside the state. There are 1,049 medical seats available in the state as against over 22,000 students clearing Class 12 biology stream annually. Again, with nearly 37,000 students passing out and seeking engineering and pharmacy education, only 24,000 seats are available.

Around 20,000 students go out of the state to pursue higher studies and pay an average fee of Rs 3 lakh a year plus heavy donations of around Rs 5-10 lakh.

For the Amity group, it is the growing awareness for specialisations and professional degrees in the state that is now drawing them to set up its fourth university campus in the country.

The Amity group is planning to invest around Rs 150 crore to offer full-time and distance learning programmes in disciplines such as management, IT, engineering, finance, banking, biotechnology, energy and environment, arts, fashion technology, mass communication and journalism and forensic studies.

"Ahmedabad is a big centre for education. Having established our first campus here with two programmes, we will be looking at establishing a full-fledged campus offering engineering, biotechnology, communication and other courses here," said Atul Chauhan, president of the Amity Foundation. Over 50 faculty members are expected to be recruited in the coming months.

Vadodara has also caught the attention of Royale International School of Excellence (RISE), which is in the process of setting up 10 institutes in the next three years in the city. The campus housing all the institutes is coming up near Ajwa Garden on the outskirts of the city, spread over 100 acres.

In collaboration with US-based American Academic Alliance (AAA), the institute will offer international graduate and post-graduate courses in the fields of business management, banking and finance, maritime, food processing, tourism & hospitality.

Close to Rs 30 crore would be invested for the same and over 600 students are expected to graduate every year.

Meanwhile, buoyed by an increasing number of MBA aspirants from the state, the ICFAI Business School (IBS) is also planning to set up two management institutes in the state. IBS will set up an institute over 100 acres near Ahmedabad as well as a smaller institute, which will come up over another 20 acres near the state capital, Gandhinagar.

"There has been a sharp increase in the number of MBA aspirants, up from 157 for the 2006-08 batch to over 270 for the 2007-09 batch. The increase in batch size has prompted the institute to consider the establishment of a new campus at Ahmedabad," said P Bala Bhaskaran, director of IBS, Ahmedabad.

Indian Express, Ahmedabad,

IIM, Ahmedabad has been ranked 7th in the Financial Times Masters in Management 2011 Rankings, ahead of London School of Economics and Political Science, Essec and the University of Strathclyde. The first rank has gone to Universität St. Gallen in Switzerland.

IIM-A has moved up from the 8th position in last year’s FT rankings, which ranks the top 65 programmes in general management that do not require students to have prior work experience for admission to the masters programme.

IIM-A is the sole Indian B-school to feature in the ranking this year.

Nevertheless, at $103,524, IIM-A students command the highest salaries among the 65 programmes that were included in the ranking process.

ET Bureau, MUMBAI,

Every year lakhs of Indian students apply for admission to engineering colleges. And a large majority of graduating engineers apply for admission to business schools.

It is as if the realities of yesteryears, when medical and engineering careers used to be the top two priorities, has not entirely rubbed off but has been slightly modified. With more and more engineering graduates turning towards managerial careers, it is no wonder that some of the top Bschools, such as IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta, have more than 90% MBA students with engineering backgrounds.

What is the reason for the same? Are engineers not excited about a technical career anymore, or is it the demand of the workplace that drives them towards management careers?

Vijay Mhaskar, Vice President, Information Management Group, Symantec elaborates the job market situation. "With increased pace of innovation and global competition, technical talent in India has been groomed to meet the requirements of global coordination and collaboration.

The demand for managing large scale projects required technical talent to take on the role of project managers. This eventually led to the need for management skills and people were hired for their technical knowledge coupled with management skills. The Indian software industry, for instance, has witnessed a tremendous evolution - from piece-meal development to complete product ownership."

While engineers have shown an increasing preference for managerial roles, at the same time the need for technical expertise has not diminished. In fact, it has increase further as countries, including India, are realising the importance of developing innovative engineering solutions indigenously.

For this reason, engineering talent must not completely be devoted to managerial positions. "The industry requires both - technical and management talent. In order to encourage engineers to follow their passion for technology through a career on the technology side an eco-system needs to be established.

From the colleges where engineers learn, to the software firms where they put learning to practice, should provide guidance that moving to the management track is not a default option. With great compensation in technical profiles, engineers can pursue careers without giving up their passion for technology," adds Mhaskar.

The other side of this debate is that engineers who turn into managers and leaders in organisations need not completely give up their technical creativities. Often, it can be a mix of both. A high ranking manager can also be a technology expert. This is the exact basis of Symantec's Techtracs programme, in which they encourage and build upon technical talent of engineers. In this programme, they have very senior positions for Distinguished Engineers and Fellows, apart from Senior Technical Directors.

Mentoring and guidance, whether for a managerial or a technology based career, is a critical success component. An engineer, who is capable of giving an organisation or a country the next breakthrough in technology or in an architectural design, should not be wasted on a pure management role.

At the same time, one cannot follow a deterrent approach where you stop them from completely moving to management. Instead, it should come more as an encouragement to pursue engineering roles. Higher designations and pay packages is only one side of the coin. Engineers will only be truly engineers when they are in it for the love of it.

ET Bureau,

The global economic meltdown in 2008 made the world critical of business managers and what they learnt at B-school. Around the time, Harvard University professor Srikant Datar was working on his latest book, Rethinking The MBA: Business Education at a Crossroad. When he completed the book in 2010, corporates were already wondering if they were hiring suitable candidates from B-schools or just bright students.

Datar's book suggests a curriculum review and stresses on 'doing' rather than 'knowing' skills. The book went on to become the base for a national conference on curriculum change organised in July jointly by IIM Ahmedabad and Calcutta. In an interview with ET, Datar says he is now working with B-schools in Asia and Europe for a similar exercise. Excerpts:

How did you plan to write a book on curriculum change?

We started the book project as part of celebrations of 100 years of Harvard Business School, pre-recession. In the course of our interviews with various stakeholders in B-school education, we realised that the number of students applying for an MBA degree was declining. The world needs more managers because BRIC nations, Latin America and Eastern Europe are emerging, and yet students were not enrolling into B-schools. The major issue, as we found out, was lack of student engagement.

There is high demand for talent, but people do not want to come (to study). And those who come are not willing to be engaged in academic activities; they just come for better placements. We realised, B-schools were attracting wrong people who were not adding value to employers. Students think, they are smart since they get into IIM-A, but what they do there is not important. When we got the same sense from 10 to 15 Bschools in the US, we were clear there was a serious problem. There is a need for rethinking the curriculum.

What was your first thought when you realised there is a meltdown?

We all were seriously worried. All of us who studied the Great Depression (in 1929) always believed we had institutions that could teach ways to avoid it in future. Still, we had a similar problem again. We thought it was high time to sensitise students to think innovatively and act ethically.

We have to make students think fundamentally that business exists because society believes business has more good than bad. We need to make people understand that the licence that society gives them (businesses) is not a blanket one; society can take it back.

Why has the focus on 'doing' skills come so late?

In management education, the emphasis is more on science than arts. Analysis emerged as a major skill. And since we were so successful doing that, we did not think about anything else. However, across the world, B-schools are ready to change their focus.
Like the conclave on curriculum change held in Ahmedabad, we will organise similar conferences in the US, Europe, Latin America, China and Africa by April 2012. We can see a major change in the current MBA curriculum in the next few years.

What should Indian B-schools do now?

The major challenge is to engage students. B-schools should ensure that students think critically. A number of fundamental things should be taught to students before they go to work. Also, pedagogies need to be changed to develop certain kinds of skills, values, practices and attitudes.

Some Indian B-schools have already made changes. Some of the IIMs and other B-schools are willing to change their curriculum, and are also willing to share it with others. Many schools are also starting leadership laboratories, like their Western counterparts.

Indian Express, Lucknow,

Indian Institute of Management- Lucknow has entered into an understanding with Kelley School of Business (KSB) of Indiana University in the US for cooperation in business education.

“An MoU was signed by President, Indiana University Michael A McRobbie, Dean, The Kelley School of Business Daniel C Smith and Director, IIML Devi Singh at the institute’s Noida campus yesterday,” the IIM said in a release here.

Both IIM Lucknow and KSB will closely collaborate for research, faculty and student exchange programme.

The Kelly School of Business is ranked among the top B-Schools globally and has a rich educational heritage of more than 90 years, it said.

The two institutions will try to enhance the research mission and develop collaborative case studies for teaching purpose, design and deliver series of faculty research workshops.
KSB and IIM Lucknow will also explore avenues to combine the interests of faculty at both institutes with students, the business community and society in general, it said.

The MoU will also explore possibilities of launching a dual - degree programme in Business Analytics and Global Strategy.

Global education is very prominent in today's world. Many countries have widely acknowledged centres for conspicuous research and ground breaking business thinking institutes. From decades, foreign education is percieved to be an ace feather in one's ammunition. Destinations such as USA, UK, singapore & Europe have some outstanding & class universities.

These universities manufacture Business leaders, high- class government, executives and provide latest insights into global business practice and theory. Most of the US institutions receive billion dollar funding from government to channelize their initiatives in the right direction.

Babson (FW olin business school), Yale, Harvard , Pennsylvania University, Boston School of Management are some of the big names in IVY league.

They have rich Faculty who teach on the degree programmes such as MBA, not only conduct world-class research but are fully engaged with the business world. They act as consultants to major institutions, corporations and government agencies, ad hold directorships with a range of organisations.

Surprisingly, greater part of the best talent is drained in United States as there are other countries who have some outstanding MBA programs as well. ISB (the indian school of business) is one such world class MBA college in our own country that offers similar programs & international exposure comparable to US and UK. There are different programs to meet the needs of diverse students in ISB such as a 1-year MBA and a 2- year full time MBA.

Singapore is not far behind from US as they have colleges such as Nanyang and Singapore University to attract talent. And it is notably the most sought after place behind US and UK. The london business school & oxford university in UK are always lucrative study options for indian students & students from around the world. However, one should also bear in mind that there aren't many opportunities in UK specially if you are not very conversant with Queen's English. So I would suggest students of Indian & asian ethinicity to put off any plans of a UK visit. There are some state-of-art universities of international accredition in Canada, Switzerland & Central europe as well & as per the latest developments & research facts people are better placed & grown with european culture as compared to UK. Australia also have some good MBA colleges such as Victoria Institute, Queensland University etc. but overall the MBA is not in same league of the USA's and Europes.

The economic crisis situation in United States is pushing a potential student to take US visit in his stride and try for something else. USA have the best quality research institutions, MBA programs & faculties tailored to produce business leaders, managers & enterpreneurs in fast changing paradigm. It is estimated that the billion dollar education industry of united states will eventually cope up with the arising situation & continue to produce results. They offer some kind of assistance in terms of loan etc to best talent and not to mention there are abundant job opportunities within states & around the world. Harvard business school which is rated as the best for its MBA program as per FT (Financial Times) notable only placed 76.23% of its students last year. Hence it depends upon all factors combined together, so dont be afraid to explore low ranked colleges such as Georgia Tech University and babson, FW Olin B-School which can give you placement and a high US$ salary. I suggest you to check out Bloomberg &  FT for news & ranking updates.

Most of the high ranked U.S. B-schools require GMAT (Graduate maanagement admission Test) score. GMAT score is very important . you dont have a GMAT score ? duh :D you can't even imagine to land in top b-school. Students can prepare for the exam through an app called the “Official GMAT” app, cool , isn't ? And there are many other ways of preparation. You have the whole internt today to plan & prepare. GRE is also accepatable in some cases though. For instance if I am planning to take admission in Wharton, United States then I will need a GMAT score most definately. A score of 700+ would be enough in most cases. English proficiency Test is also required at this level. IELTS or TOEFL (Test of English as foreign language) as  you call it. But it all depends upon the interview & final interaction with your college to finalize an admission offer & decision.Hundreds of official GMAT test questions and full answer explanations from the makers of the GMAT exam ar availabl online. Kaplan is one such renowned name. Your performance on each “mini-exam” can be tracked using the performance tracking center before the real exam. It is very different from CAT and MAT though usually taken to apply in IIMs.

Akshay Kothari, 25, and Ankit Gupta, 24, had a simple idea — to create the best news reading experience on mobile devices. They created and launched an iPad app (christened Pulse) during the Launchpad class at Stanford. Kothari declared he could “die in peace” after Apple CEO Steve Jobs mentioned their product as one to keep an eye on at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Pulse has now grown to eight people, with apps for iPads, iPhones and Android platforms.

Kothari says Pulse may not have even existed if Gupta and he had not attended the Launchpad class, where some of Stanford’s most lucrative entrepreneurs cut their teeth. Introduced in 2010, in its first semester, 11 products and services were launched, collectively earning over $100,000 in revenue by the last day of class!

“The whole point of the class is to launch a product within the 10-week course period. In fact, we all signed a paper saying we wouldn’t pass the course if we didn’t launch. The beauty of the class, taught by Michael Dearing and Perry Klebahn, were the short exercises that we did every week. The two professors nudged us to think about everything — distribution, marketing and finance,” says Kothari.

Come September and Harvard will launch its new entrepreneurship course, i-lab. Harvard Business School  (HBS) Dean Nitin Nohria sees the Harvard Innovation Lab as “a potentially quite distinctive resource” in the innovation space. i-lab will open its doors to students, faculty and alumni of the entire university to “leverage Harvard’s people and resources in new and exciting ways”, says Nohria.

“Our goal is to drive innovation by connecting entrepreneurial teams, not only across the Charles River, but nationally and internationally, in an interdisciplinary approach to creating viable business ventures and social initiatives,” he says.

It was believed that entrepreneurship was something genetic, that it couldn’t be taught. But B-schools over time have started getting better and better at ‘creating’ entrepreneurs. The idea that entrepreneurship could be taught in a classroom was championed by a few maverick professors who introduced entrepreneurship classes more than 20 years ago. The issue is being revisited, as entrepreneurial ventures or businesses that capture the benefits of uncertainty are being seen as the need of the hour.

Instead of teaching entrepreneurship in business schools using a planning-based mindset, which works well in teaching managers, leading universities are opting for an entrepreneurial mindset to nurture entrepreneurs.

Recalls Gupta of Pulse, “I come from an engineering background, from IIT Bombay. Design thinking was a completely new way of solving problems. Totally different from what I had been taught before and much more creative and free form. I learnt skills such as brainstorming, interviewing users, rapid prototyping, making mind maps that I could apply to any problem and coming up with creative solutions.”

Says HBS professor Peter Tufano, who drafted the initial proposal for i-lab, “Student entrepreneurs don’t respect academic silos, but often find it hard to connect across school boundaries. If we could find ways to facilitate those interactions, bringing them together in an environment that stimulates the sharing of ingenuity, knowledge, and skills, then innovation and creativity could flourish.”

In Harvard’s i-lab, some student teams will work as part of established courses while other student teams will work independently. For example, interdisciplinary student teams from Harvard, MIT and Tufts University, with backgrounds in business, government, law, medicine, engineering and science, will be part of a course that will be jointly taught by HBS and SEAS (Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences).

This course, called Inventing Backgrounds and Commercializing Science, will use the lab to commercialise university and private lab research. Some student teams would work independently in the lab along with HBS Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, a group that has included the likes of Susan Decker, former president of Yahoo.

The intent is to create a supportive and interactive environment where ideas and activities can be shared across disciplines and experiences.

Entrepreneurs say they learn from their mistakes, and what better place to mess up than in the relatively cosy cocoon of a university? “Most importantly, I think I learned that creativity is always in hindsight,” says Gupta. “It’s not about just coming up with the one genius idea that solves the problem, but trying and failing at 100 other solutions before arriving at the best one. And the Stanford d.school [Institute of Design] taught me to fail fast.”

What about Indian B-schools — how good are they at teaching entrepreneurship? IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta have introduced a ‘campus placement deferment programme’ where graduates can try their hand at their own entrepreneurial ventures and return to participate in the campus placement programme the next year if they fail. But “there is an alarming gap in terms of the number of students coming forward to build enterprises, and the entrepreneurship education at universities in India to nurture these people,” says Yashveer Singh, founder of the National Social Entrepreneurship Forum.

Indian industry appears to be of the same opinion. “Most institutes are inward looking with insufficient interaction with industry,” says Suvojoy Sengupta, veteran recruiter from some of the top management schools in the country and head of Booz and Co. in India. Sengupta’s assertion that “not a single breakthrough management concept or idea has emerged [from Indian B-schools] in the past 30 years” is a wake-up call to temper a teaching-oriented culture with a research focus and experiential learning in our business schools.

Pramath Sinha, founding dean of ISB, puts the challenge in perspective: “In India, getting students is not the problem. Real investment has to be made in the faculty.”

In an attempt to cut down the extra pressure of multiple entrance exams on MBA aspirants, the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has decided to conduct a common admission test from 2012-13. The central test will be used for admissions to both MBA and postgraduate diploma in management programmes of b-schools around India.

AICTE, the governing body of professional courses in India took the decision to hold a pan-India Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) at a recent meeting of executive council of governing board. CMAT will be first conducted in 2012 and council wants b-schools to use its score for admissions to session starting in 2013.

CMAT will be an entrance exam for all AICTE approved institutes and is expected to reduce the stress and financial burden on students.

Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) and entrance exams conducted by deemed universities will remain. But 4,000 b-schools that offer MBA and another 500 which run diploma programmes will accept CMAT scores for admissions to their programmes.

AICTE has not yet finalized the modalities of the exam. AIMA, who conduct Management Aptitude Test (MAT), has welcomed the idea of having a single entrance exam.

TNN, BANGALORE,

Two boons to IIM-B students: No worry about attendance and no need to undergo rigorous summer internship with a corporate house.

Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) has ushered in radical reforms in its PGP course that will grant its freshmen the liberty to skip the two-and-half-month summer internship if they come with 34 months of industry experience and its faculty the right to make attendance optional. "Instead of summer internship, we are suggesting to them to explore entrepreneurship, work for an NGO or take up a research project under a professor," Ishwar Murthy, PGP chairperson, IIM-B, said.

There are 73 students with more than 37 months of work experience in this year's batch of 382 students. Another traditional institutional requirement — minimum 75% attendance in all courses — has been done away with. Individual instructors will now decide if there should be a cap on attendance, and if so, what should be the cap. Hitherto, students with less then 75% attendance had to lose one grade point.
Dhruv Shah, a first PGP student, said two of his six instructors have done away with the minimum 75% attendance requirement for the first term. "Four have stuck to the conventional attendance requirements. Though attendance has been made optional, many of my classmates automatically attend their classes," he said. Prof. Murthy reiterated that although decision on minimum attendance requirement for every course has been left to the discretion of instructors, attendance will be recorded for every class and shown in the grade sheet.

The B-school is also cutting down the length of a few final term courses to bring in diversity. Currently each course fetches 3 credits and lasts 10 weeks. Starting November, it will be five-week courses with 1.5 credits.

Fourteen villages located near the Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, boast 100% literacy, claimed Bala Balachandran, founder and dean of the business school.

Students of Great Lakes have been teaching the villagers as part of the school’s efforts to engage with the “base of the pyramid”, he said.

This is but one example of a growing trend among India’s top business schools, including the elite Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

They are trying to inculcate a sense of social and environmental responsibility among students to make them better managers—not just through extracurricular initiatives but also as part of their management curricula.

“There is more to the bottom line of a company,” said Balachandran, who earlier taught at Carnegie Mellon University and Kellogg School of Management in the US. “B-schools need a B-quotient, and here it means emotional quotient and compassion for society.”

Students at IIM-Ranchi have been asked to spend weekends in nearby villages.

“Some students don’t like it, but we know in the long run this will make them complete managers,” said M.J. Xavier, director of the institute. “Unless you understand the socio-cultural realities, the business decisions may not be perfect.”

Xavier said his students have designed an environmental awareness course for miners, as the institute is based in a state known for mining: Jharkhand. “Besides, we are teaching students yoga and a module on inner development.”

Both Balachandran and Xavier were in New Delhi on Thursday to attend a conference on management education, along with several peers.

P. Rameshan, director of IIM-Rohtak, said it is his institute’s responsibility to contribute to society.

“We are organizing a marathon with villagers in Haryana to create awareness about female foeticide,” he said. Haryana has among the poorest sex ratios in India because of rampant female foeticide.

XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, located in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, has made it compulsory for students to spend some weekends in villages. Director E. Abraham said budding managers should learn from the people they are going to view as prospective customers.

“The principles of global management—dialogue and communicating with real society—have to be there as part of the teaching,” said Abraham, a former director of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. XLRI has also started a so-called “joy of giving week” to collect clothes and distribute among the poor.

At the Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi, students must do a 40-day stint in villages, said Sanjeev Bajaj, chief coordinator.

The Indian economy is changing, he said, and there is a demand for managers outside of corporate jobs. “Even in a corporate set up, you need to interact with the workforce at their level. Labour relations is key to corporate success. Here we have to learn from all.”

TNN, AHMEDABAD,

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A)'s course on 'Contemporary Film Industry-A Business Perspective' is all set to go global. The course co-ordinator is in talks with a faculty of Harvard Business School to use practices of Hollywood for management education.

"The course lacked global perspective," says Kandaswamy Bharathan, visiting faculty at IIM-A who designed the course. "The idea is to understand global aspects of the film industry and get more insights into Hollywood's best practices, which can be taught to students here," he says.

To begin with, Post Graduate Programme (PGP) students at IIM-A will take up a case study on 'The Bucket List', the Hollywood comedy-drama starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, from the new academic year. The students will be expected to look at the production excellence and the emotional connect in the movie.

The institute will use cross-sectoral learnings that Harvard has taken from Hollywood. The IIM-A and Harvard collaboration may result in combined case studies on Hollywood and Bollywood movies, with the aim of promoting how MBA methodologies and strategies of the film industry can be helpful for each other.

"A film is made with 200 people and a particular budget in a short span of 15-20 months. If a management student wants to set up a Rs 50-crore factory within a short span of time, he can take lessons from the film industry through this course," says Bharathan.

The course has become popular on campus with a 300 per cent rise in enrolment since its launch in December 2008. In a batch of about 200, at least 15 students express interest in taking up projects in the film industry every year at the end of the course. The course has also attracted recruitment interest from prominent companies in the industry like UTV Pictures, Reliance Big, Mumbai Mantra among others.

"The course aims at fostering creative thinking among students. The 'Bucket List' has been executed in an emotional way with two terminally ill men, who share a hospital room, defining a list of things to do before they die. The film carries a socio-cultural message to sensitise the audience. It is not just about business value but shows societal value too," says Bharathan, also the producer of hit films like 'Roja'.

DNA, Indore,

The Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM-I) is piloting an online portal to enable participants of its post graduate programme (PGP) to bid for subjects of their choice.

The B-school students, with inputs from the faculty, have introduced a bidding system that allows them to make a customised choice of courses.

As part of the process, students get 400 points to spend on the five subjects they are required to select at the end of the year. The bidding will commence from September 6. IIM-I academic affairs committee student head Manan Duggal said, "The entire process would be carried out online."

Earlier, students were not allowed to choose their subjects. They were allotted to them on the basis of their grades in the first year. Duggal said the new system will make the programme flexible and give students the power to pursue the course that would help them plan their future.

DNA, Ahmedabad,

Avatar, Hollywood's epic science-fiction film has caught the attention of managers of tomorrow at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

The film, a benchmark in technological excellence in cinema and a major box-office hit, has been included in the curriculum of IIM-A's post graduate programme.

Around 165 students of second year in IIMA's flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP) discussed the case of James Cameron's Avatar during sessions of "Contemporary Film Industry -a business perspective" (CFI), one of the elective courses at the premier B-school.

Speaking to DNA, Kandaswamy Bharathan, visiting faculty at IIM-A, backed Avatar as their film of choice for the elective as it is a perfect blend of technology and creativity.

"It's always a dilemma whether technology or story be given preference over the other. The idea behind taking Avatar is to explain to students how to blend these essentials," said Bharathan who has designed the elective.

Interestingly, CFI classes are traditionally organised in December during the last term of the course but as the course is gaining popularity among the students, IIMA has conducted these classes twice this year.

The ongoing session started in June while the next session will be in December as is normally the case. The CFI course was introduced in 2008 with an aim to explore business of cinema, entrepreneurial opportunities in film industry and understand its business practice from behind the camera.

The course which saw participation from around 50-odd PGP students in its inception year, the batch-size has grown to 165 in the on-going session. "We expect it to go upto 200 when we start the new session in December," said Bharathan.

So, why the course is gaining popularity among the management students?Ask Ravi Thanvi one of the participating students and he is prompt to respond, "It is content of the course. When you study management you study marketing, strategy etc.

The course teaches you management principles and its application in film industry, which we all love," said Thanvi.

When an MBA aspirant fails to make it to the top 30 Indian business schools, his/her choices hover around the next set of B-schools.

It may be poor scores in the qualifying examinations or lack of job experience, or a combination of both which prevented the aspirant from getting into the top business schools.

But these aspirants are keen on pursuing an MBA and have to choose from the next best ones.  The problem is how to make an appropriate choice? With the number of B-schools in India mushrooming, the job of choosing one among them has become difficult.

A rough estimate of B-schools in India as seen in some of the popular websites quotes the figure as being close to 2,500. Out of this, nearly 75 per cent are approved by accreditation institutions such as AICTE. Their cumulative capacity for student intake is close to two lakhs from a total pool of 3.5 lakh applications through different entrance examinations.

The numbers should have then supported the fact that it is not a problem for B-schools to fill in their required capacities. However, this has not been happening for the last few years. An increasing number of B-schools are finding it hard to fill even 50 per cent of their available capacities. Why is this trend persisting and what is the future of these schools?

Changing trends
One possible reason for this trend is that the market for MBA education has moved from being an oligopoly to a monopoly. The growing demand for MBA graduates has definitely attracted many institutions and private players to venture into this sector and to increase their operations in terms of scale and scope. The top education brands (tier one category) in India such as the IIMs, IITs, and ISB Hyderabad are no exception. The number of centres of IIMs has increased over the last few years. IITs too have expanded their scope to management areas.  ISB, Hyderabad will soon be launching its operations in North India. The top students in the country thus have more centres from the top brands in tier one. This leads to a cascading effect down the hierarchy to tiers two, three, and so on. If the bottom 20 per cent of the B-schools is struggling to fill their seats,the mid category of the schools find it difficult to fill their seats with quality candidates.
 
Another possible reason for such a trend is the demand-supply effect operating in the industry. The number of applicants with work experience has increased over the years. In the year 2009-10, 60 per cent of the applicants who wrote CAT had work experience. In the years earlier, fresh graduates had chosen to do an MBA as there were not many job opportunities available for freshers in the industry.

An MBA under such a situation was a handy and obvious choice. But with the number of finishing courses after graduation in the sales, banking, accounting fields increasing and with the expansion of the business processing industry, getting jobs with a graduation degree is no longer impossible. Furthermore, applicants with work experience have a clear calculation on their return on investments and their opportunity cost. They would prefer to get into an MBA programme only if they make it to the top tier B-schools.

The problem lies with freshers who do not make it to the top tier B-schools and are left to choose from the remaining clutter of B-schools. Many have realised that rankings are a poor reflection of the quality of the business schools. Ranking methodologies significantly differ across ranking agencies resulting in confusing the students rather than guiding them. Many good B-schools, therefore prefer to stay away from participating in those rankings. How would this provide any indication then?

Survey findings
A survey conducted by a B-school, IBS Bangalore, recently reveals some interesting facts. The choice of B-schools by the aspirants significantly differ across regions (other than for the IIMs) indicating the growing monopolistic nature of the market.

It is also seen that aspirants are unable to indicate the reasons for their choice of B-schools, especially in the mid-category, reflecting poor differentiation existing among these schools.

The strong factor influencing the choice would then be the geographical proximity to the student’s home town which would add to convenience and reduce the cost of living. Many students, especially in semi-urban and small towns hardly follow the rankings and the methodology behind the rankings. Given this scenario, the primary yard stick before them is the kind of placements these schools offer, the fee they charge and the brand image the schools carry. The survival of the fittest would therefore depend on how the schools produce what the market requires, the ones that can assure the applicants the best return on investment.
 
Differentiating is key
There are, however, possibilities especially for the second tier B-schools to differentiate themselves in this monopolistically competitive market. Similarly, the customers of these B-schools can look at alternatives to make their choices meaningful.  The second tier B-schools suffer from good quality, especially, academically qualified faculty members.

There is a dearth of PhD qualified faculty in most of these schools. Even if some schools do have PhD qualified faculty their continuous engagement in research is significantly low compared to their top ranked counterparts as well as those compared to universities elsewhere in the world. The participation of faculty in consulting is also substantially low.

These points however cannot be emphasised unless the B-schools make lucrative offers to faculty members and more importantly give them substantial time and scope to engage in research and consulting, taking time off from overloaded teaching assignments.

A faculty member in a typical B-school in the second tier spends about 10-14 hours a week in teaching which leaves little time and enthusiasm for research or consulting. Secondly, most of these B-schools have ad hoc design of their choice of faculty that are not envisioned towards developing core departments or areas within the B-school framework. This provides an opportunity for some first mover schools to differentiate themselves.

From the customers perspective return on investment certainly is a criterion to choose a school. However, it is difficult to make a choice purely based on the placement situation of the B-schools or average salary package. Since investment in education (especially higher education) is a long-term investment, the above two indicators if not wrong are poor representatives of growth.

If learning in the B-school is inadequate there is a possibility of stagnation in the income growth of the individuals. On the other hand quality of jobs that rarely can be verified by the customers includes what kind of jobs are offered to the students of the B-school. Depending on the positioning of the B-school, typical job offers include sales of product and services, supervisor roles, manager roles and strategic roles.

Of these the last role is usually cornered by the top tier B-schools because of their positioning and attracting talents with substantial work experience. The competition remains in the other categories of jobs among the rest of the B-school pass outs. The other important aspect to look at the position of the B-school is to find out the learning experience that can be delivered by the school.

Though there are no easy ways to find these out, some indicators of these would be the number of faculty having PhDs and engaged in research and consulting. The other relatively easier indicator would be to identify the structure of the B-school that has departments or areas specified with an adequate number of qualified research/industry consulting engaged faculty in each of these departments or areas.

The presence of centres for excellence in some specialised areas of research is a step further to differentiate. There are qualitative differences in these aspects too. However, if the choice is between some B-schools having a presence of these indicators a prudent choice would be to look at a B-school having those for long-term return on investment.

Ever wondered why Silicon Valley in the United States, home to some of the biggest technology corporations in the world, is still a leading IT zone in the world? S. Rajeev, management guru, IT entrepreneur, Stanford Business School graduate and newly appointed Director of the Asian School of Business (ASB) in the city, spent 20 years working in Silicon Valley (at AT &T Bell labs, among others).

He says that the key to its vibrancy lies in “circulation.” He explains: “Apart from amazing technological inventions, Silicon Valley has a lively entrepreneurship culture. That's there because there is also a lot of circulation of intellect, among technologists, academia, and the industry – a set of people whose job is to come up with new ideas and an industry with the knowhow to make money of these ideas. Unfortunately, here in India, this kind of circulation is solely missing. Only at the Indian Institutes of Managements (IIM) and Indian Institutes of Technology does such circulation happen, and that too only to an extent, with the former being far more involved with the industry than the latter.”

Ideal environment

And the city is an ideal environment to build up this culture of ‘circulation,' he says, especially because ASB and Technopark (where the institution is located) have the potential for a mutually beneficial relationship. “All they need to do is reach out to each other,” says Rajeev.

In fact, boosting such a culture is one of Rajeev's major aims when he takes over at ASB. “For example, Bell Labs invented the transistor. But their marketing strategy was so off that instead of them earning money of it, it was Sony who made billions from the technology. Similarly, the creative potential of some of the companies at Technopark are amazing. What they lack is solid marketing strategy. That's where ASB will come into the picture,” says this native of the city, in his American accented English. Rajeev is an alumnus of St. Joseph's School, Government Arts College and University College. He is now based in Bangalore and is part of the faculty of the IIMs in Bangalore, Kozhikode and Ahmedabad, apart from sitting on the boards of various companies.

Another pet interest of Rajeev's, which he hopes to bring to ASB, is rural development. He seems buoyed by late economist C.K. Prahlad's ‘Bottom of the Pyramid' theory, which proposes new models of business management by factoring in the economically disadvantaged socio-economic sector – the world's biggest demographic, with some 2.5 billion people – as creative entrepreneurs and value demanding customers.

Dream destination

“Individually the poor may not be powerful but collectively they are a force to reckon with. Already companies are getting on the bandwagon. Cavin Care, for example, came out with a Rs.1 sachet of shampoo, which became a big hit among them. Another incredible success is India Post's Rural Life Insurance Scheme, where the minimum entry price per person was brought down to Rs. 6 a day. What's all the more exciting is that Kerala, where every village has good communication and connectivity, is a dream destination for every market strategist.”

Of course, all this ‘circulation' depends on the education system in India, which he says needs to change. “There's way too much politicisation of education in India and our present education system in India kills creativity, plain and simple. It celebrates mediocrity. And that's coming from a country that once produced geniuses such as C.V. Raman, S. Chandrashekar, S. Ramanujan and S.N. Bose. We really need to invest in research. It's not as if we don't have the potential.”

The Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET), used for admission to the two-year MBA programs offered by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) might be abolished starting this year.

Instead, a candidate's Common Admissions Test (CAT) score could be considered for the admission process, Prof MR Ravi, Vice Chairman, Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), IIT Delhi [ Images ] told.

IIT Delhi was the organising institute for JMET last year.

"In the review meeting of JMET held in June 2011 at IIT Delhi, it was realised that the number of takers for JMET were lesser than last year," Ravi said, adding that only about 30,000 candidates appeared for the test.

Keeping in mind the amount of resources required to conduct a national level entrance test, the senates of the various IITs realised that the turnout for the test was not sufficient to warrant continuing the test.

However, the final decision about whether JMET will be conducted this year or not is yet to be made. The next meeting on this matter will be held sometime in September this year.

Officials at the GATE office of IIT Bombay and IIT Roorkee confirmed that the IITs might not conduct JMET this year but refused to add more to the information.

An official at the GATE office of IIT Delhi said that if JMET was abolished, the IITs would use his CAT score for admissions.

Each IITs might have different cut-offs. However, the official added that the decision was yet to be finalised and nothing had been decided about cut-offs as of now.

JMET is one of the five tests accepted by the All India [ Images ] Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approved b-schools as well.

So you are aiming to get your MBA Admissions in the year 2012. You must have thought of which MBA entrance exams to take and submerged yourself in the sea of preparation. But have you ever given it a thought that along with your preparation, you also need to plan your budget. When you plan your MBA, you plan to take a couple of MBA entrance exams followed by application in B-schools of your choice and caliber. In this article, you will know what your approximate budget should be for gaining your MBA Admission.
First let us have a look at the MBA entrance exams that you must take in order to gain admission in one of the premium B-schools of the country and the budget you need to allocate for them.

CAT
To apply for CAT, you need to buy a CAT voucher. Last year, the cost of the CAT voucher was Rs. 1400. Through this CAT Voucher, you are applying to all the IIMs and you need not apply to the IIMs separately.  The 13 IIMs in which you can apply for the year 2012 are IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Shillong, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Ranchi, IIM Raipur, IIM Rohtak, IIM Trichy, IIM Kashipur and IIM Udaipur.

XAT
The application fee for XAT was Rs. 900 last year. Candidates who registered through Demand Drafts had to pay Rs. 950. While you apply for XAT, you do not have to apply to XLRI Jamshedpur separately, which conducts the B-School.

IIFT
To apply for the IIFT exam, you can either by the application form from the counter or you can apply online. For General candidates, the application fee for last year was Rs. 1500. If you apply for IIFT exam, you don’t have to apply separately for IIFT Delhi and IIFT Kolkata.

FMS
FMS, the entrance exam for FMS, University of Delhi had the application fee of Rs. 750 last year. The registration can be done online by visiting the official website of FMS. Through this registration, you are also registered for the admission of FMS, University of Delhi.

NMAT
Last year, NMAT had introduced a change in the format. A candidate can take the test thrice. Hence, the application fee also depended on that. The application fee for NMAT 2011 was Rs. 1650. The fee for rescheduling the test was Rs. 800. Registering for NMAT makes you eligible for the admission of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Mumbai, which conducts the exam.

SNAP
SNAP, which is the entrance exam for the institutes of Symbiosis International University. The application fee for SNAP 2010 was Rs. 1550. The prominent B-schools under Symbiosis International University are Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) Pune, Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB) Pune and Bangalore, Symbiosis Center for Management & Human Resource Development (SCMHRD) Pune, Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management (SITM) Pune to name a few.
Note that the application fees of the top MBA entrance exams which are mentioned here are of the last year, 2010-11. Hence, they are subject to change. But the average budget which you should fix for taking MBA entrance exams is approximately Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 9,000.
Now let us have a look at the prominent B-schools which accept CAT and XAT scores and the application fee they charged for the academic year 2011-13.

MDI Gurgaon
Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon had started the application process for the year 2011-13 from September 2010. The cost of the Admission forms was Rs. 1600. Candidates who received the form by post or by online application had to pay Rs. 1750. MDI Gurgaon accepts CAT exam scores.

IMT Ghaziabad
IMT Ghaziabad is had also started its application process along with the other top B-schools. The application fee for IMT Ghaziabad for the year 2011-13 was Rs. 1600. IMT group of institutes accept CAT exam scores.

SPJIMR Mumbai
SP Jain Institute of Management Research (SPJIMR) is one of the top B-schools in India, based in Mumbai. SPJIMR started its admission process from September 2010. The application fee was Rs. 1200. The B-School accepts the scores of CAT and XAT exams.

NITIE Mumbai
National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) Mumbai is another Mumbai based B-School of repute. For the admission, it accepts the scores of CAT exam. The application fee is Rs. 1000.

XIM Bhubaneswar
Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB) is one of the top B-schools accepting XAT scores after XLRI Jamshedpur. XIMB started the application process in September. The application fee was Rs. 1000.

BIMTECH Greater Noida
Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) Greater Noida also started the admission process in the month of September last year. The application fee of BIMTECH for the academic year 2011-13 was Rs. 1700.

TAPMI Manipal
T A Pai Management Institute, Manipal had started the admission process from September 2010. TAPMI accepts CAT scores for the admission. The application fee for TAPMI was Rs. 1200.
There are many other B-schools which you can apply on the basis of several criteria like your exam scores, location etc. For this the average budget will be approximately Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000.
Hence, overall you should be well prepared to have a budget of around Rs. 25, 000. They don’t say MBA is an investment for lifetime just like that! So while preparing for taking the test, as well as to manage your budget, make sure that all the effort is not wasted and give your best shot to crack the highest percentiles and ensure your admission in the apex B-School.

The new session has started in the B-schools. With every batch, the B-schools either revise their fee structures or the number of seats. Fee is something which gets revised almost every year. We bring to you the fee structures of the prominent B-school for the new batch 2011-13 as well as the current batch of 2010-12.

Among the IIMs, there is a positive observation to be noted. Apart from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Indore and the new IIMs – IIM Ranchi, Raipur, Rohtak -- founded last year, there has been no fee hike. This can be taken as a signal to a hike in the fees in the older IIMs for admissions 2012-14.

Amongst the private B-schools, while several B-schools have increased the fee for the current year, some of the institutes like T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) Manipal and We School Mumbai have not made any change in the fee structure this year.

In the following table, you can see the fee structure for the two consecutive batches of 2010-12 and 2011-13:
 

As you can see in the above table, some of the top B-schools have had a marginal rise. But for all
those who are going to take CAT 2011 and are aiming at the top league B schools then the fees of the B-School should not be your concern. The above mentioned B-schools accommodate the most talented and capable forthcoming business leaders. If you are able to secure a seat in these institutes, you can be rest assured that you will get the Return of Investment (ROI) owing to the good placement records.

If you are aiming your admission for the next batch which is 2012-14, you should be prepared for further hike in fees as is a trend for the B-schools every year due to factors like inflation and infrastructure development. But if you are lucky enough to get through institutes which do not decide to hike their fee, then it will be an icing of the cake for you. 

You should not compromise on the quality of the B-School. You should rather focus on the factors like Placement, brand name, curriculum and pedagogy, alumni members, infrastructure and faculty members. Fee should not be the constraint as you can always go for education loan but make sure that you prepare well and show the best of your abilities so that the panel members of the Ivy league B-schools don’t have to think twice before putting your name forward for the admission offer.

TNN, BANGALORE,

The Common Admission Test (CAT), which holds the key to the 13 IIMs and other major B-schools in the country, has gone for a format makeover. The test will be conducted between October 22 and November 18, 2011. Though the number of questions remains the same,CAT 2011 will have two sections instead of three, and an additional five minutes to tackle the test.

According to an official statement released on Monday byPrometric, the testing agency and IIMs, CAT 2011 will have only two sections - the first will focus on quantitative ability and data interpretation and the second on verbal ability and logical reasoning.

"These two sections will be implemented sequentially with separate time limits. The examination will be 140 minutes. Candidates will have 70 minutes to answer 30 questions within each section, which will have an on-screen countdown timer. Once the time ends for the first section, they will move to the second and will no longer be able to go back," said the statement.

"This is a move to be student-friendly. There are many students who lose out on a seat as they would have failed to perform in one of the sections," said prof Janakiraman Moorthy, convenor, CAT 2011. An additional five minutes have been added to the existing two-andhalf hours. This includes a 15-minute tutorial that will guide students through the process.

Bhilai, Jammu and Dehradun have been added to the existing 33 test locations. The number of testing days will remain 20.

Check-in time has been reduced by half-an-hour from the previous two hours. With this change, the afternoon sessions will start at 3.15pm.

WHAT'S NEW
Three sections reduced to two No option of going back and forth Additional five minutes 30 min reduction in reporting time Three new locations 30 more outlets to sell vouchers.

TNN, AHMEDABAD,

Leaving aside thick textbooks, students of the world's top-ranking management institute, Harvard Business School (HBS) in the US, will soon be musing on the pages of a photonovel as a part of their classroom activities. What's more, the first-of-its-kind photonovel for the students at Harvard is being developed by Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad (Mica).

As a part of its experiments on innovative teaching methods to grab students' attention, Harvard Business School will be converting one of its case studies into a photonovel.

A case study developed by HBS marketing professors Das Narayandas and co-author Kerry Herman, based on Eureka Forbes, will be narrated in the form of a photonovel. The project will be handled by a Mica faculty member Kalol Das who specializes in marketing research and participatory communication.

Kalol Das said, "It will be the first photonovel in the world based on a case study. The script of the photonovel is ready and is going through a process of approval from the professors at Harvard and officials at Eureka Forbes. The shooting will begin after the approval. It will take several months for the completion of the project as it requires approval of various stake holders at all stages."

Talking about the purpose of the photonovel, the Mica faculty member said, "With the changing trends and lifestyles, the interest of the today's youth is short lived. The dull black and white text heavy case studies fail to grab their attention. So it is important to adopt innovative methods to teach them. The photonovel case study is aimed at giving a better classroom experience to the students and help them relate better to the case at hand. The images will also lead to better memory retention."

When Harvard Business School was started, its faculty members realized that there were no textbooks suitable to a graduate program in business. That was when they decided to use case studies which are detailed accounts of innovative methods and practices that managers follow. The case study method of teaching at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is based on that of HBS. In 1963, a group of four Indian professors was sent to the US institution to learn the case study ideology followed at Harvard.

Earlier this year, with Professor Phanish Puranam, I presented the results of publications by India-based faculty and institutions in leading international management journals during 1991-2010 . The poor research productivity demonstrated by the data led several Indian faculty members to provide us feedback on the reasons for the failure or, alternatively, why research in these journals was not an appropriate pursuit for Indian faculty.

In a follow-up article, we argued that theIITs and IIMs, while great teaching institutions, were demonstrating a pre-liberalisation mentality , and not aspiring to global thought leadership. However, research productivity could be enhanced at leading Indian academic institutions through enlightened leadership, changing incentives and capability enhancements at the institutions. We are pleased to observe that since the appearance of these articles, some leading policymakers and business leaders inIndia have picked up on our arguments and critiqued the IIMs, noting that these institutions are great because of the talented students they graduate as a result of 'selection' effects.

It is undoubtedly true that the numerous luminary alumnus of these institutions makes them world-famous and the continued successful placements show that these institutions are producing students valued by leading firms. I would like to provocatively argue that even when it comes to producing students, theIIMs have failed India . Following best-practice classroom technique, my hope is to generate deep reflective discussion, rather than offer definitive conclusions. Last year, I attended a presentation at the London Business School by three faculty members based at different leading Indian academic institutions .

The consensus among them, which we agreed with, was that India had a unique competence for frugal engineering and innovation for the budget-constrained masses . Yet, I got this creeping feeling of irony. Yes, India does have a reputation for frugal engineering; but do the IIMs, or for that matter, the IITs or JNU, display this? Here we were on the London Business School campus that is about five acres, with another shared classroom in Dubai, yet we graduated over 1,000 degree students this year and, combined with executive education , generated about $118 million - £47 million and £27 million from degree and executive education programmes respectively - in revenues last year.

Another school that I was on the faculty of, IMD in Switzerland , while having fewer degree students because of its executive education focus, generated $114 million - 11 million and 86 million Swiss Francs from degree and executive education programmes respectively - of revenues from a six-acre campus. And neither school has an endowment or receives government support that is interesting enough to mention. And, they produce the revenues and students without sacrificing quality since both these schools are frequently ranked among the top 10 business schools of the world! Compare this with the oldest IIMs at Ahmedabad (100 acres), Calcutta (135 acres) and Bangalore (100 acres ), or the more-recently-established Lucknow (185 acres), Kozhikode (97 acres), Indore (193 acres) and Shillong (120 acres), which, if Wikipedia numbers are to be believed, graduate a combined total of 2,750 MBAs.

I would have liked to present the revenue numbers, but they were not easily available. In any case, I can make my provocation without them. As new IIMs are being planned with the same business model - small numbers ofMBA graduates, large sprawling 200-acre campuses, no research of international quality - it is important to ask: whether in a budget-constrained emerging economy like India, is this the best use of limited resources, especially land? And are these IIMs up to the task of graduating the hundreds of thousands of managers needed annually to feed the country's growth?
Perhaps individual IIMs should be graduating 10,000 MBA and EMBA students annually with their 100-acre-plus campuses. It still would not be frugal engineering a la London Business School (five acres and 1,000 degree students), but at least it would be a step in the right direction. By this stage of the article, I can imagine the howls from IIMs of how I just don't get it. The limitations of resources they face. Or, that they are frugal if you compare their fees compared to the foreign institutions. And, how they have to provide faculty and student housing that consumes land. But seriously, resources are anon-issue . I do not know the prevailing land prices in these cities, but if they competitively sold half their acreage, their campuses would still be 10-20 times the size of a London Business School or IMD campus. There are many reasons for the low productivity of land usage by the IIMs. I will hypothesise only a few.

First, the original model was set up at a time when India could only absorb a few MBAs. Today, we need them to produce at least 1,00,000 MBAs per year. I believe that the existing and planned IIM campuses make this entirely feasible. Faculty constraints, which are real, can be easily overcome by removing the restriction on hiring foreign faculty. If foreign pilots can fly planes in the Indian domestic sector, I am sure foreign faculty can teach at Indian academic institutions without any mortal danger to the country.

Second, the leadership and the country is too caught up in the game of trying to compete on which IIM has the lowest acceptance rate - applications-to-student ratio - rather than on expanding the student base. Fee-based schools know larger student bases lead to greater revenues and a more influential alumni network . Another institution I taught at, Harvard Business School, had an incoming MBA class of 900 and no one doubts their quality! There is no definitive data that I have seen that demonstrates that academic achievement in MBA programme is strongly correlated to the success after graduation .

The links between grade-point average and future success are tenuous at best, and this does not include the college dropouts of Michael Dell, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs! To me, it seems that we need to break the prevailing belief that quality and size of the student body are negatively correlated, especially at the small numbers of students that exist at IIMs. The IIMs could triple or quadruple their size tomorrow morning with no loss in 'quality' of students. Unfortunately, publicly-funded institutions worldwide take the view of how much money are we getting this year, what does it cost per person served and, therefore, we can serve only so many. The profit mentality leads to the thinking that we charge so much per person served, so, the more people we serve, the more resources we will have to grow and build .

Business schools, by definition, should have a profit mindset. Third, my friends who are in the know in India tell me that there is a land-grab going on in the country in which everyone from corporates to NGOs are participating, so why not the IIMs. One indicator of power and prestige in India is the size of the house or campus and the land that it sits upon. Not surprisingly, it was so much easier for me to obtain the acreage of the individual IIM campuses from the Internet, than their revenues . But land is a scarce resource in a country of billion-plus people, it is our duty to use it frugally.

Among his peers, the decision to spurn the plum job offer to start his own business was considered professional suicide.

When he graduated from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad in 2006, Sarath Babu was offered an annual pay package of 800,000 rupees (Dh66,000) by a multinational company scouting for managerial talent at the campus.

It was a dream offer - more than enough to pay off his family's debts. Turning it down was risky. Mr Babu grew up in a slum. His mother's meagre income from selling steamed rice cakes on a pavement shack supported a family of six. His education at IIM - the South Asian equivalent of Harvard Business School - was considered a ticket to a high-flying corporate job that would lift his family out of poverty.

But while his peers were busy counting the zeroes accrued to their pay packages, Mr Babu chose to pursue a path less trodden. With an investment of 1.17 million rupees - most of it taken as a bank loan - he started Foodking Catering Services, which supplied teatime snacks to corporate houses, banks and software companies in Ahmedabad.

His boldness paid off well: Foodking has since expanded to five cities and has blossomed into a 70m rupee enterprise.

His inspiration, he says, is Dhirubhai Ambani, a pioneering business leader who started as a small trader of synthetic yarn and built the multibillion-rupee Reliance empire that has become India's largest industrial house.

"I, too, wanted to become an entrepreneur," says Mr Babu.

In recent years, multinational companies have looked to India - beyond Harvard and Wharton - to tap the world's brightest intellectual talent. Business schools such as IIM have long fostered prestige by maintaining rigorous entrance criteria - with a success rate among applicants of about one in 200. Recruiters are drawn to such schools like bees to honey.

In the summer placements on campus, MBA graduates are known to land high-performance managerial jobs, many of them overseas, with monthly pay equal to what their parents earned in a lifetime.

Most are risk-averse, preferring secure salaried jobs over starting their own businesses. Traditionally, entrepreneurs in India have come from families that control flourishing business empires.

But that is slowly changing.

In recent years, a growing number of MBA graduates have rejected opportunities in investment banking and hedge funds to pursue unconventional careers such as starting a chain of coffee shops, selling scented candles and creating consultancies to help hotel resorts create habitats for butterflies.

In the past five decades, IIM Ahmedabad has produced 800 to 1,000 entrepreneurs, says the institute's director, Samir Barua. He says it plays an active role in encouraging entrepreneurship among students.

Its Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship, a unit on the campus dedicated to this goal, offers graduates the option of "deferred placements" - which means they can come back to the institute after two years for recruitment by companies scouting talent on the campus if their startup venture fails.

In Jamshedpur, the Xavier Labour Research Institute (XLRI) is another top management school that offers students the same fallback.

"We have some students who continue with their own ventures alongside their jobs, or take up entrepreneurship a couple of years down the road," says Rajiv Misra, the chairman of XLRI's placement committee.

None of the students who have chosen to defer placements have come back to participate in placements, he says.

The IIM campus in Bangalore, another premier school, offers entrepreneurship to its students as an elective subject. It recently partnered with the global chip maker Intel to launch "Next Big Idea", a business plan competition aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship.

The Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, which typically attracts the highest-paying recruiters on its campus every year, recently shortlisted 110 entrepreneurs from across India to receive funding and mentoring for their new ventures from professionals on campus.

The research firm Venture Intelligence says angel investors and venture capitalists invested nearly US$440m (Dh1.61 billion) in new enterprises in India last year, compared with $320m in 2009.
Brisk economic growth in recent years that promises a high rate of return has encouraged many such funds to invest in new businesses. Boston Consulting Group says India was the world's fourth-largest wealth creator last year after the US, China and the UK.

India is widely unpopular among investors for its stringent regulatory hurdles. But it is improving, the World Bank says in the report Doing Business 2011, published last November.India had moved up by one rank from a year earlier to emerge as the 134th easiest country in which to do business.

India also has a rich tradition of jugaad - Hindi slang for a unique, low-cost solution cobbled together amid a shortage of resources to fix a vexing problem.

In recent years, several jugaad-style innovations have captured a sizeable chunk of the bottom-of-the-pyramid market in India. In 2008, India's Tata Motors launched the Nano, a car publicised as the world's cheapest. Launched at a price of $2,500, the Nano fulfilled the dream of millions of scooter-riding Indians to own cars.

The following year, Tata also launched the Swach water purifier, priced at 1,000 rupees. The low-cost device, which operates without electric power, assured millions of India's poor access to clean drinking water, which is scarce in many areas.

This month, India's ministry of human resources unveiled the prototype of an iPad-like computing device, available for $35.

But while low-cost innovations have flourished, experts say the vision to create a Google or Facebook in India is missing.

Research conducted in 2008 by two graduates of the IIM in Bangalore found that out of a few graduates from their institute who moved towards entrepreneurship, more than 60 per cent took the plunge after six years as salaried employees with companies.

Sambit Patra and Prasun Mathur discovered that most of the ventures lacked scale - they were small and mid-sized enterprises with fewer than 100 employees. Most did not opt to raise capital via initial public offerings or venture funding, and they "scored poorly on innovation".

"When it comes to innovation, there is a huge gap," John Sculley, a former president of PepsiCo, said at a leadership summit in Mumbai recently. "Indians have built a huge reputation in the field of frugal engineering. But innovation takes both right and left brain thinking, and the right brain is about taking risk. Risk-taking is not part of the culture of India."

Rajiv Deep Bajaj, the vice chairman of Bajaj Capital, a leading finance company, and chairman of the Delhi chapter of the US-based Entrepreneurs' Organization, says risk-taking is not built into India's cultural DNA.

Indians need to adopt "the attitude of an entrepreneur, which is the mindset of risk", he says. "They need to understand the risk-reward equation, and that for high risk there is high reward."

Business Standard, Mumbai/ Ahmedabad,

Even as the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) awaits an approval from the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) on its revised memorandum of association (MoA), the premier B-school has called for institutes to be managed by Boards.

Commenting on the issue, Samir Barua, director, IIM-A recently said, "We have proposed a new MoA that provides autonomy to the Board of Governors to select its Chairman and Director. These institutes (IIMs) should become Board managed organisations so that the Board can be held accountable for performance delivery."
IIM-A's revised MoA has already been approved by the Government of Gujarat while the institute awaits approval from the Ministry of Human Resources Development.

When asked about IIM-A effort to reduce interference from the government, Barua said, "It is not an issue of interference. Rather, it is a matter of accountability. Plus, the Ministry had asked each IIMs to revise their MoAs and we have done so."

Meanwhile, apart from providing autonomy to the Board, IIM-A has also sought reduction in the size of its Board of Governors from 25 to 15, among other proposals under the new MoA.

ET Bureau, AHMEDABAD,

Indian business schools will together attempt at changing the course curriculum last tweaked by some of them in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial meltdown.

Driving the change this time will be corporate needs in emerging markets and not just economic compulsions. This is the first time that B-Schools will jointly brainstorm on curriculum.

A few institutes including the IIMs introduced subjects like ethics and social-cultural environment two years ago when MBA education was under fire for causing the sub-prime crisis and later failing to contain the global recession. Now companies picking up grads from campuses are increasingly seeking on-field experience, sending institutes into a huddle for a long-term revamp plan.
Some 65 representatives from various 30 B-Schools (including six IIMs) and some companies will meet at a conference on Friday to kick off what is termed as a process to decide the road ahead for management education in India. Roadmap that emerges from the conference will be shared with Indian B-Schools to help them reformulate their curricula," says IIM-A faculty Vijaya Sherry Chand who is a member of the conference's organising committee.

"We (B-school passouts) are as good or bad as graduates from any other discipline. Industry interface is seriously missing (in the curriculum). Students need to interact with the present genre of corporates which will be far more interesting than their academics," says an IIM-Calcutta alumnus who steered a multi-million dollar acquisition last year.

In February, Harvard Business School said it would move away from its case-study approach and focus more on ethics and team work. The changes are aimed at creating leaders of competence and character, rather than those with connections and credentials, it said.

Harvard school professor Srikant Datar says, business schools in the West are changing and reforming their curricula to reduce the current focus on "knowing" (facts, framework, theories) to "doing" (capabilities and techniques) and "being" (values, attitudes, and beliefs).
"At the same time, there is greater emphasis on "thinking" how to think critically and make logical arguments using deductive, inductive, causative, or analogical reasoning," says Datar who has authored Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads. The book will form base for discussion between Indian B-Schools at the conference that is jointly being hosted IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Calcutta in Ahmedabad. The two schools will make own presentations.

Says IIM-A director Samir Barua: "There is a need to bring in changes in the current management education to meet changing market requirements and future demand. Changing the curriculum is not possible overnight, but we will use the collective ideas in future for the curriculum change."
"The idea would be to disseminate the outputs widely so as to start a national debate on what needs to be done to revamp management education so that it becomes more relevant and responsive to the emerging needs of the nation. B-Schools will make the education imparted more relevant to the needs of emerging economies...What are the changes in curriculum, processes and philosophy underlying management education in some of the leading business schools? How relevant are those innovations and changes to the needs in the Indian context?," the conference brochure read.

Datar who will also attend the conference believes there are a large number of unmet needs in areas such as global perspectives, leadership development, critical, innovative and integrative thinking and execution and implementation. "As business educators, we need to engage our students in thinking deeply about the roles and responsibilities of business towards various stakeholders and to emphasise the limitations of the models we teach," he added. According to him, the MBA degree is facing serious challenges.

"Over the last 10 years, we have seen decline in enrollment of 25-30% or even 50% at highly ranked US and European schools outside the top 15 schools. Prospective applicants are being discouraged by many employers from going to full-time MBA programs. Schools are giving much more attention to innovation and execution. To teach these skills, schools in the West are beginning to adopt different pedagogies such as experiential learning.
They are recognising, for example, that innovative thinking, just like swimming, is best learned through repeated practice in real situations. Unlike other professions, a manager's success depends on motivating and inspiring others. Schools are using leadership laboratories to train students to examine their own strengths and weaknesses, with the goal of building their skills in self and relationship management," he said.

An IIM-C faculty said that the study is being finalised and there is a need to address issues like what type of skill sets do recruiters need. "We are also thinking of recruiters' perspective for fresh candidates and experienced candidates. We will discuss about the weightage given to on-field experience and classroom education. The discussions will initially lead to a re look at the current curriculum and it will impact our future curriculum," he added.
IIM-Rohtak, which will have its first placement season next year, believes that there is need for including new aspects in the MBA course. "B-Schools currently focus on professional excellence, but equal focus should be given to value system and social commitment. In changing business environment, managers with these qualities, will ensure faster growth of organisations," IIM-R director P Rameshan told ET.

"The current management education is not up to the industry requirements. MBA students are not ready to take on the corporate world, as what they have learnt (theory) and what is needed (practical) knowledge are different. There should be more of interactive sessions for students with the guest faculty members from various fields like manufacturing industry, service industry, entrepreneurs, faculty from government offices like treasury, RBI, PF, labour office etc to know more about the various act and compliance's as per the applicable industry.

Also, internships should be of a whole semester," said Dinesh Gehlot, assistant VP of Credila ( HDFC Ltd Company). He added that management education needs curriculum with emphasis on imparting education in regard to political, ethical and philosophical nature of management practice.

Sanjit Paul Singh, director of Gurgaon headquartered HR firm S&S Associates says corporates now demand for greater domain expertise. "B-Schools teach various concepts in classroom and corporates expect their application in real world from grads.

Also, more than 90% MBAs go to corporate world only after completing study and just 10% come with some work experience. B-Schools need to change enrolment criteria or they should increase the duration of internship to match the recruiters' requirement," he says.

DNA, Ahmedabad,

Timely introspection is always beneficial as it helps break certain myths and allows for better planning.

The two-day 'Conference on Management Education: The Road Ahead', which began at IIMA on Friday, shattered certain myths, paving the way for a clearer road ahead.

The seminar is jointly organised by IIM, Ahmedabad and IIM, Calcutta.
Comparisons between an Indian MBA against an MBA from US were made and the outcome highlighted the gloomy picture.

The management experts, professors and even recruiters made no bones about the fact that an MBA grad from USA would outscore an Indian counterpart in the current scenario.

The conference is aimed at providing a more relevant curriculum for management education in India.

Driving the seminar on the first day was Srikant Datar, professor at Harvard Business School and co-author of the book 'Rethinking the MBA', which actually led to the idea of a rethink of the curriculum. In his presentation, he observed that world's top B-schools do not focus on innovation.

"We looked at the curriculum of close to 100 top B-schools of the world and found out that no one taught innovation. Business schools are excellent functionaries but do not teach students to think innovatively."

The wide ranged audience, apart from directors and faculty members of the country's top management institutes, included some of the top recruiters too.

The recruiters let out some harsh realities.
"We have fewer capable people and the major problem is of stickiness. It is observed that Indian MBA graduates frequently change organisations," said Chetan Tolia, Director, Tata Management Training Centre.

"The MBA from US has an advantage of work experience. Indian graduates are very good at analysing but fail when they have to arrive at a conclusion," said Rajan Srivatsan, Managing Director, Bain & Co, which is one of the leading recruiting companies.

"The American graduates are good at social skills and at adaptability. They easily fit into an organization. We have to wait for some time before we can put the Indian graduate to the client," added Srivatsan.

There were more brickbats in store as a survey of recruiters carried out by professor Amit Dhiman of IIM-C and TV Rao of IIMA revealed.

"Some recruiters have said that there is no difference between an MBA from IIM and one from other leading management schools. We have also been told that many do not exhibit work ethic," said Rao.

"The MBAs fall short on emotional intelligence and oral and written communication skills," said Dhiman.

To overcome the shortcomings, Dhiman said that courses and case studies covering emerging economies needed to be included.

"More courses on self-awareness, problem solving and decision making should be introduced. Communication labs to improve communications skills can be looked at."

Shekhar Chaudhuri, director of IIM-C, said that the conference aims to bridge the wide gap.

"We are at a critical juncture. India has seen rapid growth in the last 10 years. With our growing economy, we need a large number of high quality management institutes."

Expressindia,

Ahmedabad Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta organised the first ever conference on “Management Education: The Road Ahead”.

On the first day of the two-day seminar, leaders in the management education and recruiters agreed that the present curriculum in IIMs and the other B-Schools in India need a revamp.

IIM-A Director Samir Barua said in his inaugural speech that the conference was a fallout of many emails he received after the global meltdown in 2008, asking about the scenario in the IIMs and whether things needed a change.

IIM-C Director Shekhar Chaudhari said that before 1991, India had a very steady rate of growth. But after that there has been a rapid growth with the proliferation of MBA institutes.

“Today we stand at a very critical juncture. I believe that India needs a higher number of quality educational institutes. We face great challenges because we have a huge number of students opting for MBA but institutes are not able to provide education to all,” said Chaudhari.

The panel, headed by a group of recruiters, discussed the perspectives they look into during recruitment drives. Most of the recruiters in the panel said the people they recruit are unable to think critically or either lack capability.

Srikant Datar, a Professor at Harvard Business School and an IIMA graduate, discussed his book “Rethinking the MBA:Business Education at a Crossroads”. Datar alongwith with his two other co-authors David Garvin and Patrick Cullen had interviewed around 100 managers and university deans while writing the book.

He said there was a need to do rebalance of the ‘Knowing’, ‘Doing’ and ‘Being’ concept. He said faculties, while teaching the ‘knowing’ aspect of business education should also make students to think innovatively.

Later, presentations were made on the findings by IIM-A and IIM-C on the survey done by recruiters.

ET Bureau, AHMEDABAD,

Driven by the changes in the corporate needs, Indian business schools are considering change in its curriculum. Indian business schools will together attempt at changing the course curriculum, which was last tweaked by some of them in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial meltdown. This is the first time that B-schools will jointly brainstorm on curriculum.

A few institutes, including the IIMs, introduced subjects like ethics and social-cultural environment two years ago when MBA education was under fire for causing the sub-prime crisis and later failing to contain the global recession. Now more and more companies are picking up grads with on-field experience, sending institutes into a huddle for a long-term revamp plan.

Some 65 representatives from various 30 B-schools (including six IIMs) and some companies will meet at a conference on Friday to kick-off what is termed as a process to decide the road ahead for management education in India. "Roadmap that emerges from the conference will be shared with Indian B-Schools to help them reformulate their curricula," said IIM-A faculty Vijaya Sherry Chand who is a member of the conference's organising committee.+
In February, Harvard Business School said it would move away from its case-study approach and focus more on ethics and team work. The changes are aimed at creating leaders of competence and character, rather than those with connections and credentials.

An IIM-C faculty said that the study is being finalised and there is a need to address issues like what type of skill sets do recruiters need. "We are also thinking of recruiters' perspective for fresh candidates and experienced candidates. We will discuss about the weightage given to on-field experience and classroom education. The discussions will initially lead to a re-look at the current curriculum and it will impact our future curriculum," he added.

By Neelima Mahajan-Bansal, contributor

(poetsandquants.com) -- Ajit Rangnekar, the mild-mannered dean of the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business, is looking forward to April 2012 for a whole host of reasons.

For one, the business school will launch its second campus in Mohali. A big bet for the school, the Mohali campus will mark the beginning of the second chapter of ISB's unusual story.

The milestone will also mark the end of one of the most traumatic periods in the school's short history. The institution saw one of its key founders, former McKinsey & Co. managing director Rajat Gupta, become embroiled in a massive insider trading scandal in the U.S. that led to Gupta's resignation as chairman of the school in March.

ISB was Gupta's brainchild, and it was he who brought the academic brains and the corporate forces together to establish the school in 2001. The same case also claimed another prominent ISB board member, Anil Kumar, who has pleaded guilty to securities fraud.

Rangnekar claims the scandal has had no impact on the school. "The important thing is that not a single one of our most important stakeholders -- recruiters, students, incoming faculty -- has expressed concern about the ISB as a consequence of that," he maintains. "We all recognize that these things have happened because of what those people did or didn't do outside of ISB."

As if Gupta's resignation wasn't enough, an earlier scandal pushed Rangnekar, deputy dean of ISB from 2003 to 2009, into the dean's role in January 2010. The school's previous head, Mendu Rammohan Rao, had to step down in the wake of an infamous scandal at the IT company Satyam Computer Services, where he was an independent director.

Those were tough times, concedes Rangnekar. "One day we had a dean and the next day we didn't have a dean," he says. "Also, this happened at a time when the economy was in shambles. So was it unpleasant? Absolutely. Was it unfortunate? Totally. But what do you do? You are faced with it, you have to fight it."

Yet it's not an especially auspicious start for a school that aims to be among the top five business schools in the world. After a 10-year run, the school still has not been able to attract a highly diverse student population. Only 5.5% of the class of 2012 is composed of non-Indian passport holders and only 29% of the students are female. But the class has a respectable median GMAT of 710, and graduates of its one-year business program have done exceptionally well in the job market. This year, the 310 grads received 661 job offers and garnered average starting salaries of $121,008, roughly 2.3 times the salaries they were earning just before they entered business school.

The school's new campus will increase the student population by 200 (the Hyderabad campus has a total enrollment of about 570 including part-timers) and also help ISB break new ground in manufacturing, healthcare, public policy, and infrastructure through four institutes specifically focused on these areas. "For a long time, we have been wondering what being relevant to India means," Rangnekar says. "We concluded that there are some major national priorities and that's how we honed in on those four areas."

The Mohali campus is crucial to Rangnekar. "My biggest priority over the next two to three years is to make Mohali a success," he says.

In many ways, it is an audacious plan. Four leading Indian industrialists have made an initial investment of some $44 million in this new venture and three international schools -- MIT Sloan School of Management, the Wharton School and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University -- have joined as academic partners.

ISB has been known to take bold risks all along. When it was set up in 2001, the school broke the mold for management education in India. Positioned as India's global school, ISB came with strong academic partnerships with the Wharton School and Kellogg School of Management -- people like then Kellogg Dean Don Jacobs, then Wharton Dean Tom Gerrity, and London Business School's Sumantra Ghoshal were personally involved in the planning.

But ISB's biggest point of differentiation was that it offered a one-year MBA, a new concept in the Indian market. Unlike other Indian business schools operating at the time, ISB placed a huge emphasis on experience and diversity. "We gave the market a very different product. They were not just another substitute for the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) graduates, but a different category of people -- more mature and more well-rounded," says Rangnekar.

Accreditation woes and financial strain

ISB seemed like a great project from the word go -- the right academic backing, strong corporate supporters, and an audacious plan. But it wasn't always smooth sailing. Soon after launching in July 2001, the market turned south. In the wake of 9/11, a few star professors backed out and the school's finances came under strain.

The next year, when the first batch of graduates hit the market, jobs were in short supply. Corporate investors grew concerned. "Back then, there were a whole lot of skeptics, and even among the believers, almost everyone thought that it would take a lot longer for ISB to reach where it is today," says Rangnekar.

A constant source of pain for ISB is its tussle with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), India's higher education regulator, which simply refuses to recognize a one-year MBA.

"The tragedy of our relationship with AICTE is that we actually want to be regulated," says Rangnekar. "AICTE just believes that you cannot have a one-year MBA program."

The result: The school still can't offer an MBA degree, but instead grants a post-graduate program in management (PGP) degree. ISB is pinning its hopes on new government regulations that are in development.

Meantime, Rangnekar is applying for accreditation with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and the school's first review is in October.

ISB's success with its one-year business degree has created a brand new market. Today, several other institutions in India -- including the hallowed Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) -- also offer similar one-year degrees for experienced students.

Moving forward

Over the years, ISB has built a formidable reputation within the Asia-Pacific region. "We did what everyone said was impossible," insists Rangnekar. "We ramped up capacity from 120 to 560 in about eight years and everyone said we will dilute quality. But we were absolutely convinced that there is no shortage of talent in this country and nor is there a shortage of demand," says Rangnekar.

Going forward, Rangnekar wants to provide a much greater emphasis on leadership and values-based education -- not just ethics, but responsibility. "Basically, how do we incorporate ethical decision-making into everything students do? And while we have a few ideas, I don't think we have found solutions to it," he says.

Ahmedabad,

IIM-A on Tuesday said it will extend the reach of its publisher training programme to countries in South East Asia from next year. The programme aims at addressing the needs of the fast-changing publishing sector and is part of Management Development Programme (MDP) at the top B-School.

IIM-A said it has re-entered into an MoU with the Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) to offer this training programme. The MoU was signed between IIM-A Director Samir Barua and FBF president Juergen Boos. On the occasion, the website of the programme www.publisherstraining.com was also launched.

H Anil Kumar, IIM-A Librarian and Head, National Information Centre on Management (NICMAN), said: “The first training programme was held this year between February and March. Following good response from the industry, we have decided to extend the reach of the programme to South East Asia and the Gulf countries from next year.”
He added: “The programme for the middle and top executives focuses on addressing the changing needs in the rapidly growing book publishing industry, which is growing between 25-30 per cent annually. We shall basically teach them how to manage changes in this industry in terms of strategy, formats and opportunities available for self publishing.”

FBF is the largest book fair in the world and is engaged in organising publishing training programmes and congresses around the world. According to industry estimates, 90,000 titles are published annually in India of which 30-40 per cent are in English.

Kumar said: “We are the third-largest publisher in English language in the world. There are an estimated 16,000-odd publishers in the country. In the first year, our programme was tailor-made to address the changing needs of the Indian publishing sector. So there was more of domestic participation, but a lot of inquires were there from overseas. The ultimate goal is to set up a long-term training programme in this field for which possibilities are being explored.”

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore has decided to make attendance voluntary across all courses. IIM B has done this deliberately as someone at a postgraduate level is mature enough to take such decision on their own. The basic idea is to see how students can discipline themselves.

The new rule will be applicable starting with the first year students of this academic year. Though students now have the choice to attend classes, but the instructors still have the final say. The evaluation of students will depend on class participation and overall performance.

“This is a break through initiative by IIM Bangalore. Though I won’t be able to comment on what effects it will have, as effects of such initiatives depends on the culture of a college. The opportunity cost of a lecture may differ for every student—say a student interested in becoming an entrepreneur may not be interested in attending a particular lecture,” says Prateek Jitendra, a student at NITIE Mumbai.

The relaxation in attendance has come as a surprise to many b-school students. If some students have welcomed the move, some are of the opinion that making attendance voluntary will encourage malinger behaviour among students on campus. “I don’t think so that serious students like that of IIM B will engage in some truant behaviour,” adds Prateek.

TNN, BANGALORE,

Just Rs 20 in pocket. Surviving on single banana for breakfast, rice dish from roadside vendor for lunch, biscuits for tea time. Not a life that you would expect the future CEOs from the most prestigious B-school of the country to lead. But this is what some of the IIM-B students experienced for a day early this week — just to know what it is to be poor.

As part of their elective programme 'Inclusive Business Models', 75 students were exposed to another world — that of people who live with just Rs 20 per day (the below poverty line cut-off).
The students, in groups of five, went to different slums in and around Bangalore, interacted with the slum-dwellers, trying to understand their lives and finally come up with suitable business solutions that can help them. Interestingly, some of them even went on to experiment what it is to live with only Rs 20 to get a hands-on experience.

"My strategy was to have two meals — Rs 10 each. But I wanted to make sure it was wholesome so I do not feel hungry. I could not get anything from campus for that much."

"So I ventured into the smaller lanes outside the campus. I could get three akki rotis and two bananas within Rs 10. I know it's not possible for me to survive for a long time like this, but may be for a day or two. It was a life-time experience, it makes you realise the value of money," said Justin T. "Mine was an abject failure. I found it was impossible to live with Rs 20. I did not touch my car, used the mobile only to receive calls, went out to Bilekahalli market to get bananas, ate from roadside vendors, got low quality vegetables, yet it did not fit in," said Varun Sharma.

While some gave up smoking for the day as cigarettes were expensive, there were others who gave up on luxuries like using a laptop.

From understanding the aspirations of slum-dwellers to sending their children to English medium schools, students got a peek into the lives of the poor.

Hindustan Times, New Delhi

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Ahmedabad has won a decade-long battle for autonomy, with HRD minister Kapil Sibal approving dramatic amendments to the institution’s memorandum of association with the government. The amendments that end the government’s powers to handpick thedirector of the country’s top business school and give it unprecedented financial autonomy follow a decade-long battle between the institute and successive governments.

Directors are at present short-listed by a search-cum-selection committee set up by the government in coordination with the IIM’s board of governors. This gives the government the opportunity to influence the selection of the candidates.

The amended MOA, which has now been sent to the law ministry for vetting before a notification is released, completely eliminates the government's role in short-listing candidates for the director's post. From now on, the board will shortlist three candidates, while the government can only pick one from those names.

The amendment will also allow the IIM to purchase and sell assets without seeking the government's approval. This will cut through layers of red-tape that delay key acquisitions and investments planned by the IIM.

The HRD ministry has also given its nod to a proposal to increase the revenue generated for the IIM through membership of its sponsoring society. The IIM can now charge hefty donations in exchange for membership of the society.

This proposal earlier raised concern that some people might enjoy influence over the board of governors simply by buying society membership. Sibal had advised the IIM to put the proposal on hold.

But the IIM later convinced the government that only two nominees of the society are members of the board, and industrialists or individuals who join the society won’t be in a position to influence key decisions.

TNN, AHMEDABAD,

The slower-than-expected growth in the country's factory output may send markets in a tizzy every now and then. But, management graduates passing out of premier B-schools are betting big on manufacturing. Volatility in the global financial markets is pushing fresh graduates to brick and mortar industries.

An increasing number of students passing out from the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are choosing careers in manufacturing over traditional finance roles post-slowdown. On an average, 10% more students across IIMs have taken up jobs in core sectors this year as compared to previous years. This is likely to go up further over the next three years, say experts.

Traditionally, MBAs prefer services sector with finance, marketing and consulting roles. The perception towards manufacturing industry is that of being too technical. But, with multinationals from the manufacturing space with projects in India opening doors to fresh MBAs, the game is changing. "There is an increased focus on infrastructure-related developments and acceleration in the manufacturing industry leading to an increase in demand for students from various specialisations," says Kanwal Kapil, chairman (placements), Management Development Institute.

No wonder, IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A) recently partnered with Samsung India Electronics to motivate students to look at the manufacturing industry for jobs. While IIM-A has several companies sponsoring students, Samsung will be the first manufacturing company to have a tie-up with the institute. IIM Lucknow (IIM-L) plans to invite more manufacturing firms in 2012 after seeing a good appetite for this sector during its final placements of 2011. "The improving economic situation is sure to create want for more managerial talent in the manufacturing sector," said a placement committee member at IIM-L.

And, IIM Kozhikode (IIM-K) sources live projects to give students an experience of the sector. G Sridhar, chair-placements at IIM-K, says, "There is an increased interest in the operations and general management verticals, which are focused towards the manufacturing sector. More firms operating in this sector are recognising the talent pools in IIMs."

Hindustan Times, New Delhi,

Dezsö J. Horváth, dean of the Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Canada, is one of the longest serving business school deans in the world (He has been Dean at Schulich since 1988). Someone who has been one of the key figures in forging of ties between the Schulich School and
the GMR Group (best known for the Delhi and Hyderabad airports) for setting up a top-ranked international B-school in Hyderabad, Horváth shares with HT his plans for the Hyderabad campus, the education that will be delivered to Indian and international students and how he hopes the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill will get through Parliament on time.

You have been associated for long with some institutes in India...
We have quite a history with India. I went over to India in 1991 and looked at working on a partnership with IIM Ahmedabad, and six months later with Bangalore IIM.It was only after 2001 that the Indian government started deregulating things for investment opportunities, making it easier for foreigners to work in India. This also made the Indian corporate landscape an international market from being an inward oriented and very protective market. We had started looking for opportunities to deliver executive education in India from 2000 onwards when we had been invited to open up institutes there. We have undergraduate programmes and MBA programmes - which are among the larger ones in the world, and which putting us in the league of the top 10-15 B-schools in the world. Apart from offering PhDs we also have a very large executive education programme. In fact, just before the meltdown we trained about 16,000 executives worldwide.

The institute has been associated with international education for long. The Schulich School was already in China in 1983 to deliver the first MBA programme in that country. We were in Tianjin University – one of China’s better known institutes (Zhou Enlai was a graduate). We trained faculties from the best of schools from China.

We also looked at Eastern Europe - the former Soviet Union, offering large scale shorter training programmes; then we had tie-ups with institutes in the Czech Republic and later with some American schools. We were not inexperienced when it came to dealing with global education. We had a global mandate from American Express to train everybody worldwide in their organisation in leadership skills. Citibank, too, had a tie-up with us.

By 2007, we started a dialogue with the corporate community in India. A number of corporates were looking at management students who had some global exposure. So I went to the Indian human resource development ministry to see if I could get into the country and offer degree programmes. They refused, so I offered to come in and do half of the programme with students in India and then take them back to Toronto for the other half. Things did not work out, so I returned in 2009 and made an offer to do twinning programmes with an Indian partner where some courses would be taught in India and the rest in Toronto. They agreed and so we had this tie-up with SP Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai. I applied to AICTE for accreditation and by September of the same year we got it. So we got 26 great students to start with – they actually graduated this summer.
 
The second group came in in January 2011 and they are now finishing in India. About 35 students are coming to Toronto in August and then I will take in the last group from SP Jain in January 2012.

Tell us something about the tie-up with the GMR Group.
I met the HRD minister Kapil Sibal when he visited Toronto, and got to know that there was an effort to push the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill through Parliament. Then the High Commissioner from Canada to India suggested that I talk to the GMR Group. The meeting took place almost exactly two years ago in – 2009. I met V Raghunathan, CEO GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, and and K Balasubramanian, member, GMR Holding Board. In retrospect, I can tell you that when we met with the GMR officials it was love at first sight. It has to do with the philosophy of the school. There is a global orientation, but, more importantly, we believe in corporate social responsibility, environment issues, ethics and they do too. So it clearly created a resonance. There were a number of meetings. We invited representatives of the GMR Group in October 2009 to Toronto to look at the school, look at our students, see the quality of education we offered. They liked what they saw. Then we decided to take a look at what we could work out. I was offered Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, but nothing seemed feasible. Then I was told to consider Hyderabad because Bangalore was also getting overcrowded. Frankly, all the foreign investments, the high tech ones, are going into Hyderabad, so I agreed. The GMR group has in that city about a 1000 acres of land which they are developing for education, health, aerospace, pharmacy service, entertainment. We met there and GM Rao, the chairman of the GMR Group said ‘we have a deal, let’s work it out’. I said yes, that I saw potential in Hyderabad and that it was interesting. So by March-April 2011 we signed an MoU for the development of the school. We are to deliver executive education, and maybe master of finance. We will develop an academic building with residential facilities for all students and also for all the faculty and staff. We are also in the process of setting up an executive learning centre, but that’s not final. I shall be going back to India to deal with that part. I shall also be in India on July 12 for the ground breaking ceremony of the GMR campus of our school. The facility provided to us is part of phase-1, for taking in 60 students by June 2013, after a year we hope to increase the number to 108-120.

What kind of an eduational model do you intend to bring to India?
We will bring a very different model to India. There are a lot of educational institutes - IIMs, IMI, other private schools. The IIMs are great schools. However, if the number of high quality graduates they churn out is approximately 4000 a year, then it would be wonderful if I could stretch the numbers to 5000. China delivers 40,000 to 50,000 MBA graduates, the US a 110,000. There is a need in India for good graduates who can help Indian corporations – which are very successful because they are globally oriented whereas the Chinese are still not. Where our school in India is concerned we will provide a seamless opportunity for students to go back and forth between Toronto and Hyderabad. In fact, we will recruit students from all over the world and give them the option of either going to Hyderabad or to Toronto.

With so many exchange partners in different countries we have very different dimensions. Globally, we have made it to the top 10 in the Forbes rankings and are in the top 20-25 list for executive and other MBAs.

What kind of faculty do you intend to have in place in Hyderabad?
For India I will not have a special but a global staff. They will work there for a year or two and then I will put another team in its place. I intend hiring people on contract. The students also have the option of doing a full degree in India. The key is that it is not only Indian but also global exposure. They might do 18 specialisations in Toronto and five-six in India. I may even have increasing numbers of Canadian students going from Toronto to India because I want to stress on India and find what the opportunities are like over there. India will be a very attractive destination for students from all over the world, who might be curious about what the corporate world there has to offer to them, what the markets are like. Some of my US colleagues are also around, working on it but they are not as fast as we are… or as strong.

What kind of money would you expect a student to pay?
Indians spend money to go abroad. Here it will be less expensive. If we charge C$30,000 for a Canadian programme then for the first few years we are going waive off C$5000-C$1000 for a programme in India. We realise we need to attract the best students, not those who can afford it. If you don’t have the right students you cannot succeed. I spent C$9 million on my students here on scholarships last year. I think we land up in the top 10-15 universities in the world in our scholarship numbers.

Forbes has also ranked the Schulich School number three in the world in terms of value for money. It takes a student 3.2 years approximately to recover the money spent on receiving an education with us.

What does the future look like to you where educational ties between India and Canada are concerned?
The growth story has moved over to China, India andJapan to some extent. I will be very happy to provide an opportunity to my faculty and to my students in Canada to be explosed to that part of the world… Today, unless you know the world you cannot succeed. Even China is not big enough to be on its own. They need to engage with the world. We in Canada are doing it and we have to bring here all the strengths from different parts of the world. We have a strong education system and in India 50% of the population is below 25 so if we provide each other the right resources we can jointly succeed anywhere in the world.

Where does the Schulich School stand?
Schulich is ranked among the world’s leading schools for its MBA programme by the Economist, Forbes amd Bloomberg Businessweek. The Kellogg global network of EMBA partner schools, which includes the Kellogg Schulich EMBA, is ranked  number five in the world by the Wall Street Journal and the Kellogg Schulich EMBA is ranked number 1 in Canada by the Financial Times of London.

Schulich offers business programmes at York University and its Miles S Nadal Management Centre in Toronto’s financial district. In India it has its facility at the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai. For more information, log on to www.schulich.yorku.ca

Business Standard, Chennai/ Hyderabad,

The infrastructure in Hyderabad and its emergence as an education hub have made Schulich School of Business (SSB) choose the city over Bangalore as a base for its first full-fledged campus in India.

The Canadian B-school, part of Toronto-based York University, has entered into a partnership with GMR group to set up the school, with the latter’s non-profit arm GMR Varalakshmi Foundation providing physical infrastructure on a 25-acre site at the international airport here.

Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal will lay the foundation stone for the campus on Tuesday.

According to SSB dean Deszo J Horvath, they had been looking for opportunities to set up a campus in India since 2005-06. “First, we went to Mumbai because all the major corporations are headquartered there. But the land requirement of 100 acres did not materialise. Then GMR initially suggested its own land in Bangalore, which we considered positively. When GMR also offered an opportunity in Hyderabad, we decided to go for it.”

V Raghunathan, CEO, GMR Varalakshmi, said it was because the infrastructure in Bangalore was much worse than in Hyderabad, and also the latter had emerged as a major hub for education, hosting leading research institutions in several areas.

SSB would offer two-year MBA and other executive MBA programmes. Students would be selected from the same pool as for its home campus. It would have international faculty and at least 40 per cent students from abroad. The Rs 100-crore campus is expected to be ready by January 2013, with admissions set to begin from September that year.

Schulich has had a presence in India since 1991 through exchange programmes with IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore, and later with Indian School of Business, among others.

On the reasons for expanding Indian presence, Horvath said India had a huge demographic advantage, with 50 per cent of its population below 35, and the educational infrastructure here was not sufficient to meet the needs.

“Also, Indian companies are asking for people of other nationalities as they expand operations abroad. So the timing is perfect for our international programme,” he said.

According to him, given the global environment and the limited home market, Canadian business schools had no option but to be proactive in recruiting international students, who constitute 70 per cent of the student body at its home campus.

For SSB, the minimum entry requirements are a GMAT score of 600 and 5-7 years of experience, while the fee for the residential programme would be $12,000 per year. It would offer 18 specialisation options in the second year, including industry-specific ones for healthcare, IT, pharma, biotech, agri-business, etc.

Raghunathan said its contribution is part of its non-profit activities. The annual budget of GMR Varalakshmi Foundation is around Rs 25 crore, of which roughly 50 per cent is spent on education.

ET Bureau,

The placement season ended a while ago and the new joinees have even come on board at his bank. But K Ramkumar, group chief human resources officer at ICICI Bank, is still upset with one of the top B-schools of the country -- IIM Ahmedabad.

So miffed has he been with the business school that he decided not to go to IIM Ahmedabad to recruit young managers from the class of 2011. "We have had a relationship with the IIMs for the last 30 years. During the current year, out of all the IIMs, we found IIM-A to be too full of themselves. We will not go to any campus that dictates terms to recruiters," Ramkumar declares, refusing to elaborate further.
His resolve notwithstanding, ICICI Bank this year has emerged the top recruiter across B-schools, in terms of the number of students hired. The one marquee event that defines B-schools across the country -- the final placement season -- brings forth many recruiting trends, student preferences, new entrants and a constant buzz around salaries.

ET decided to look at one more aspect of the recruitment spectacle: the companies that hired in large numbers at the top B-schools, including seven of the IIMs. The objective was to look at who had managed to snare the best and finest talent from India's top B-schools. A couple of caveats though.

We are talking about the big recruiters that hired in numbers and not about any pecking order. Also, we approached a large number of institutes and some of them declined to divulge the exact numbers. Some top-notch recruiters may have failed to make it to the list due to this, but those who did, showed us that the numbers do tell a story.

On a roll

Placements 2011 was an extension of the happy sentiment of 2010. If 2010 was the return of top-notch jobs to campuses, 2011 was the time students were on a roll.

Caution was thrown to the wind and the heady days of being courted by the Who's Who of India Inc were back. Says IIM Kozhikode director Debashis Chatterjee, "The number of offers at campuses was back to 2008 levels." Companies agree. Priti Rajora, VP and head, global talent acquisition at Wipro Technologies, says: "We have been witnessing very strong economic growth indicators for the past several months. Due to positive changes in the demandside ecosystem and organic and inorganic growth and projections, our outlook for hiring in the current fiscal has been very optimistic." Ramkumar agrees.

"It was a more confident year at the campus compared to the last two years," he says. This backdrop, however, ensured that placement this year was almost as much dictated by students as it was by recruiters. We give you a snapshot of who found favour with students, and what makes this set of companies tick.

What students want

"MBA institutes have failed the country and the students, in terms of helping them make informed choices," says Ramkumar. That worries him but still, ICICI Bank has had a single strategy for campus recruitment for the last 30 years. Started by KV Kamath -- who is now the non-executive chairman of the bank -- the strategy has been sharpened over the years.

"We have never missed a year at the campus. In 2009, too, we were there," says Ramkumar. That year was one of the worst in recent memory, in terms of placements. The meltdown that intensified with the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in September 2008, had stymied the initiation of young managers into corporate India.

For ICICI Bank though, 2009 was still the year to pick up close to 1,900 candidates. This year, the bank has recruited 2,500 from B-schools across the spectrum; 95 are from the IIMs alone (except for IIM-A ). The HR head at Infosys, Nandita Gurjar, may just decide to disagree with Ramkumar on this one. Infosys is in the second spot on our recruiters list, and has hired more than 1,000 young managers from B-schools across tiers. So confident is Gurjar of this generation of students, that she takes a long-term view when preparing for the future workplace.

"Our campus experience shows that the present generation of students expects their jobs and careers to provide the necessary exposure and opportunity, not just pay," she says. What do students want from Infosys? Exposure and opportunities are more important to them than climbing the organisational ladder. They expect a highly technology-enabled workplace that promotes a collaborative, transparent and participative organisation culture; promotes innovation and rewards individual contribution, according to Gurjar.

Riding growth

For another top recruiter on our list, technology company Cognizant, talent acquisition is top-of-the-mind. And with good reason. The company recorded a 40.1 per cent growth in the calendar year 2010. In the last three years, it has grown from more than 58,000 (as of March 31, 2008) to over 111,000 (March 31, 2011), in the number of employees.

"We believe that our access to top talent has been a critical reason for our industry-leading growth. This campus season, the number of Day 1 slots for Cognizant was the highest in our history. This will play a significant role in driving our growth engine," says Shankar Srinivasan , the company's chief people officer. In terms of Bschool hires, the company focused on hiring people with at least four years of experience in the IT industry, or in industries it specialises in -- financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, media and entertainment.
When you are in the middle of an intense war for talent, how do you keep ahead of the curve? One way could be to build a long-term relationship with academia. 'Going beyond recruitments' has been the philosophy of Cognizant. We believe in establishing long-term relationships with academia, and do not believe in a one-time, placements-driven interaction," says Srinivasan.

The long-term relationship includes measures such as formulating the curriculum and syllabi for several universities, initiating faculty development programmes on the latest trends in technology and business, getting alumni to act as campus ambassadors and spending some time on campus, sponsoring key activities. Cognizant also banks on its 'no service agreements or employee bonds' policy to attract campus talent.

"Cognizant is an equal-opportunity employer and we also believe in the will to work. We want associates to stay, not because they 'have' to, but because they 'want' to," the chief people officer explains. Cognizant says it has 60 acceptances from the IIMs alone, this campus season.

"Not just that, we were also a top recruiter in other top-tier B-schools, including ISB Hyderabad, where we had 20 offer acceptances," says Srinivasan. The company also hired from top global schools, including SP Jain in Dubai and Singapore, the Rotterdam School of Management and Melbourne Business School. Another company that has its recruitment strategy riding on growth is Procter & Gamble (P&G) India, one of our top recruiters. It was a year of firsts for the company.

Double-digit growth over the last decade has made development of a leadership pipeline critical. The company posted an almost 100 per cent increase in the number of final recruitments, and a 50 per cent increase in the number of summer internships offered this year.

"P&G's sustained and strong double-digit growth over the last decade has further strengthened our position as a leader in talent development. We continue to lay emphasis on attracting, growing and retaining talent," says Sonali Roychowdhury, head -- human resources at P&G. In 2010-11, P&G went to 10 new B-schools in addition to over 15 schools it visits regularly.

Some of the institutes it regularly recruits from include six of the IIMs, XLRI Jamshedpur, NITIE, MICA, MDI Gurgaon, JBIMS Mumbai, IIT Delhi and the Delhi School of Economics. Of its total recruitments in 2010-11, 13 per cent were engineering and 87 per cent management graduates.
On its part Yes Bank, that has a flagship, lateral campus hiring strategy called the Yes Professional Entrepreneurship Program, has taken on board the highest number of Y-PEPers (as its calls it hires) in 2011.

About 170 Y-PEPers joined the bank from the top B-schools and select foreign universities, and were placed across 22 business verticals. Deodutta Kurane, senior president for human capital management, says: "We saw students make their final decisions based on feedback received from alumnus already working at hiring companies, he says.

ET Bureau,

The placement season ended a while ago and the new joinees have even come on board at his bank. But K Ramkumar, group chief human resources officer at ICICI Bank, is still upset with one of the top Bschools of the country — IIM Ahmedabad . So miffed has he been with the business school that he decided not to go to IIM Ahmedabad to recruit young managers from the class of 2011. "We have had a relationship with the IIMs for the last 30 years.
During the current year, out of all the IIMs, we found IIM-A to be too full of themselves. We will not go to any campus that dictates terms to recruiters," Ramkumar declares, refusing to elaborate further. His resolve notwithstanding, ICICI Bank this year has emerged the top recruiter across B-schools , in terms of the number of students hired. The one marquee event that defines B-schools across the country — the final placement season — brings forth many recruiting trends, student preferences, new entrants and a constant buzz around salaries.

ET decided to look at one more aspect of the recruitment spectacle: the companies that hired in large numbers at the top Bschools , including seven of the IIMs. The objective was to look at who had managed to snare the best and finest talent from India's top Bschools . A couple of caveats though. We are talking about the big recruiters that hired in numbers and not about any pecking order . Also, we approached a large number of institutes and some of them declined to divulge the exact numbers. Some top-notch recruiters may have failed to make it to the list due to this, but those who did, showed us that the numbers do tell a story.

ON A ROLL

Placements 2011 was an extension of the happy sentiment of 2010. If 2010 was the return of top-notch jobs to campuses, 2011 was the time students were on a roll. Caution was thrown to the wind and the heady days of being courted by the Who's Who of India Inc were back. Says IIM Kozhikode director Debashis Chatterjee, "The number of offers at campuses was back to 2008 levels." Companies agree.
Priti Rajora, VP and head, global talent acquisition at Wipro Technologies, says: "We have been witnessing very strong economic growth indicators for the past several months. Due to positive changes in the demandside ecosystem and organic and inorganic growth and projections, our outlook for hiring in the current fiscal has been very optimistic." Ramkumar agrees. "It was a more confident year at the campus compared to the last two years," he says. This backdrop, however, ensured that placement this year was almost as much dictated by students as it was by recruiters. We give you a snapshot of who found favour with students, and what makes this set of companies tick.
WHAT STUDENTS WANT

"MBA institutes have failed the country and the students, in terms of helping them make informed choices," says Ramkumar. That worries him but still, ICICI Bank has had a single strategy for campus recruitment for the last 30 years. Started by KV Kamath — who is now the non-executive chairman of the bank — the strategy has been sharpened over the years. "We have never missed a year at the campus. In 2009, too, we were there," says Ramkumar.

That year was one of the worst in recent memory, in terms of placements. The meltdown that intensified with the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in September 2008, had stymied the initiation of young managers into corporate India. For ICICI Bank though, 2009 was still the year to pick up close to 1,900 candidates. This year, the bank has recruited 2,500 from B-schools across the spectrum; 95 are from the IIMs alone (except for IIM-A ). The HR head at Infosys, Nandita Gurjar, may just decide to disagree with Ramkumar on this one. Infosys is in the second spot on our recruiters list, and has hired more than 1,000 young managers from Bschools across tiers.

So confident is Gurjar of this generation of students , that she takes a long-term view when preparing for the future workplace. "Our campus experience shows that the present generation of students expects their jobs and careers to provide the necessary exposure and opportunity, not just pay," she says. What do students want from Infosys? Exposure and opportunities are more important to them than climbing the organisational ladder. They expect a highly technology-enabled workplace that promotes a collaborative , transparent and participative organisation culture; promotes innovation and rewards individual contribution, according to Gurjar.

RIDING GROWTH
FOR another top recruiter on our list, technology company Cognizant , talent acquisition is top-ofthe-mind . And with good reason. The company recorded a 40.1% growth in the calendar year 2010. In the last three years, it has grown from more than 58,000 (as of March 31, 2008) to over 111,000 (March 31, 2011), in the number of employees. "We believe that our access to top talent has been a critical reason for our industry-leading growth. This campus season, the number of Day 1 slots for Cognizant was the highest in our history. This will play a significant role in driving our growth engine," says Shankar Srinivasan , the company's chief people officer.

In terms of Bschool hires, the company focused on hiring people with at least four years of experience in the IT industry , or in industries it specialises in — financial services , healthcare, manufacturing, retail , telecommunications , media and entertainment. When you are in the middle of an intense war for talent, how do you keep ahead of the curve? One way could be to build a long-term relationship with academia. 'Going beyond recruitments' has been the philosophy of Cognizant. We believe in establishing long-term relationships with academia, and do not believe in a one-time , placements-driven interaction," says Srinivasan.

The long-term relationship includes measures such as formulating the curriculum and syllabi for several universities, initiating faculty development programmes on the latest trends in technology and business, getting alumni to act as campus ambassadors and spending some time on campus, sponsoring key activities. Cognizant also banks on its 'no service agreements or employee bonds' policy to attract campus talent . "Cognizant is an equal-opportunity employer and we also believe in the will to work. We want associates to stay, not because they 'have' to, but because they 'want' to," the chief people officer explains. Cognizant says it has 60 acceptances from the IIMs alone, this campus season. "Not just that, we were also a top recruiter in other top-tier B-schools , including ISB Hyderabad, where we had 20 offer acceptances," says Srinivasan.
The company also hired from top global schools, including SP Jain in Dubai and Singapore, the Rotterdam School of Management and Melbourne Business School. Another company that has its recruitment strategy riding on growth is Procter & Gamble (P&G ) India, one of our top recruiters. It was a year of firsts for the company. Double-digit growth over the last decade has made development of a leadership pipeline critical. The company posted an almost 100% increase in the number of final recruitments, and a 50% increase in the number of summer internships offered this year. "P&G's sustained and strong double-digit growth over the last decade has further strengthened our position as a leader in talent development. WE continue to lay emphasis on attracting , growing and retaining talent ," says Sonali Roychowdhury, head – human resources at P&G .
In 2010-11 , P&G went to 10 new Bschools in addition to over 15 schools it visits regularly. Some of the institutes it regularly recruits from include six of the IIMs, XLRI Jamshedpur, NITIE, MICA, MDI Gurgaon, JBIMS Mumbai, IIT Delhi and the Delhi School of Economics . Of its total recruitments in 2010-11 , 13% were engineering and 87% management graduates. On its part Yes Bank, that has a flagship, lateral campus hiring strategy called the Yes Professional Entrepreneurship Program, has taken on board the highest number of Y-PEPers (as its calls it hires) in 2011. About 170 Y-PEPers joined the bank from the top B-schools and select foreign universities, and were placed across 22 business verticals. Deodutta Kurane, senior president for human capital management, says: "We saw students make their final decisions based on feedback received from alumnus already working at hiring companies, he says.

Top 10 Recruiters from B-Schools

(*No of Students Hired at 16 B-Schools )

182 ICICI Bank

118 Infosys

114 Deloitte

108 P&G

102 Cognizant

50 Accenture

44 Wipro

38 Yes Bank

38 JP Morgan Chase

35 Axis Bank

DNA, Ahmedabad,

Sectorama, the annual sector analysis competition of IIM-A is set to get bigger this year with all the six IIMs deciding to conduct the event jointly for the first time. The event, conducted by IIIM-A's consult club focuses on 40 sectors and shortlists six that are in vogue.

Besides being held at other centres, the event will also be conducted online for other B-school students to participate in.
"We felt that there was scope to take this event to the next level," said Rahul Venkatraj, coordinator of the event.

The organisers are hoping that close to 1000 teams from top 25 B-schools of India will register for the event. "We opened registrations on Sunday and have already received 430 teams. We are expecting around 1000 entries," said Rahul.

Rahul added that a positive response from other centres helped but scheduling the event was a challenge. "We had to coordinate with all centres regarding their academic schedule, examinations and also the logistics. It was then decided that quiz competitions will be held in the night when most students are relatively free."

The first round will kick-off on July 11-12 with a short, sector-based quiz where participants will be judged on fundamental understanding of the sector. Round two will be about open-ended problems faced by a sector to which the participants will have to provide presentations and solutions.

The top 12 teams at the end of this stage will compete in the final on August 14 at IIM-A and present their solutions to a panel of experts.

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore has decided to make attendance voluntary across all courses, starting with the first year students of this academic year. This may sound like an odd thing to do for a premier b-school like IIM Bangalore, but Bringi Dev, the head of Communications and an adjunct professor there, is convinced that it’s a step forward. “At the post-graduate level, a student is mature enough to take a decision about attendance,” he said. “The idea is to see how students discipline themselves.”

Although the students now have the freedom to choose to attend their classes, the last word still belongs to the instructors. The students will be evaluated based on their class participation along with their overall performance. “It is now upto the professors to decide whether they will make it compulsory for students to attend their respective classes or not and how they will rate the students for class participation,” said Kruthika M, PGP placement representative at IIM Bangalore.

This relaxation in attendance at one of the IIMs has come as a surprise to many other b-school students in the country. “We [students from other b-schools] believe that IIM lectures are of great value. I was taken aback by IIM Bangalore’s decision to make class attendance optional for students,” said Ashish Gupta, SDM Institute for Management Development, Mysore.

Some students were also of the opinion that relaxation in class attendance could encourage truant behaviour among students on campus. “Generally speaking, when there is so much of freedom, students often lose their focus and indulge in other activities. But, it depends and the case might not be the same for IIM Bangalore students,” said Biron D’ Souza, a student at Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai.

But that is missing the whole point of the exercise, according to officials at IIM Bangalore, who say that the relaxation in attendance will not bring in too much change on campus. “We know our students. The relaxation on attendance won’t bring any behavioural problems on the campus,” Kruthika said.

A week ago, IIM Bangalore also made summer internships optional for candidates with more than 34 months of work experience. The decision was based on the feedback obtained from IIM Bangalore graduates who complained that candidates with prior work experience do not benefit much from the 2-month summer internship program. From this academic session, such candidates will be graded for the internship based on their previous work experience. The institute is still looking for ways to engage the candidates who opt out of summer internships.

TNN, BANGALORE,

The Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B), the country's third oldest IIM, will spread its wings to Anekal.

The state government has leased 110 acres for the second campus of IIM-B at Mahanthalingapura in Anekal taluk (Jigani hobli), which will be the hub of future expansion activities of the 38-year-old B-school.

The new campus __ almost the same size as that of the existing one in South Bangalore __ will host IIM-B's proposed incubation centre aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship besides executive education programmes. Unlike IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Lucknow which have opened campuses in other states, IIM-B says it doesn't favour having split campuses in other Indian cities.
"IIM-B is strongly embedded in Karnataka as we believe we can add value when we are in one place. Many chief ministers have invited us to set up campuses in their states but we feel that Karnataka is an exciting place to be and having a campus in Bangalore is good for our economy. Split campuses bring with them the problem of splitting resources, especially faculty," Pankaj Chandra, IIM-B director, told TOI.

The director says the institute will take about two months to firm ups its plans for the second campus. "The new campus will be developed keeping in mind the institute's vision and growth plans for the next 50-100 years. We will definitely be adding more programmes, students and faculty at the new campus. There will be an extensive entrepreneurship activity which will rejuvenate the economy of the state," Chandra said.

Choked for space at its 100-acre campus on Bannerghatta Road, IIM-B was eyeing land in Devanahalli for its second campus as it offered better air connectivity. The state has now leased 110 acres of land for a 30-year period in Anekal, which is on its way to becoming the hub of management education. Management Development Institute-Gurgaon, another top B-School, will open a new campus on a 50-acre land next to the IIM-B. Alliance University __ Karnataka's first private university __ offering a bunch of management programmes, including one-year MBA __ has plans to expand its operations over a 105-acre campus in Anekal taluk.

The foray of expansion continues among top business schools in India, as we reported recently about ISB’s new campus in Mohali and Ghaziabad based  (IMT – Ghaziabad) entry into southern state through it’s new campus in Hyderabad.

After close to four decades of its existence in South Bangalore, Equis accredited business school ‘The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore’ (IIM – Bangalore) will soon role out it’s new campus in Anekal at Mahanthalingapura. The new campus will be 110 acres and is leased by the State government for a period of 30 years.

The new IIM – B’s campus in Anekal will host IIM-B’s proposed incubation centre aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship besides executive education programmes – sources added.

About Anekal

Anekal is a taluk of Bangalore district. It lies in the southern part of the Bangalore metropolitan area around 40 kilometres from downtown Bangalore. Anekal is known for its Silk industry and is home to a number of Skilled Weavers, Kannada and Telugu are among the most widely spoken languages in Anekal.

TNN , HYDERABAD ,

Common Admission Test (CAT) could go two-tier in the future. The IIMs, that conduct the prestigious B-school entrance, might introduce a preliminary screening to the examination. This would mean that CAT would soon have a screening test like UPSC to weed out poor candidates.

The information was revealed in a reply to an RTI query filed by Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, an RTI activist from the city in 2009 when CAT was ridden with several technical glitches. The IIMs, however, not specified the year in which the two-tier system will be introduced.

The RTI response has revealed that a majority of IIM board members had approved the introduction of the new process, which is meant to improve the pool of students who would finally get through to IIM. After two decades of pen and paper test, CAT examination was computerised in the year 2009. The IIMs in their RTI response have said that the details of the structure of the test will be made public at "an appropriate time".

The IIMs are also planning to "establish a CAT corporation under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956." The corporation will be responsible for the conduct of the computerised examination, the IIMs said in their reply. The IIMs have also stated in their response that marking system for CAT will be decided by the online test conducting agency.

CAT experts from the city are taking the RTI revelation rather seriously. "A change in the pattern would mean that the IIMs could be trying to introduce a second level test for the serious contenders of CAT to improve their scores. The first level of the test could be a computer based test and the second level could be a more detailed, tougher pen and paper test," said Naresh Reddy, a CAT expert from the city and director, Abhyas coaching centre.

Reddy said that the introduction of the CAT corporation could be to make CAT an equivalent for GMAT. "The total number of takers for GMAT across the world is equal to the number of takers for CAT in the country. The IIMs could be thinking of developing CAT into a global business school test," Naresh Reddy said.

ET Bureau  , AHMEDABAD ,

The Indian Institute of Management , Ahmedabad (IIM-A) plans to take the lead in convincing recruiters to share data relating to the salaries they offer B-school graduates during recruitment.

The details, relating mainly to the guaranteed cash component and variable pay, will be used in a pan-India placement reporting standards initiative that is being adopted by various B-schools. This will help in standardising salaries and making the process more transparent. It will also aim to bring compatibility between business schools.

B-school representatives, who met at a conference hosted by IIM-A last week, said it was not easy to get salary data from recruiters because of confidentiality reasons. To which IIM-A placements committee chairperson, Professor Saral Mukherjee , said his institute would try and convince companies, at various for a, to share the data.

IIM-A had prepared a draft for the placements reporting standards in February, and had sought online feedback from all the stakeholders, like students, recruiters, other B-schools and ranking agencies. IIM-A has already implemented the standards on its campus, informed Prof Mukherjee, adding that the institute was able to get the salary data of 210 out of 312 students.

"We will talk to recruiters to get detailed data about the guaranteed cash and Maximum Earning Potential (variable portion) components," Mukherjee said. "If we prepare placements reporting standards only for IIM-A, they will provide transparency and authenticity, but not necessarily compatibility. For that, we need others to do this as well. We have spoken to other B-schools about this, and are open to suggestions from all the stakeholders for the standards."

Some stakeholders are responding positively. Deepika Pandita, assistant professor and placement advisor for the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management in Pune, said: "I felt that IIM-A was quite flexible. This is the first time an IIM is going ahead with transparency in the decision-making process, with the support of the other, relatively smaller B-schools."

IIM-A has been trying to bring change at various levels. Last year it replaced the day-based placements process with a 'cohorts' system, which helps reduce pressure on both students and recruiters. In October, it organised a recruiters' conclave in Mumbai, where it invited the placements heads of leading Bschools to give their views on the cohort-based placements process.

There weren't that many takers for this, however. "We shared our experience with Bschools during the Mumbai conclave, and we are ready to help any institute take this up," Mukherjee said. "But no institute has contacted us for introducing the cohort-based process yet." Nevertheless, IIM-A has found that a conference or a large gathering of stakeholders is the best way to gauge reactions to a new initiative. Which is why at last week's meeting, it proposed the pan-India placements reporting standards before the participants.

After taking suggestions from the others, IIM-A has made some changes to the reporting standards draft. For instance, a number of B-schools disagreed that since internships are an academic requirement, this should be guaranteed by the institute. The draft was then modified to say that internship data would, henceforth, be segregated, based on whether it was secured through the institute or otherwise.

The conference was attended by representatives from 33 B-schools including the IIMs Bangalore and Shillong, Xavier Institute of Social Services in Ranchi, Goa Institute of Management , Great Lakes Institute of Management , Taxila Business School , SP Jain from Mumbai and others.

"It is good to see that a premier Bschool is inviting all the reputed as well as the not so well-known Bschools for discussion on an important issue," said Prakash Pathak , of the Institute of Management Technology , Ghaziabad. IIM-A will also organise a two-day event on redesigning the MBA programme in July, and has already invited a number of business schools to participate in this.

TNN , AHMEDABAD ,

Many domestic recruiters at India's top business school used the meltdown of 2009 as an opportunity to avenge the socalled arrogance of IIM-A students. Campus interviews during this period were rough, says a recently-released book.

Apparently, most Indian companies had a feeling, even while they were doling out astronomical sums as compensation to these youngsters, that most of these recruits behaved as if they were God's gift to mankind. The arrogance showed in 20-minute interviews where students would bluntly ask: "So, how much are you offering?"

Then came the meltdown when many big recruiters shied away from campus interviews. Some recruiters who came started to reject every single student to send out a strong message, writes Saral Mukherjee, placement chairman at IIM-A in the book 'Nurturing Institutional Excellence: Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad'.

Earlier, when the going was good, these domestic recruiters were elbowed out by global firms during placements.

"One recruiter, also an alumnus, told me that students behaved as if a high paying job is an entitlement. Recruiters felt students behaved as if they were doing a favour by coming for pre placement talks," Mukherjee writes.

Many companies announced a hiring freeze when the financial markets in the west were unstable in 2009. This led to IIM-A moving from a seller's market to a buyer's market. Mukherjee says that this could be because the students had priced themselves out from the domestic market.

"One recruiter came for final placement interviews and rejected every single candidate. Yet, the same recruiter picked 75 per cent of students he interviewed for summer internships just a year later. I believe the recruiter was trying to make a point in a most dramatic fashion," writes Mukherjee.

However, Mukherjee adds that IIM-A as an institution is not arrogant but the behaviour of the students during placement may have conveyed the image. The consistent rankings of IIM-A as the premier business school should generate humility and a quiet confidence instead of arrogance.

Much has changed after the mayhem in 2009. Mukherjee told TOI, "The recession has taught the students that arrogance has no value. The arrogance that recruiters were talking about was a result of demand exceeding supply. But today, we have a new system in place where demand is matched with supply."

It is a fact that most of the MBA aspirants don’t know much about their dream B-schools. They often read about them in newspapers or hear about them on television. But B-schools are much more than what is visible in the electronic and print media.

To provide the right insight into top B-schools of our country MBAUniverse.com has launched the special series ‘India’s Top B Schools’. Under this series we are providing you a peek into the leading B-schools – what makes these B-schools great and life at the campus. We had started this series with IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA). Today we will talk in detail about the second best B-school of our country – IIM Calcutta. Read further to enhance your awareness about this renowned B-school:

In a world where the need for business leaders is an urgent priority, the presence of good B-schools in the country is an added advantage by all means. And the one such B-school committed to inventing new mindsets is the celebrated IIM-C. This premier business school was established on the outskirts of Calcutta in 1961.  Thanks to its innumerable achievements, it’s being scrutinized closely by us.

First and foremost, the one thing that makes IIM-C swell with pride and joy is its alumni who have proven themselves strategically by occupying positions in various organizations within the country as well as outside. It believes these successful pupils are our real asset. What India stands for in a global economy is clearly there for everybody to notice and also feel proud for the things it has achieved in that direction. In fact, the skills needed to be successful in business arena are what India is already gifted with.

No wonder the minds graduating from IIM-C are aware of the challenges out there in the real world and what part they should be playing in order to overcome them. They are familiar with ethical side of what they have come to accomplish in a world facing intractable dilemmas. Well, there could be many alumni from IIM-C who deserve a great deal of respect for their excellent works. Yet, there are two big personalities of IIM-C who have done well in the fields they chose for themselves.

Originally, it’s Indra Nooyi who has made it easier for women of India to think bigger and do what they dream of doing. She has proven herself to the entire world that it is better run by women if they are not discriminated against at all. Rather, they should be given unrestricted freedom to show what they have got inside. Being the chairman and CEO of one of the world’s largest beverage and snacks foods manufacturer PepsiCo, she has moved one step ahead of her male rivals in many respects. She has been voted as one of the most influential business leaders in the international business arena five times. It’s more than any other CEOs of the world would have imagined to get close to. She did her MBA in management from this institute.

Who can forget Sunil Kumar Alagh, the former MD and CEO of Britannica Industries Ltd from late 1989 to 2003. He has worked with many high-profile companies like ITC Limited, Jagatjit Industries Ltd etc. He has affiliations to other organizations too like United Breweries Ltd, HSBC InvestDirect (India) Ltd, and Indofil Industries Ltd etc. He is a recipient of Gold Medal Kashlkar Memorial Award 2000 as well for making the food processing industry of the country be counted amongst many lucrative sectors to invest in. He is an Economics graduate and has done his MBA from IIM-C. He is currently the chairman and founder of SKA Advisors as well as a consultant at LT Foods Ltd.

Now the other alumnus who is no less famous is Sriram Parasuram. Though he has been academically fulfilled by doing mechanical engineering from University of Bombay and later an MBA from IIM-C, he was destined to be a composer-singer. Since his family had a venerable tradition of worshipping music, he too was perhaps interested in making this as his career. Most importantly, he was awarded the President of India Gold medal for his major contributions in Carnatic as well as Hindustani music in 1986.

In line is also Ajit Balakrishnan, the Founder, Chairman & CEO of Rediff.com, as well as the Chairman of IIM-C’s Board of Governors. He has got a degree in Physics from Kerala University. He did his post-graduate diploma in Management from IIM-C where he currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Governors.

Just like these four alumni of IIM-C, there are several others who have pulled off remarkably in various ventures they undertook to change their lives. They are P.M. Murty, CEO and MD, Asian Paints Ltd; Ramachandra Guha, Noted Historian and Author, Dr. Krishna Palepu, Professor, Harvard Business School.

Besides its network of world-renowned alumni, IIM-C has retained its reputation as one of the favorite destinations for management lessons all over the country. In line with its vision for providing excellent management education to its students, it is  celebrating its Golden Jubilee Year with a lot of zeal on the eve of completing 50-years as one of India’s most prestigious B-schools.

Known for its finance-related courses, IIM-C is equally serious about its other activities involving research, consultancy, seminars, academic conferences and research publications in order to become recognized as an institution of great learning.

The students of IIM-C are made familiar with all the important changes taking place in the business arena so that they are better prepared to take on the challenges if and when they move into this highly competitive world. For this purpose it introduces courses from time to time to keep its pupils one step ahead. Its record of job placement is also a prime target and makes sure every student who has worked so hard all these years gets what they truly deserve.

The students are nurtured in every way possible by its methodical pedagogy to think smarter and be able to sweep across the globe like magnificent business leaders. However, this is only possible in a peaceful environment where the body and mind gels together effortlessly. And IIM-C, located in a 135 acres land in Joka which became its new campus after shifting to this quiet place in 1975 from its earlier functional area Emerald Bower, Barrackpur Trunk Road, brings to the fore how important it is to have a good atmosphere in order to invent extraordinary mindsets in life.

The interesting thing being done by IIM-C is how it is training its students to be a bit sympathetic to others in need as well. Through INCA (Initiative for Community Action) club, IIM-C is trying to instill a sense of duty towards the society in general for whom they will come to be known as saviors. They galvanize their support to assist NGOs in looking after the underprivileged or in their other wide-ranging programs by making perfect strategies which these NGOs will implement later on. Based on this, IIM-C has introduced noble courses such as Behavioral Finance to fulfill the needs of the changing dynamics of the industry.

Then, its tie-up with foreign B-schools for exchange program is also exemplary. These B-schools include Asian Institute of Management, Bocconi University, Cardiff University, University of Melbourne, National University of Singapore, and University of California etc.

Amidst the clamor of tough preparation which is the routine of every B-school, there is a recreational side too that helps students become more balanced as human beings. And IIM-C is no stranger in this regard. Its extra-curricular activities brim over with a lot of excitement for the students to enjoy the most like dramatics, sports and photography. Well, in addition to all this, it’s one of inviting features is the “Colloquia Cell” where the distinguished business bigwigs come face to face with the students and try to familiarize them with the rapid changes the business world is witnessing and what they should always keep in mind while addressing these matters.

For IIM-C students, the day begins in haste
It’s like bumping into a series of ordeals all at once when the day finally begins. The day starts at 8:30 am onwards when they have to get ready for their tough classes. For some, it’s quite messed up as they enter their classes after the time limit having been violated. As they get into classes, the professors are in their own mood to test the minds of the students. They try to discover what they are capable of doing and how much they can endure in the face of extreme routines they would come across and they must get used to from now onwards. They are then given loads of balanced sheets of companies to study and prepare the necessary points out of them to be discussed broadly in the next class. In addition, there are quizzes to countenance.

The classes go on till 5:30 in the evening. Nothing could be more tiring than this. Yet, there are lunch breaks in the middle to refresh their fatigued mind. The students have their own individual styles as to how they decide to warm up after going through a nerve-racking routine. Its architectural wonder is Bidhan Chandra Roy Library housing more than 1, 50,000 books which has become a major source of knowledge in South Asia whereas its massive auditorium, considered as one of the best as compared to other campuses in the country, holds convocation ceremonies, Intaglio and is frequently visited by renowned personalities from different spheres of life.

Hang out zones of IIM-C
Amusement is an integral part of human’s existence. Without it, the spectrum of life appears to be somber. Some play badminton, volleyball, tennis and football while others take a dive in a swimming pool or work out on the treadmill. Even then for others, it is better to abstain from all this and go jogging around the campus and see its scenic charm which is nature-friendly coupled with five lakes, beautiful birds and a magnificent miniature Howrah Bridge. This is how they preserve their body and soul to take on the next day battle with a hearty attitude.

The appeal of night canteen at IIM-C is a big factor as a beautiful place for students to assemble and talk about their lives in a more lively style. This is when they feel like getting the much required energy to revive their stretched heart and soul again. As this goes on, the students never forget to munch scrumptious experimental recipes cooked by the chefs of this happening corner in entire campus. The recipe that has got everybody talking about it endlessly is its Wet Wolfram Rice which the students cook on their own.

Hostel Life
This is the best moment of any student’s life when they are free to indulge in their likes and dislikes without becoming cynical towards one another. It is equipped with four hostels providing single room accommodation to students and they all have their own modern and recreational facilities in store to make students feel more relaxed.

These amenities are available in the form of coffee shops, canteens including a Café Coffee Day outlet, giving a cosmopolitan feel to the institute.

Events that make IIM-C more happening
Cultures play a pivotal role in ensuring the better development of society. It is the most important pillar of civilization. In tune with this, IIM-C has got major events that it organizes every year to sustain the progressive facet of who we are. They are Intaglio and Carpe Diem.

Intaglio- It is an international business summit held annually by IIM-C over a 3-day weekend in January. The unique aspect of this summit is the arrival of eminent figures from the corporate industry, academia, and media government coming altogether at one platform to share their invaluable ideas with the students about the business-related issues and what affect the common people. Even students from all over the globe come to participate in this vigorous event, raising their points of view before the panel of experts.

Carpe Diem- It is an event full of excitement to get going on the campus. It is a cultural cavalcade held over a 3-day weekend in February by the students to bring to life the exhausted cells of them due to academic pressure. Different colleges and schools from all over the country partake in this entertaining extravaganza. Usually, the major highlights of this gala are: Armageddon-Amateur Rock Music competition, symphony-musical concert, Razzmatazz-Fashion Show and Euphoria-Dance competition.

For the IIM-C aspirants
Being a part of IIM-C as a student is the greatest joy you can experience without ever grumbling because it’s worth it. Your are there not just for yourself but also for others who are counting upon your dutiful service so that their lives could heave a sigh of relief in the middle of utter misery overshadowing everything little by little.

TNN , AHMEDABAD ,

The profile of the CEOs-in-the-making at the country's top business school has changed drastically in the last three decades. Growing pressures have turned him/her less jovial, more introvert and led to lesser social interactions as compared to 33 years ago, says a study conducted to understand the changes in student perceptions at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

TV Rao, adjunct professor at IIM-A, has recently followed up on a study he did in 1977 of student preferences of the institutional environment of IIM-A. The batches of 2009-11 and 2010-12 were surveyed using the same questionnaire and the results show a seachange.

"Students today perceive the campus as business-like and system-driven. There is less debate and more conformity to rules and regulations. Social interaction seems less and focused achievement is preferred adding a lot of seriousness to life," says Rao.

ET Bureau, AHMEDABAD,

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) will organise a conference on 'Pan India Placement Reporting Standards' on June 18 to bring in transparency, comparability and authenticity in placement reporting.

The institute has invited top Bschools and recruiters to participate in the conference and hopes the standards it has set will become a norm across institutions. "We have invited around 140 B-schools of India, including the IIMs, and more than 100 recruiters to participate in the conference. The first draft of placement reporting standards was released this February the feedback from stake holders will be discussed during the conference," Saral Mukherjee, chairperson of IIM-A placement committee told ET.

The conference will include a discussion on the proposed standards and suggestions. In 2010, the institute introduced a cohort-based placement process, ending the day-based process. It organised a recruiters' conclave in September 2010 in Mumbai where it invited other B-schools as well. In the conclave, the institute proposed pan-India placement reporting standards. The institute then came out with a draft of the standards and decided to follow it. As per the IIM-A placement reporting standards, the institute will announce the highest, lowest and average salaries this year.

India PRwire, Bengaluru, Karnataka,

Infosys BPO today announced that it has jointly developed a highly customized case study with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), a leading business school in the country. Developed jointly by Infosys and Professors Janat Shah and L S Murty of IIMB, and slated to be used by business schools as part of the management curriculum, the key objective of this case study is to impart industry specific knowledge to management students whilst integrating practical experience and expertise with theoretical concepts. Starting this year, the case study will be included in the IIMB Operations Strategy Course for second year management students.

The case study, being the first on the BPO industry to be published and taught in Indian, and perhaps, global business schools, is presently being piloted in an IIMB executive development program. This will also become part of a larger case study bank that is shared among leading business schools across the world including blue chip B-Schools in the US and Europe.

"We are delighted to be an integral part of this unique initiative in collaboration with IIMB, a highly prestigious business school. This is a first-of-its-kind program, wherein a case study has been developed based on the BPO industry and has been adopted as part of the curriculum. This initiative showcases the evolution of the BPO industry from being perceived as a mere transactional back-office and support function to an essential transformational business function that adds tremendous value to any business", said Mr. Swaminathan D., CEO and MD, Infosys BPO.

"This partnership also demonstrates Infosys BPO's commitment to sharing its best practices and educating the managers of tomorrow, ensuring that adequate knowledge and skill sets are developed, which will enable them to take on responsibilities in a myriad of service sectors within the BPO industry", he added.

According to Professor Dinesh Kumar, Chairperson, Research & Publications, IIMB, "There is an increasing need to develop courses in higher education based on industry requirements. The Infosys BPO case study is likely to become essential reading material for students interested in learning about BPO operations and will ensure that they gain practical knowledge and are better equipped to take on the challenges of the corporate world. Establishing an industry-academia collaboration to train the future generation of workforce is extremely critical. We strongly believe that the Infosys BPO - IIMB partnership is an important step in this direction".

Notes to Editor

About IIM Bangalore

Established in 1973, the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) today offers a range of post-graduate and doctoral level courses as well as executive education programmes. IIMB Centres of Excellence are engaged in adding value to their communities in the areas of Public Policy, Capital Markets & Financial Management, Corporate Governance, Entrepreneurship, Public Policy, Software and Supply Chain Management, to name a few. In June 2010 IIMB obtained the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) accreditation awarded by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). With a faculty body from amongst the best universities worldwide, IIMB is a leader in the area of management research, education and consulting.

More information on IIMB is available at www.iimb.ernet.in or www.iimb.ac.in

About Infosys BPO

Infosys BPO Ltd. (www.infosysbpo.com), the Business Process Outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, was set up in April 2002. Infosys BPO focuses on integrated end-to-end outsourcing and delivers transformational benefits to its clients through reduced costs, ongoing productivity improvements, and process reengineering. Infosys BPO operates in India, the Czech Republic, China, the Philippines, Poland, Mexico, USA and Brazil and as on March 31, 2011 employed approximately 18, 947 people. It closed FY 2010-11 with revenues of $426.8 million.

About Infosys Technologies Ltd Many of the world's most successful organizations rely on the 130,000 people of Infosys to deliver measurable business value. Infosys provides business consulting, technology, engineering and outsourcing services to help clients in over 30 countries build tomorrow's enterprise.For more information about Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY), visit www.infosys.com

Infosys Safe HarborCertain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability toInfosys BPO today announced that it has jointly developed a highly customized case study with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), a leading business school in the country. Developed jointly by Infosys and Professors Janat Shah and L S Murty of IIMB, and slated to be used by business schools as part of the management curriculum, the key objective of this case study is to impart industry specific knowledge to management students whilst integrating practical experience and expertise with theoretical concepts. Starting this year, the case study will be included in the IIMB Operations Strategy Course for second year management students.

Business Line,

The new crop of B-schools must learn from those that have become established sources of quality talent beyond the IIMs

What do Adidas India Company's MD, Mr Subhinder Singh Prem, McCann Erickson's lyrically gifted chief, Mr Prasoon Joshi, and angel-minded Milagrow founder, Mr Rajeev Karwal have in common? They are all products of IMT, Ghaziabad.

Mr B.S. Nagesh, Vice-Chairman of Shoppers Stop Limited, became the first Indian to be inducted into the World Retail Hall of Fame in 2008, and was lauded by his alma mater at the Faculty of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University, for the recognition.

Mr Lloyd Mathias, now President-Corporate, Tata Teleservices, and a much respected marketing head having served at Pepsico, Motorola and Tata Teleservices, holds an MBA from Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Bombay University.

Mr Ramesh Natarajan, Deputy Country Manager for DHL Express, South Asia, got his bachelors from an IIT, and went on to IIFT in New Delhi to do his MBA. Mr Raja Ganapathy, Vice-President of Marketing at Sequoia Capital India, went to School of Management, Pondicherry Central University, for his MBA. Mr Sanjay Tripathy, Executive Vice-President & Head-Marketing at HDFC Standard Life, is one of the many pass outs from IRMA who are doing their institute proud.
Emerging Superstar

Mr Sanjay Behl, CEO, Reliance Digital TV, is a product of Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. Mr Ridham Desai, MD and head of India research at Morgan Stanley, holds an MBA from Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai.

Management Development Institute in Gurgaon is not ‘second rung' but an ‘emerging superstar institute', corrects ‘alumnus of the decade' Mr Anurag Batra, Co-founder and MD of trade publishing group exchange4media. Mr Sanjay Varma, one year his junior from college, is now Asia-Pacific CEO for Cushman and Wakefield, based in Shanghai.

The list is indeed endless.

There was a time when it was hard to find an aspirational corporate professional in India Inc who did not carry the IIM badge. And often, and even till today, it is the IIT-IIM badge that many people in envied positions sport. And then of course there are the Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, Carnegie Mellon and London Business School badges that shine brighter in the white-collared world.

Back home in India, there are a veritable number of institutes that have produced stars — professional and entrepreneurial — beyond the IIMs and ISBs. From Jamnalal Bajaj to XLRI to BIM down South, and to others like MICA for the advertising-focused, there has been no dearth of quality institutes that have quenched the corporate world's thirst for managerial talent.

The truth is that there are need gaps at multiple levels of the management ladder — there are companies that can only pay a limited salary and so go to only certain campuses, and there are companies that need people at multiple rungs, with multiple growth paths, and therefore hire from across the B-school spectrum.

The new crop of B-schools must strive to learn from those that have established themselves as credible sources of talent of the best corporate entities, despite the IIMs being the first port of call for many employers.

An IIM-Ahmedabad pass out of 1987, Mr Harish Bhat, now COO at Titan Industries, makes the case for the IIMs, from his experience as a student, a teacher and a recruiter. His comments must be read in the context of recent news articles questioning the quality of staff and lack of research papers at India's premier B-school.

“The faculty they have is the best. In general, in India there is inordinate amount of focus on teaching. There is also a very large body of work of case studies that are very relevant to the Indian market in the IIMs.”

MDI, Gurgaon, which started off in 1973 training managers, introduced a full-time two-year MBA in 1994. The industry linkages it had developed since 1973 helped the institute when it launched the full-time courses, notes Prof Vinod K. Gupta, its Director.

He says, “We were industry oriented from day one, with everything from the faculty to the syllabus geared towards the industry. Even today, it's almost compulsory that in each course we teach, 20 per cent inputs are from practising managers.”

With 75 permanent faculty members, Mr Gupta notes that MDI would score better than some of the IIMs on that count. And, thanks to MoUs with B-schools across the world, 80 MDI students went abroad last year under an exchange programme.

The exchange programme is fast becoming a norm in several B-schools. Employability does go up with students coming in with work experience, and 40 to 50 per cent of students at MDI come in with work experience.

The best of MBA aspirants who flock to the IIMs naturally attract the best employers. But companies are forced to look beyond — not just because of the lack of numbers or sky-high salaries expected by IIM grads, but because there are other options today.

Mr Bhat has been on the interview panels for Titan and other Tata Group companies in the past, and the company has a steady input of management trainees. And the hiring happens from a slew of B-schools across the country, including MDI, TAPMI, JBIMS, NMIMS, XLRI and BIM.

“They also have world-class students. They do deserve their place in the sun. My personal view is that wherever they are, be it a Wellingkars or an ICFAI, the best always come out with flying colours. One must understand that getting into the IIMs is a competitive race,” notes Mr Bhat.

On the new crop of private B-schools that have come up, there are some concerns in the minds of industry professionals. Mr Bhat stresses the need for quality control, adequate infrastructure and quality faculty.

“There is a perception that some of the very new crop of B-schools are established from a commercial perspective rather than for providing world-class management education. If there is rigorous quality control, I would feel confident about recruiting from them.”

Business Standard , Mumbai ,

Dear Students,

LAST WEEK WE ASKED:

Do you think IITs or IIMs are good institutions because of their students and not faculty members?

BEST RESPONSE

IIMs/IITs are wonderful places with outstanding faculty and students. But there are issues on quality that need to be sorted out. The value addition that takes place for students at IITs/IIMs would have been impossible if there would not have been considerable quality education being imparted. We have faculty who are definitely world class, but then there are also cases which were otherwise. I think it is largely systemic flaw and by and large faculty at IITs/IIMs are victims of government policy therefore Jairam's statement should have propelled us to introspection, rather than spiteful retribution.
—Nilaya Mitsah Shanker, Shri Ram Swaroop Memorial College Of Engineering and Management (SRMCEM), Lucknow

OTHER RESPONSES

It is a self-defeating question. The reason is that it is not possible to define either a teacher or a student without the other. Both remain an equally active participant in the process of teaching. The definition of a good teacher is one who creates good students. A teacher cannot be termed ‘good’ unless the final sum of his actions result in good students. And a similar logic works the other way as well. So instead of focussing on what now is political rhetoric, I think praise is due for the system which not only produces such excellent students, but also provides the teachers with an ecosystem to flourish.
—Varun Sharma, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi

When one uses the word 'institution', no single entity, be it the students, teachers or the administration for that matter, can in itself make an institution good. It always is a result of good coherence of all the bodies involved. It is the teachers whose wisdom polishes the students' skills and leads him and it is the students who challenge the status quo to keep the teachers on their toes towards further improvement. It is a two way process and as they say “Learning never stops”.

—Bhushan Bapat, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi

No Indian institute or university ranks among the top 30 in Asia, in contrast, their alumni feature in the rankings of world leaders in the corporate, financial and associated worlds. The value addition that takes place for a student who spends two years in an IIT or IIM, would be impossible if there wasn't a considerable degree of quality education being imparted. Hence, it would not be proper to say that an institution is good only because of its students.

—Sanket Agrawal, Institute of Management, Nirma University (IMNU), Ahmedabad

IIT/IIM faculty members accomplish the task of refining students who join these institutes and they accomplish this task without any fanfare. They are responsible for moulding raw brilliance into a readily acceptable and employable asset to international market and this is no mean achievement. In spite of the recent debates on IITs and IIMs being of lesser global standards, what matters is the ultimate analysis of the quality of graduates who pass out. In short, students and teachers at IITs/IIMs are world class alike.

—A Bhuvana Bhimaiah, Alagappa University, Karaikudi

Today in India, IIM and IIT students are known as the smartest individuals by corporates and thus they are offered a premium. It is also because getting admission into these institutes is not easy due to immense competition. Media have portrayed IIMs and IITs in such a way that companies get thirsty for talents from these institutes. But if we see in the limelight, the faculty is not upto the mark, barring a few as also reported by our environment minister recently. It is just that these students are naturally intelligent and they read a lot, while the 'brand name' of IITs and IIMs make them preferable for employers.

—Kaushal Majithia, Fr. Agnels Business School, New Mumbai

The faculty and students always share a symbiotic bond. It is the combined effort of the educational system, students and faculty that establishes a good institution. Faculty members at these institutes may be leading academics in the Indian context, but have remained insignificant in the global top echelons of management thought leadership. On the other hand, we should admit that it is a challenge to teach students who are sharp and bright and also that firms do not hire these students directly after they clear the JEE or CAT. Hence, it will be unfair to say that IITs or IIMs are good institutions because of their students and not faculty members.

—Debashish Banerjee, Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management (SIOM), Nashik

IITs have one of the toughest entrance exams - selecting only one out of every 100 students, choosing the very best. Although, the same can’t be said about the faculty. IITs can’t be selective in hiring the faculty as they already face an acute faculty crunch. World over, IITs have made repute because of the high posts their alumni have gone to hold and not because of some path-breaking research which revolutionised an industry nearby them, quite unlike the Stanford and MIT. A gruelling curriculum ensures the students to be the best in their field whereas absence of a faculty enhancement programme doesn’t add to the faculty profile.

—Rahul Gautam, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi

Jairam Ramesh is absolutely correct in his assessment and there is no need for the IIT staff and others to be apologetic.The fault is not with the staff but with the funding for universities. There is no doubt that the IITs, IIMs and IISc are premier institutions imparting good training for technology subjects. That is why they have a market in the many renowned academic institutions in the world. But it is a different matter to describe them as world class where research in the frontier areas of subjects take place.

—AB Karthik Monnappa, Bharatidasan Institute of Management, Trichy

If the IITs and IIMs are not good enough then why should the best of students seek admission to these institutions often going through the rigors of intensely competitive examinations? And how is it that, when they are in search of jobs, they are recognised as abundantly talented and particularly qualified to deliver the goods? Globally, all these institutions carry a distinctive brand that makes a difference in the way graduates from these institutions are perceived. So the inference to be drawn here is that there cannot be a best institution without a good faculty and in turn there cannot be good students without a good faculty because it is the faculties that eventually nurture the students and make them earn a name and also for the institution.

—Arvind Umashankar, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur

IIMs and IITs are good because of their students. They induct some of the best students through one of the toughest entrance exams and have kept many hurdles to get admissions at their campuses. Each and every institute have a good faculty members but if students are not supportive or intelligent then nothing is worth.

—Manali Patel, VM Patel Institute of Management, Kherva

Your responses should reach us at edu@business-standard.com by Tuesday evening every week. Please ensure that your response does not increase 150 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name institute's name, year, batch and complete mailing address for your entries to be accepted. The student who gives the 'Best Response' will be awarded Rs 500.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Do you think IITs need autonomy?

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh recently made the comment that the faculty at nation's premier institutes is not world class because they don't produce good quality research.

He also mentioned that the students are world class. It created a lot of debate in public and political circles. I believe the topic merits some attention.

Looking at the broader picture first, a better understanding of the term world-class institute is required.

What it means to be a world-class institute

A truly world class institute in my view would have excellent outputs coming out of it in terms of

    Well-nurtured and talented individuals
    Good research leading to improvements in standard of living and/or productivity
    Wonderful marketable ideas leading to new economic activity
    Brand equity with distinguished alumni base

A lot goes into delivery of these outputs, for instance:

    Smart, motivated and disciplined students
    Knowledgeable, committed and facilitating faculty
    Funds and capital in motion
    Infrastructure like buildings, equipment, etc.

A full view of the various elements can be seen in the tables that go alongside with this article. Read on to find out more!

Image: What are the hallmarks of a world-class educational institute

BUssinessworld,

If the EM Strasbourg was publicly traded…I will buy thousands of shares for retirement (with the risk of insider trading), because the development of the EM Strasbourg will continue for the simple reason that we all worked on fundamentals" - writes Michel Kalika, director of the Ecole de Management Strasbourg Business School in his latest blog post. When a learned man (like Kalika) is ready to put his money on a business, you can rest assured that your future with the organisation is safe. The reason for Kalika's visit to India was similar - to let students know that they can bank upon EM Strasbourg for a reputed MBA degree followed by a lucrative job offer. EM is not new to India and has tie-ups with reputed Indian B-Schools such as IIM Lucknow, IIFT and IMI. The 57 year-old Strategy professor was recently in India to promote EM's flagship two-year MBA programme. He spoke to Businessworld Online's Chetna Mehra about the European management education and more. Excerpts.

Why are you focusing on Indian students?
As a business school we have a mission to train students who will become future managers and in the coming year, more and more French and European companies would be coming to India. Recently many Indian companies are coming to Europe, taking control of European firms. For example, in automobiles, Tata has taken control of Jaguar. So, I think in future we will have more and more Indian and European companies looking for students having a dual culture, Indian and European. Therefore, we want to have more international students because companies will soon start hiring students with dual training.

How Ecole De Management Strasbourg is different from other European business schools?
We are different because we are the only business school in the University in Europe. All the other business schools are either private or related to Chambers of Commerce. This has two consequences: the fees are much less than the other business schools because we have a central funding. We charge 6,500 Euros for our MBA programme, the fees for other business schools is 40-50 per cent higher than us. Sometimes it's even 100 per cent more. Because we are a university-based institute, we have a very good faculty and a research facility. We invest more on faculty than on advertising and communication. It is the key success factor which explains the rate of growth of our business school. Last year, we received 70 per cent more applications for our MBA programmes.

Also, we have students from 52 countries. The diversity makes it different. Therefore, the students coming to EM is exposed to a diverse culture. Those who study here will be more apt to manage international projects and work with people who are different. In EM business school we have three values: one is sustainability and sustainable development. Second, is values and ethics; and the third value is diversity.

There is another competitive advantage. Because we are in a university we also have a Phd. programme there are not many B-Schools in France who offer doctorate. And for Indian students, it would be very interesting if after the completion of their Grande Ecole programme they start preparing for a Phd. in France. Apart from the companies we too are looking for young international faculty members. Good students who chose to do Phd. in France and Europe thus, have great job opportunities as well.

We facilitate training of students who can come for two years. Strasbourg is a very important town. It is in the east part of France close to Germany and central to Europe with lots of international students. This makes it an international town and we are positioned as an international business school.

EM has more than 175 international partnerships all over the world and it is mandatory for all our students to go abroad and complete a semester or two in other countries. Therefore, it is important for us to welcome the international students not only for one-two semesters but for two years.

There is another advantage due to location, because we are close to Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg, students are exposed to job markets in not just multiple companies but multiple countries too. German industry has many job opportunities, the chemical industry is very strong in Swizerland. 

What is the USP of EM Strasbourg?
One of our key focuses is on entrepreneurship and we believe for both Indian and French economies the development of entrepreneurship is important. To develop entrepreneurship among students, we need creative and open minds. We don't want only those students who focus on studies. There are students who may have a great GMAT score but may not create an enterprise. They are concentrated on studies. More the students learn, less they may create an enterprise.

You will find good business schools in India, Europe and the United States. I'll not make a comparison. I'll say if the students want to be international managers they should have an international background. An international manager doesn't have to just study in France, or India, or US but he also needs to go abroad. But I can tell you about Strasbourg students have the opportunity to get dual training with an open mind. We also work with a lot of practitioner we have more than 100 permanent faculty and we are 300 practitioner who are teaching as well.

Why didn't the students come to France earlier for higher education?
In France, earlier we taught only in French and it was a barrier for students of diverse culture to enter the French universities, but things are changing rapidly. In our business school, since last two years we have been teaching management courses not only in French but also in English and German. The competitive advantage that international students get out of this setup is that they can speak French if they want and they can also learn German.

What kind of job opportunities do students look forward to at EM?
Our students are working in different fields, 25 per cent of the batch was placed in finance and accounting sector. 18 per cent of the batch opted for sales and 15 per cent went for marketing. 10-11 per cent were placed in consulting sectors. The placement rate is quite high at EM, after 4 months of the completion of the programme, 80 per cent of the students get jobs.
 
We have a total of 2,300 students out of which around 350 are international students.

How many of the 2,300 students opted for creating a company?
Around 40 students out of the 350 who were studying entrepreneurship would set up companies. We run an MBA programme with Grandecour affiliation and students from our business school get placed in very good companies. To start a venture, is to renounce jobs in best of the companies.

What are your India plans?
I don't have a plan for India, I have a plan for companies who will eye the students who have studied in Europe. It is important for us to train the students, so that European or Indian companies can hire these students.

How US-based business schools are different from European business schools?
I would say that European business schools are more open-minded. They are more open to diversity and creativity. We teach our students modesty and humility. They are not imperialists. This is exactly how we manage an international company. For instance, when Renault is working with Nissan, they don't merge, it's only an alliance. That is because Renault understands that the Japanese don't merge, and the company respects them. In a company, you need cooperation and consideration for others. On this point, I think European culture is more open mind than US business schools.

Our students are also very sensitive towards the environmental, ecological issues and sustainable development and that's why it is one of our core values. In all the programmes, faculty has to integrate all these learnings. We create the managers of tomorrow who are very different from the old managers. We also focus on social responsibility, when our students graduate I don't want to be just profit crazy, I would like them to respect these values of the school.

Apart from that, may be because of the financial crisis, the US is no longer a model for management and in Europe we are creating the new models of management. The United States' management education has been quite closed in these years.  The future of European management education is more open on the other hand.

Business Standard ,

Is the management education system in India equipped to handle the new set of challenges? Are we producing leaders who can look beyond best practices and trigger change? Read on...

Last year, Eric Schmidt , CEO of Google, shot off a letter to the Washington Post with a warning, “the US has an Innovation Deficit”. Can India afford to ignore the warning? More specifically, can our management education system ignore it?

While it is not always easy to disentangle the causes and effects of globalisation, one thing has stood out over the last one decade as we move towards a world of more open and more interconnected economies: That we need more dynamic leaders, more responsible corporations and therefore an education system that is developed for the creation and use of knowledge, and for converting challenges into opportunities. Governments the world over are urging their education systems to develop modules that produce more skilled, performance-driven, and versatile employees.

Indeed, the pressure to perform is relentless and all-pervasive. Is the management education system in India equipped to handle the new set of challenges? Are we producing leaders who can look beyond best practices and trigger change? It is easy to be ambitious but difficult to keep the momentum and act. Is there a will to identify competitive advantages through strategies that foster employee motivation and build capacity for organisational improvement?

The answer is yes and no. The biggest asset for India is its demography — a young workforce, which is fluent in English and raring to go. The spread of information technology has also opened up newer possibilities — and spurred innovation in many spheres. There is a caveat. As Jeffrey R Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, said during one of his many visits to India: “What I found about India is that the market is promising, but is one that never quite reaches that promise. But anytime we have invested in the people, we have done exceptionally well.” Perhaps what is needed is that one catalyst to help make the final cut, says a senior executive of a Delhi-based FMCG company, an FMS alumni.

And that is where the management schools of India can step in — create an education system that will spur economic growth, produce thought leaders who can stimulate the whole process of innovation.

The wish list of what one might want from B-Schools may be endless. But that’s just one part of the story. The other, and the brighter, part of the story was brought forth during the recession of the late 2000s. Sorry, that was “slowdown” time for India, not recession. Triggered by a liquidity shortfall in the United States banking system that has resulted in the collapse of large financial institutions, the world was gripped by what many economists labeled as the “worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s”. India remained largely sheltered being the only economy in Asia driven primarily by domestic demand. (A McKinsey Global Institute study forecasts that by 2025 India’s consumer class will swell tenfold, making it the fifth largest market on the planet.)

GDP grew at a steady clip and despite a few hiccups here and a few recruitment freezes there, corporate India was back on a hiring spree even while the rest of the world was still trying to put the pieces back together. Reports suggest, the placement scene this year looks good for the B-schools and engineering colleges. More companies are visiting campuses across the nation this year, offering higher packages than previous years. Chennai-based Great Lakes institute of Management, for instance, placed its 2011 batch into 121 companies, with IT and consulting companies being the highest recruiters. Interestingly, a large number of government and public sector companies have offered summer internships to the first batch of IIM Raipur.

All this is just to prove that India has what it takes. Which is why big transnational corporations are flocking to India; so are students from other countries looking to get into the hallowed precincts of India’s best business schools. Indeed, attracting students from abroad is one of the many things high on the agenda of many business schools. Study trips, service-learning trips, and international exchange opportunities will definitely help students fill the gap in their management ‘tool kit’. 

Last year, the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, tied up with three other B-schools from Asia to devise a way to attract students from the US, Canada and Europe. These three are Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, China Europe International Business School and Nanyang Technological University. All four B-schools, including ISB, are among the Top 100 Business Schools in the world listing by the Financial Times (London).

Mind you, it’s not easy to get into any of the top-notch business schools of India. “Getting into one of our IIMs would be much more difficult than getting into Harvard or Stanford,” says Professor BS Sahay, founding director of IIM Raipur.

And with an eye to meet the new challenges, India’s top business schools are renewing their focus on curriculum design, faculty development, and the cultivation of strategic partnerships. It will not be an exaggeration to say business schools in India are at the threshold of unprecedented change in their bid to offer state-of-the-art learning and personality development facilities that are mission-appropriate and meaningful to the stakeholders. A new focus on ethics, stress on environmental sustainability and introduction of new off-campus learning initiatives are new things that B-schools have added to their MBA curricula this year.

XLRI, Jamshedpur, for instance, has revamped its course ‘Sustainable Development Of Corporate Strategy’ to focus on the environmental impact of corporate initiatives; Manipal is offering a ‘Strategic Financial Management’ elective; IMI has split its composite electives ‘Product and Brand Management’ and ‘Sales and Distribution’ into separate electives for each sub-area; Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad is offering a ‘Sports Management’ elective that focuses on the use of sports as a strategic platform to engage consumers.

These are just a few examples; the real change will come when India’s corporations must become true partners in building the management education programmes. Besides supplying ideas and knowledge, they can make valuable inputs in terms of financial investment and on-site experience for students, making them future ready and equipped to cope with real-world situations.

New Delhi ,

Are Indian business schools speeding to catch up with social networking strategies used worldwide to find jobs for their students?

In 2008, in the midst of global recession, Wharton, the business school at the University of Pennsylvania set up a network that would help graduates find jobs in India. India’s economy seemed to be recovering faster than the West and many students who had made the overseas trek were now interested in coming back. The Wharton network launched a website and provided Wharton alumni access to headhunters.

Alumni networks of foreign business schools have been playing important roles in countries such as India. India-based alumni clubs have populated professional networking site, Linkedin. Harvard, INSEAD, London Business School, Warwick Business School, Darden, Babson are just a few. “Networking with alumni leads to unadvertised opportunities for globally challenging internships, assignments and senior level positions. Graduates need to participate regularly in alumni activities to ensure introductions and referrals at a later date,” explained Gopal GD Shrikanth, alumni, the Wharton School.

At a recent alumni gathering organised by the Chicago Booth Alumni Club of India, nearly 40 members met at a popular Asian restaurant in Delhi . “We try to arrange these events every couple of months,” said Daljit Kochhar, director - KT Advisory, a consulting firm based in India. Kochhar is an MBA graduate from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business uses its alumni network to promote its brand and help new graduates find their feet in India. Duke’s 432 alumni in India include names such as Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, formerly with Ranbaxy Laboratories and Amit Mitra, former secretary general of Ficci. “These key figures have helped to craft a strategy for Duke’s initiatives,” said Dan McCleary, regional director of India, Duke University.

Most of India’s top business schools such as the IIMs and XLRI have active networks on Twitter and Facebook, organise frequent events for graduates, but somehow their efforts seem to fall short. “Schools have their alumni networks in place but I’m not sure how effective these are in helping graduates,” noted Tarun Matta, alumni, IIM Indore. Matta is the founder of iimjobs.com, a jobs portal for MBA graduates from top business schools in India. “I don’t think academic institutes should help students find jobs. Academic institutes are not placement agencies,” adds Matta

Be that as it may, the Indian School of Business is using its 3500 strong alumni network to facilitate the recruitment process. “From this year, our alumni started participating. Two companies set up by alumni hired 8 students. The ISB alumni network comprises nearly 200 entrepreneurs,” said Sriram Gopalakrishnan, director - marketing and communications, ISB.

As most MBA programmes in India have a high price tag, business schools should extend the scope of services offered by alumni networks to include referrals and placements. This, MBA aspirants would agree, translates to an excellent return on investment.

Business Standard , Mumbai/ Ahmedabad ,

Public sector undertakings (PSUs), which helped business schools ensure good placements in the last two years, are getting a raw treatment this year.

PSUs say with the economy back on track, the students are preferring private sector companies due to fatter pay packets. PSUs and nationalised banks, with their conservative salary structures, are losing out.

“The private sector increasingly made its presence felt this year, unlike the previous two years, when it was playing safe. PSUs and nationalised banks have been unable to compete on compensation,” said Prakash Pathak, chairperson, placements, Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad.

In 2010, around 20 public sector companies visited IMT. This year, the number is seven.

While PSU banks such as Central Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce are offering students Rs 5-6 lakh per annum, private banks like Citibank, Axis, ICICI and HDFC are paying over Rs 10 lakh per annum.

The numbers are starker for Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B). In 2008-09, seven PSUs made 24 offers. This year, two PSUs have made two offers. Five PSUs offered 16 jobs last year. “Not only are PSUs and nationalised banks reducing recruitment, the students’ preferences are also shifting towards the private sector,” said Sapna Agrawal, head, career development, IIM-B.

PSUs such as Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, GAIL, IOCL, NTPC, SBI Cap, Sidbi, Sebi, United Bank of India and Union Bank of India, which picked up the highest number of students from IIM-Ahmedabad in 2009, have recruited from other B-schools in good numbers this year.

M V Nair, chairman and managing director, Union Bank of India, said, “Now that the economy is picking up, we have not been able to pick up as many students from IIMs. They are preferring private sector companies.”

In 2009, PSUs and banks made good the gap left by the private sector due to economic slowdown.

B-schools saw a 20-50 per cent increase in government companies visiting campuses. They recruited 40 students from IIM-A this year, with Union Bank among the top recruiters.

At Mumbai’s Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), only the Reserve Bank of India and Union Bank of India took part in final placements this year. In 2009, the institute was visited by 18 PSUs. Bank of Baroda, GAIL, ONGC, HPCL, Sebi, NISM and Union Bank of India were among the major PSU recruiters. About 17 per cent of the batch preferred to work with PSUs. In 2010, only four PSU came, according to the institute’s website.

“We invited companies depending on student preferences. Many of them want to work with private sector companies,” said a JBIMS placement committee member.

B-schools said PSUs would do well to go the private sector way.

“While PSU compensation packages may not be higher than those in the private sector, they tend to fail in terms of presentation. Private companies, on their part, make their packages lucrative by presenting them well to students. Moreover, this year there has been an increased inclination among students towards the private sector,” said a placement committee member at Xavier's Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.

Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the owner of the popular global GMAT exam, opened its office in India in February 2011. Ashish Bhardwaj was appointed the Managing Director, Graduate Management Admission Council (India) Private Limited. Ashish Bhardwaj is also responsible for GMAC’s operations in South Asia.

Ashish completed a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Raipur in 1995 and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University in 1997. Ashish joined GMAC as a Regional Director South Asia in February 2010 after several senior stints in prominent multinational companies.

Recently interviewed Ashish Bhardwaj to know more about his plans for the growth of GMAT in India, as well as South Asia. We also asked him about the new features in GMAT examination.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q. GMAC has just recently opened its India office in the NCR. What significance do you see of this development?
A. GMAC has opened an office in India to work closely with current and potential business school partners, and to support the candidates taking the GMAT exam with more information about the GMAT and graduate management education per se.

This announcement underscores GMAC’s commitment to candidates as well as business schools in South Asia. As more candidates are taking the GMAT in India and more business schools in India are accepting GMAT scores for admission, we are helping candidates find the right programs and business schools; and realizing their potential. International candidates are excited about the prospects that the Indian economy offers and top business schools in India can draw from the finest candidates across the world now. GMAC is here to support and facilitate this free flow of intellectual capital.

Q. What are the reasons for the increased focus of GMAC on India?
A. India is a vibrant and exciting market for graduate management education. It brings together a culture that embraces and encourages excellence in education, top quality business schools and an economy that needs high quality managers in large numbers. Add to that India’s entrepreneurial spirit and a youthful population where 50% are under the age of 25 and you have a management education space that serves a critical need and will become even more robust in time. The establishment of the India office will allow GMAC to serve our clients – business schools and students – better.

Q. The number of programs accepting the exam globally has now exceeded 5,000 for the first time, and to this the major contributors are non-US countries. What are the factors that are leading to further expansion of GMAT exam in non-US countries?
A. There is a great need for managerial talent and skill across the world as economic activity is truly globalizing. Fortune 500 companies have businesses across the world and consequently, require high quality managers across geographies. Successful new transnational corporations are emerging in Asia, Africa and other parts of the world.

In response to the demand that this hectic economic activity is placing, leading global business schools have established campuses on many continents and the quality of business schools in all parts of the world is continuously improving. In sum, GMAC is now serving the needs of top global schools and top local schools and the gap, if any, between the two is steadily narrowing.

The emergence of business schools in Asia over the last two decades and the continued improvement in economic activity beyond the traditional powerhouse economies such as the US, UK, Germany, France etc. have been important contributors towards the growth of GMAT acceptance at programs and business schools in non US geographies.

Today’s candidate is truly global in perspective - willing to study, learn and immerse in a different culture and country; and pursue a truly globally mobile career. The growth of GMAT acceptance in non US countries is also proof of the growing global aspirations of GMAT test takers.

Q. More and more B-schools in India are taking membership of GMAC. What advantages do you see for these B-schools?
A. GMAC member schools represent the leading business schools in the world and the most significant advantage for new member schools is the opportunity to interact with and exchange ideas & initiatives with the best among their peers globally. Member schools have special privileges in terms of access to customized market research from GMAC as well as participation in GMAC’s Professional Development Forums and Conferences at a great value.

Q. What are the new developments in the GMAT exam vis a vis the test taking by MBA aspirants?
A. The GMAT exam is evolving in response to the needs articulated by business schools. A new section - Integrated Reasoning – will be introduced in June 2012. This new section is being added to the exam and test takers will also still receive the same score that they always have from the verbal and quantitative sections. To accommodate this new section, one of two essays currently part of the exam will be dropped, so the length of the exam will not change.

This section will require test takers to assimilate and integrate information from multiple sources to solve complex problems, interpret data presented in graphics and tables; and evaluate tradeoffs. In 2010, GMAC started testing numerous question types devised to measure these skills. Four new formats were selected for the Integrated Reasoning section: Multi-Source Reasoning, Graphics Interpretation, Table Analysis, and Two-Part Analysis. The separate, 30-minute Integrated Reasoning section of the GMAT exam will be launched in June 2012.

Since 1953, the GMAT exam has been developed specifically for business schools, by business schools, and it has evolved along with their needs. Since 2006, GMAC has conducted three surveys of management school faculty worldwide. In the most recent survey, 740 management school faculty members indicated that Integrated Reasoning skills are a pre-requisite for 21st century students attending management programs.
Apart from introducing the Integrated Reasoning section, the Analytical Writing Section is being streamlined.

Q. Presently the test taking fee for GMAT is US$ 250, applicable globally. Is there any plan for India-specific costing?
A. There is no plan for India specific costing.

Q. GRE is also on the way to increase its focus in India. What competition do you see with GRE? In what ways is GMAT superior to GRE?
A. The GMAT is the most widely used assessment for admission to management programs across the world. The GMAT’s acceptance at over 5000 management programs at over 2000 business schools globally is backed by multiple validity studies that establish that the GMAT is a good predictor of performance at business school. Therefore, admissions teams at business schools know that the GMAT is an assessment that helps them identify students that have the aptitude to succeed in their programs.

In fact, the GMAT was created because business schools wanted an exam that was developed specifically for business and management programs. The GRE is designed as a general test for graduate programs. Business school faculty have worked with GMAC over the years to fine tune the exam to measure skills that are necessary for success in business and management programs.

Q. You might have studied the CAT computer based test as well. How do you rate the CAT test interface and the overall examination?
A. I have not studied the CAT computer based test. However, I am well aware of the CAT’s reputation and its popularity with management programs in India. Clearly, the CAT is a very popular test, with both business schools and candidates in India. 

Q. What are your observations on the current management education scenario in India with more IIMs coming up and new campuses of leading B-schools being set up?
A. India is home to some of the best business schools in the world and I can only see a positive and exciting future. The world is recognizing the high quality of Indian institutions. For example, the FT Top 100 ranking that was released earlier this year included IIM Ahmedabad at Rank 11 and Indian School of Business at Rank 12. The quality of schools and business education in India is one of the reasons that GMAC has established a presence in India. We see India as a strategic growth market.

Great Lakes Institute of Management has tied-up with Educomp Solutions and Institute of Energy Management and Research to expand its footprints in India

Chennai based Great Lakes Institute of Management has tied-up with Educomp Solutions to offer its upcoming e-Learning programmes in management. The education solutions company will provide management expertise, technology and infrastructure support to Great Lakes over the next 5 years. The Rs 150 crore partnership will help Great Lakes expand its presence across India.

"Every year around 3 lakh aspirants take Common Admission Test (CAT) and just 3000 make it to IIMs and other premiere business schools, we want to offer the same quality of management education to more and more students across India through this e-Learning module," said Bala Balachandran, founder and d.ean of Great Lakes during the announcement of tie-up. "These virtual classroom and faculty access programmes will offer affordable education to not only Indian students but also to those in Africa, Latin America, China and other parts of Asia later in the future." The fees for a full-time executive programme in management at Great Lakes is Rs 10 lakh (approx). The e-Learning module will offer a similar quality of education in Rs 1 lakh.

Great Lakes also announced the launch of its Delhi NCR campus in Gurgaon in collaboration with the Institute of Energy Management of Research (IEMR) as part of its expansion plan. The tie-up aims at coming up with a Center of Excellence in Energy Management and energy management programmes. Great Lakes also has a tie-up with the Bauer School of Business at the University of Houston for its Executive Energy Management programme in India.

The institute is soon planning to launch e-Learning programmes in Chennai, Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata & Bhubneshwar through the Great Lakes, Mumbai Business School and IEMR campuses. The location for Eastern India is not finalised yet. Each of the new campuses of Great Lakes will have their unique functional and sector specialisations, offering one-year full-time and two-year weekend programmes in the coming months. The B-School will not offer more than 300 seats per campus and candidates will be selected through CAT/Entrance exam followed by the group discussion and interview.

usiness Standard , Mumbai ,

Dear Students,

LAST WEEK WE ASKED:

Do you think good placements will increase demand for management education?


BEST RESPONSE

The number of CAT applicants had gone up from 50,000 in the year 2000 to 270,000 in the year 2008. This was because of the good placements that the graduates from premier B-schools had secured. With the global financial recovery, there has been a double digit increase in the average placement package in all good B-schools. This increase in the placement figures would certainly lead to an increase in the demand for management education which has been on the fall since 2008; the year the world witnessed a financial meltdown.

- Sanket Agrawal, Institute of Management, Nirma University (IMNU), Ahmedabad.

OTHER RESPONSES

As we all know that recession had reduced the jobs and increased unemployment all over the world. At present, India is on the peak as it is growing rapidly and making its identity in global face. Simultaneously opportunities of job have increased and as a result there are more placements through campus selection. All this have had a positive impact on students who are seeking a bright career. As management education can pave a path of success in this competitive global world, students will get attracted towards the same.

- Nikita Verma, MBA, Roorkee Engineering and Management Technology Institute, Muzaffarnagar.

Yes it will surely attract people for management education. The ultimate aim of any management student is to secure a good placement and ensure a better future. With changing life style, tastes and buying behaviour of the people expenses are shooting up and there comes the need of hefty pay packages and management education plays an instrument to achieve the same. When a student decides which B-school to secure admission in, the most likely preference would be B-school with the best placement offers. Moreover, stronger the alumni base, higher the brand value, and the alumni base is stronger only if they are placed at respected designations. Placements have the power to increase the admissions manifold.

- Varsha Khanchandani, Institute of Management, Nirma University (IMNU), Ahmedabad.

The management institutes must have a consistent record of good campus placements held in their premises so that there are many takers to their seats. Campus placements are not only meant to earn a living but also to prepare a student after he/she completes the prescribed course. While it is the responsibility of institutes to support the candidate in his endeavour to deliver and excel, the companies concerned conducting such placements are also expected to grant adequate exposures to candidates.

- Arvind Umashankar, B.Tech (Chemical), Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur.

Quantitatively, Indian management institutes might boast of producing the largest number of graduates in the world but the quality of a significant number among them is questionable and so is their long-term viability. Unfortunately, the most important criterion for the credibility of a school has been achieving good placement results. Thus, more attention is being paid to the placement activities than the academics. The result is obvious: many B-schools have converted themselves as more of "placement agencies" than institutes of academic excellence. Simply put, i''s a vicious circle: even if academic delivery during the two-year stay at institute is inadequate, few good students become good managers, while rest of them try for all possible jobs through campus placement process, irrespective of huge incidences of job hopping in long run. This distorted but good placement figure facilitate attraction of more students next year, leading to increased demand for management education.

- Ridim Agarwal, PGDM- BE, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI), Ahmedabad.

The placement in B Schools is directly proportional to the demand for the seats in the management institutes. This has been amply demonstrated by the proven and leading institutes like IIMs, and ISB, among others. After all the very purpose of taking up MBA courses is to secure good and remunerative package after finishing it. So the MDIs use their placement records as their USP. The corporates, parents and the students vie with one another to secure admissions in well known B-schools where there is scope to get campus placements with substantial salaries. This is why many such institutions widely advertise prominently their achievements in terms of plum jobs they could secure for their students rather than projecting their other strengths like learned faculty, library, computer labs and other facilities.

- J Saranya, Rai Business School, Chennai.

The immense opportunities an MBA programme opens in front of the students lead more and more students to opt for the same. Placements are the raison d’être for the students to take admission in B school. The popularity of today's B-schools rests to a certain extent on their placement records, and B-school aspirants look forward to the release of the placement reports and take decisions based on these. Placements at the B school have always stirred up much interest due to the attractive pay packages offered to students.

- Nilaya Mitsah Shanker, BTech, Shri Ram Swaroop Memorial College Of Engineering and Management (SRMCEM), Lucknow.

Good placements and management education maintains a directly proportional relationship to each other. In other words, working professionals placed in good position at the campuses would definitely result in rise in applications for MBA. Fear of insecurity in future force professionals and aspirants to take the least amount of risks. Hence, good placements will increase the demand for management education with aspirants finding a path towards a secured future through such MBA programmes.

- Babita Singhal, Shri Shikshayatan College, Kolkata.

In India, not only students but also parents are on the lookout for renowned management education institutes to let their children receive a better education and great career prospects. The main reason for an increase in the demand for management education is the fact that on passing out from a top MBA college students will get guaranteed placement in top notch MNCs and large blue chip corporations. Top B schools in India has always believed in imparting knowledge that is factual and meets the expectations of the changing market trend. They provide hands on experience and practical training that helps students to build a strong relationship with the corporate sector. What's more, thousands of students have earned stipends during their traineeship programmes with big MNC's, international companies as well as renowned Indian companies.

- Preethi Hari, MBA, Symbiosis Institute of Management, Pune.

Your responses should reach us at edu@business-standard.com by Tuesday evening every week. Please ensure that your response does not exceed 150 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name institute's name, year, batch and complete mailing address for your entries to be accepted. The student who gives the 'Best Response' will be awarded Rs 500.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:

Do you think NSDC's tie up with engineering colleges will help meet the skill gap in engineering graduates?

TNN , BANGALORE ,

It was a picture of your elected representative that you wouldn't have dreamt of. Sitting in the classroom of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), studiously taking down notes, making presentations, listening to the speaker, engaging in constructive discussions __ no heated exchanges, no uproar.

There were, however, no MLAs from Karnataka. The officials said they consciously kept the hosts out as the MLAs may end up attending to their work than attend the workshop. Moreover, a session for Karnataka MLAs was conducted a few years back.

Classroom P12 in the B school looked more like a state assembly, but for the `pandemonium' that one usually associates with it. There were 23 MLAs from 10 states participating in the five-day India Policy workshop held by Centre for Public Policy of IIM-B and PRS Legislative Research, a research institution.
When TOI entered the classroom on Thursday, the MLA from Haryana was making a presentation on his state's policy ideas. Making a presentation was no big deal for them as all of them were experienced public speakers.

For most of them it was reliving their college days. "Even in college we never worked so hard. Here, there was no bunking. We got into class sharp at 9am. Even after class at 6.30pm, we never went out of the campus. We prepared for the next day," said Aftab Ahmed from Haryana.

Everytime a point was made, they would thump on the table, a habit that they developed when in the assembly. When they wanted to speak, they raised their hands and obediently waited for their turn to speak. They asked for notes, cleared doubts and made suggestions. When one speaker took the name of his chief minister, the `students' cried, "Kisi ka naam mat lo'' (don't take names).

Parties and borders did not matter as all of them bonded. "Everybody learnt from each other. It did not matter whether the idea came from the opposition party. If it's good, everybody supported it," said Siddharth C Patel from Gujarat.

There was no hierarchy as the group comprised debutants and oldtimers who were even home ministers. There was bonhomie all round.

"It was great to know the policies implemented in other states. I can bring up some of these in the next session of our assembly,'' said Siddharth Shekhar Singh from Odisha.

Calling them an energy-filled classroom, C V Madhukar, facilitator, said:"Usually, the MLAs are so busy in their constituencies that they do not have time for anything else. Here, we are giving them time to reflect and opportunities to stimulate ideas. They are rich in experience and have so much to share.''

Here's the unedited chat transcript:

hnhm asked, Good books for Maths GMAT?
Ashish answers,  at 2011-04-19 15:00:08Generally maths books (ICSE/CBSE) till class 10th are sufficient. However, few concepts such as Counting (Permutations, combinations & Probability) and co-ordinate geometry demand a more rigorous study. Practice a lot of questions, since that is the key to success in Maths.

sab asked, Hi,I have 2 year Experience now ,will a good GMAT score assure me an admission in top universities?
Ashish answers, Good GMAT score cannot 'assure' chances, but can 'boost' chances of admission to any b-school. Your profile matters a lot. Nevertheless, at this stage, the one single component of your 'eligibility' that you can most influence is the GMAT score. So, go for it.

ProISB asked, What was the range of GMAT scores in ISB last year?
Ashish answers, This information would be available at the ISB website; in general, the 'median' 80% range at ISB would be around 660-740.

Himangi asked, Hi Ashish, thanks. I've attempted the GMAT previously and got a 580. My mock test were in the range of 620-650. I want to understand how best I can work on improving my score to a mid 600?
Ashish answers, First advice would be to 'not' keep giving mock tests. Clearly there is some issue with the concepts. Please analyze those issues, master them and only 'then' try mock tests to see if there is any improvement. We have had students who have seen a 100 point jump between their GMAT attempts. But it requires a lot of patience and perseverance. Hope you have it in you.

Sudhir asked, Hi Ashish!! I have 7 years work ex in IT, Age:33 yrs. Edu: B.com(Hons)--53%(DU),X & XII 67%. AND MCA (59%) but correspondence. With avg academics & not much in sports/EC; do I have chance to get into good college.
Ashish answers, Odds are a bit stacked up against you Sudhir. I am sorry.

kaushik asked, I have a work experience of 1.5 yrs currently and working with a Big 4 firm. I would like to apply for an MBA next year. Kindly let me know if it would be possible
Ashish answers, Sure, it would be possible. But, if you have any specific schools in mind, please go thru their website and see what the 'average/median' age group and experience profile of the class is. That would give you a good idea of whether you are 'ideally positioned' to make it to the school.

Jai asked, Hi ! How does one prepare for GMAT and what is the ideal prep time for the same ?
Ashish answers, Quite a broadlevel question. GMAT focuses on 'fundamentals' in Quant and Verbal, though I admit it gets a bit finicky in Verbal (especially in Sentenece correction). So, thoroughness with the fundamentals and a lot of practice is a pre-requisite. You can appear in the exam anytime.

Sudhir asked, Okay thanks!! but can a good GMAT help?
Ashish answers, That's the only thing now that can help...but difficult to tell till what extent...

gk asked, i have a work ex of 3.5 yrs as of now with a grassroots oil refinery in MP, india. I will write the gmat in few days. what are my chances in isb, hybd.
Ashish answers, While you start off with an advantage that you are not in the 'most common applicant pool' (Information Technology), nevertheless, there are other factors such as GMAT score, profile etc. which would matter equally.

anil07 asked, I am pretty weak in verbal, Is there any proper strategy to to rectify it ?
Ashish answers, 'Verbal' comprises SC, CR and RC. So, it would have helped if you had told which specific section you are strugging with. Most people face challenge in Sentence correction though. Building accuracy on Sentence correction takes time and effort. First things first…brush up your elementary grammer concepts. Apart from the parts of speech, the usage of 'verbals' (comprising Participles, Gerunds and infinitives) is extensively tested on GMAT. Focus should be on 'usage' of grammer than a theoretical knowledge about the types of nouns, pronouns etc. While topics such as Pronouns, Subject-verb agreement and tenses can be located in any standard grammer book, 'Parallelism' encompasses all the concepts and extensive practice and keen observation is the key to solving the questions that fall in this category. Also please note that going forward, questions that involve idiomatic usage will appear less and less frequently on GMAT, as per GMAC's own admission.

lv asked, Want to go MBA, having experience of 12years in Apparel manufacturing presently working at DGM level in a company, Is it going give my carrer a big boost? Kindly respond!!!!!
Ashish answers, It should, but please look for schools that have a profile of students that matches your profile (in terms of experience). If you really look at it, that makes sense, since the 'potential employers' would come to that school 'knowing' that they students would be more than 10 years experienced and so, would bring job offers commensurate with that experience level.

pankaj asked, what is the score will be required for IIMA
Ashish answers, Please check the information on IIMA's website for specifices. Nevertheless, the average GMAT score is 720 or above at IIMA.

red asked, dos n donts 4 gmat?
Ashish answers, Interesting question. There are few dos and don'ts to improve over time: 1. Shrug off the impression that solving a large number of questions alone will improve accuracy. To their own peril, students discover that the 'concepts' don't come with practice. Practice just reinforces the concepts. For concepts, one needs to literally go back to the basics. 2. During practice, both for questions that you get right and for the questions that you get wrong, you need to analyze why the answer is what it is. This is very important. For example, if you get the answer to a Sentence correction question right using wrong reasoning, then you are better off assuming that you did 'not' get that answer right. If you just keep solving questions without a thorough analysis of each and every question, you would perpetually continue on the 'hit and miss trajectory', with wide variations in your performance. In other words, out of (say) 10 questions that you attempt, you might get all 10 right, while on the next 10 questions you might get none right at all. The bottomline is that without thorough analysis, there will be no 'accumulation' of learning. 3. Just because the GMAT exam can be given multiple times, does not mean that your first attempt should be a 'trial' attempt. Give your best shot, the very first time.

AM asked, Hi Ashish , I have 7yrs of Exp Indian IT Male but have varied experience as compared to other IT peers i did give GMAT in 2009 and got wait listed in ISB what are my chances of getting into good MBA school with 8yrs exp
Ashish answers, The fact that you were waitlisted tell me that you have what it takes to make the cut. Please focus on your application. You stand in with a fair chance.

mktmohan asked, Hi Ashish, Thanks for the effort you are putting in resolving our queries. I am having 9 years of experience in IT field and currently writing GMAT on July 24/2011. Can you tell me apart from IIMA, ISB, is there any institute in India [ Images ]/Abroad which can be helpful for my MBA through GMAT? Also is there any PGPX based on GMAT in IIMB?
Ashish answers, Yes, IIMB and other IIMs for that matter, have executive MBAs, with GMAT as the eligibility criteria. Please check their websites.

guest asked, Sir...I have done my mba in 1998 and now want to appear for 1 year executive mba what GMAT score should I target for ?
Ashish answers, Second MBA is quite common. You should be able to justify what you think your second MBA can do, what your first MBA could not. 700+ should be your target.

nova asked, im a software analyst and so does many of us fresh engineers..so how can i boost my profile other than getting a good GMAT score...!!!
Ashish answers, Participation in extra curriculars in the job that you are at, philanthropic activities and your performance at work, would all matter.

Sudhir asked, Thanks a lot Ashish for response!!! One last question please-- Can certifications like PMP, ITIL + good GMAT score+NGO work of an year help in covering for avg. academics? Please guide.
Ashish answers, Absolutely to a good extent. All these drop hints to that admissions committee that you are not the one to just take things lying down and are continuously working upon yourself.

sourabh asked, Hi,I have 88 percent in X n 89 percnt in XII...have 65%in graduation(Engineering).Have three yr work Ex in IT.What are the odds of getting in a good B-School.
Ashish answers, Your odds of getting in a b-school are even:)

ARUN asked, I am having 8 yrs of exp and wud like to go for european schools for the full time MBA..planned to go for schools from denmark,belgium and netherlands.What should be the ideal score that i can target for.Since there is work pressure i could not dedicate full time to study.
Ashish answers, Almost no one who prepares for GMAT has 'full time' to study, since most are working professionals. You should target 720+.

Dyuti asked, Hi Ashish, I am having 5 years of work ex and have taken GMAT twice with an avg score of 580. But with this score and profile I have I would not able to get a good B-school. (XII-67%, BE-62%, 5years IT experience- working with IBM from past 3 years.). How would you suggest for 3 rd attempt? How much would I be benefited with it?
Ashish answers, Third attempt would be too extreme and I totally empathize with you Dyuti. Take a break and then see if you can restart your prep. Third attempt would be any good, only if you feel you can significantly improve your score.

babu asked, Age 37, 12 years IT experience, GMAT 670, Bsc. 52 %, X, XII, PGDCA 72 %, NO EC/ Sports - Chances of getting into ISB, IIM, Kellogg etc. Thanks in advance
Ashish answers, Very minimal. Sorry about that.

Nick asked, Hi, I fall in the 'typical profile ' -- BE(Electronics) and then working in the IT space for 3 years. My Acads are good and I was also into a lot of extra activities. Will it still be difficult to make it to ISB if I have a good GMAT score (720-740)?
Ashish answers, Nops...with a good GMAT and a good profile, I suppose IT 'space' is still the largest contributor to the ISB student pool.

pankaj asked, Thanks Ashish, i have 10 yrs of exeperience and want to join good b-school. Can you help me out which institute should i join for GMAT preperation. Major thing is i am from Ahmedabad [ Images ] and there no institute (as per me). Can you help me out or can you guide me how should i start gmat preperation.Thanks in anticipation
Ashish answers, Apologies, I am not aware of the scenario of coaching institutes in Ahmedabad.

sourabh asked, Thanks Ashish, is IT background a disadvantage at global institutes comapred to indian B-Schools??
Ashish answers, "Disadvantage" would be quite extreme a word. It is just that b-schools, for obvious reasons, want the student community to be diverse. Since IT pool comprises the largest chunk of application pool, there is more competition in that segment.

tukur asked, Hey, i scored 740 in my test but have only 1 year of work experience in mgt consulting company. Should i apply in ISB? Do you think lack of number of yrs of work ex will be a constraint??
Ashish answers, No. I think you should want for another year or two and focus on your work.

sarat asked, Hi Ashish, My qualification are not that great, nor do I have much extra-curricular on my resume. I have 7 yrs IT exp, earning a decent 15L+/annum. Do I have a chance of getting a decent B-school in india???
Ashish answers, Would be tough, but a good GMAT score can help.

Prashant asked, I have a good % in 10th from premium mission school of Delhi [ Images ], thereafter a Diploma in Industrial Production from Pant Polytechnic-3Years in Delhi. (Due to family situation). Technical Apprentice at Ashok Leyland [ Get Quote ] for 3 years under the Apprenticeship Act. Completed a BBA from Pondicherry University - Distance Education. CDAC-Advance Software Programming - thereafter absorbed by an IT MNC. Have worked in Tokyo for 4.5 years and later on posted in Amsterdam till date - working in the field of DRM and broadcast protection. Am 33 Yes. old and married can score upto 650 in GMAT preps regularly. Wnat to make to IVY League/ISB - have enough funds for full time MBA ed. Should I go lateral and break from work??
Ashish answers, Not sure Prashant what you mean by 'go lateral and break from work'. I think if you can muster enough courage to bit the bullet once more (aka re-appear in GMAT and score a 700+), it would significantly imrove your chances.

bill asked, would an MBBS coming from the medical field be viewed favorably to get into a good business school
Ashish answers, Yes, but that alone would not suffice. A good GMAT score and profile is important.

Nick asked, I have been out of touch with acads ever since I graduated 3 years back. Please suggest the books for GMAT preparation considering the above statement.
Ashish answers, For both Quant and Verbal, material from any of the well known names in GMAT (Princeton, Kaplan, Manhattan) is sufficient. There would be significant overlap in the material for all these companies (after all, no one can claim a copyright on Nouns, Pronouns and Tenses). What is most important is not the material itself, but what you gain from the material.

sunny asked, Hi Ashish, I have a 710 on GMAT and a decent profile(chemical engineer, 5 years workex, 4 years in US, awards, papers). My target B-school is ISB. Should I give GMAT again and aim for higher score?
Ashish answers, Your profile, including GMAT score looks decent.

TheTechnoBiz asked, What is the weightage given to a GMAT score in reputed international schools? Is it just a first step and do SOP and profile play a major role in the selection process?
Ashish answers, Good question, but difficult to answer. For one thing, admissions committes the world over do not disclose this. Moreover, this would vary from school to school. Your second question is easier to answer. 'Yes', GMAT is the first step only.

harsha asked, hi i have 7 yrs of industry exp and am planning to take up the GMAT exam but since its a long time since I have even worked on any of the concepts involved in GMAT my confidence is not all that great to start off with ? any advice?
Ashish answers, Well, if lack of preapration is the reason for lack of confidence, the answer is easy. Prepare and confidence will follow!!

Avrina asked, Hi! If I have 6 weeks to study - 6 hrs everyday without other work. And I have got my diagnostic score as 500. WIth a law background, my maths is not great. ENglish is good. WHat kind of schedule and way of practice will you advise for me? ALso with a law background, what would be a good score?
Ashish answers, In 'general', it takes anywhere between 300-400 hours of study to be prepared for the exam. So, if we look at a 3-4 month timeframe, you should be looking at 2-3 hrs. of study perday. Please do note however that this time is indicative only and the actual time it takes you to preapre would depend on many factors such as: 1. How much 'gap' has there been since you left formal education 2. Your sustenance and persistence 3. Individual 'absorption capacity' And many other factors. Another characteristic that has been observed though, is that it becomes a bit difficult to sustain the same level of enthusiasm for studies, for a long time (say more than 6 months). So, you should aim at getting done with the exam within a maximum duration of 5-6 months. 700+ would be a good GMAT score to aim for. The current score tell me that you have way to go Avrina!! Good luck. Generally 'compressing' the time (to 6 weeks in your case) doesn't work too well, since human brain has assimmilation issues:)

Nick asked, Is it mandatory to have 5 years work ex to get into ISB considering the fact that average work ex of students @ ISB is 4.5 to 5 years?
Ashish answers, No.

sourabh asked, What according to you would be minimum work-ex before applying. Is three yrs of work good enough.
Ashish answers, Yes.

gimmemore asked, Hi Ashish, I am 33 years of age having 9 years of IT experience. I have 85% in SSC, 75% in 12th, 80% in BE and am doing my MS. I would like to do an MBA from a prestigious college now. What are my chances of getting into a good college assuming I get a 680+ GMAT score? Can you recommend some good management colleges in Europe and Singapore, and the criteria for getting selected in them?
Ashish answers, You should aim at 700+ considering that your experience is towards the higher bracket for most colleges.

shruthi asked, PLEASEANSWER: hi, i have 91% in SSC, 95.3% in Intermediate, 81% in BE(Mech).Work Exp of 2 years in IT. Do you think i have a chance to get into ISB or should i work for more time and then apply.
Ashish answers, Perhaps another year at work would be good Shruthi. You should utilize this year for GMAT prep.

sau asked, Hi Ashish, I have got acceptance offer from Strathclyde business School in UK. As we know that UK has abolished PSW visa. So how would you recommend Strathclyde b school and will it be worthwhile to go for UK MBA esp Strathclyde in light of the fact that PSW visa has been abolished.I have 4 years of IT exp with 680 GMAT score and decent extra curr. Please suggest.
Ashish answers, While we are not experts at this, I do know that a very good 'public forum' is hosted by business week. Please visit http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/mbainsider/. There are experts would be better equipped to answer your question.

gimmemore asked, Thank you Ashish
Ashish answers, Welcome!!

Prateek asked, Hi I have been preparing for very long time but was never confident as after 4 month of preparation i scored 550 last time so what should be the preparation this time if i have to give exam in July with 2 hours /day
Ashish answers, Analyze your specific areas of weakness and focus on those. If you are not able to improve your score, please 'postpone' the exam. There is no use giving GMAT in a 'trial' mode.

kunal asked,  hi Ashish, can you tell me some good Gmat training centres in Mumbai [ Images ] ?
Ashish answers, Am sorry, am not aware (which is not to say there aren't any:)).

d asked, hello ashish, i have done my BE Mech and MBA Fiance and Marketing from reputed universsity and now having work ex 2 yrs..... so is it suitable if i'l prepare for GMAT and how much score it'w require for ISB..... should i get any advantage foe education ....
Ashish answers, Sure, as I mentioned in my response to another question, many people go for second MBA. But you should have a good justification for this. 700+ is what you should aim for.

Nick asked, How many days prior to the exam date should I book my GMAT dates?
Ashish answers, Good few months before the exam. Not only does it take care of the logistical issue of non-availability of the dates when you want to give the exam, it also imposes discipline on you to prepare for the exam (since the clock is ticking:)).

AFT asked, Hi!I am currently into business and politics and have 4 years of IT experience as well. Thought an M.B.A would be an added advantage. But I have a GMAT score of 610 only . Is there a chance to get into a good college ?
Ashish answers, Unfortunately, very minimal. You 'must' improve your score.

prab asked, Hi Ashish, Age 39 Working as a senior project manager, have completed my PGDBM(Intl business) with SIIB @68%. Besides GMAT score what all will be required to get into top 5 b schools in the US.Please answer.Or is there any other route into B' SCHOOL as I want to change IT industry to non IT
Ashish answers, Your profile is important (academics,extra curriculars, job performance, etc. etc.). Please note that when you 'do' apply, do not mention 'change in IT industry' as the 'reason' for MBA. It can be the outcome but not the reason for MBA.

babu asked, Minimum GMAT needed to overcome avg. academics and extra curricular. Would it be OK if I show only 1 year of philanthropic work as EC. Have 12 yrs IT exp., getting 17 lac P.A., have worked in TCS [ Get Quote ] and Oracle for 3.5 years out of total 11 yrs exp. Thanks in advance.
Ashish answers, Not sure what you mean by 'show only 1 year of philanthropic work'. Anything in 700+ range is the minimum you should aim for.

Deepak2011 asked, Hi Ashish, can you please suggest the best international schools/countries which offer financial aid for MBA
Ashish answers, Hi Deepak, answered a similar question before. Plese post on the forum hosted by business week at http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/mbainsider/. There are quite a few experts on that forum in this area.

sresh asked, Hi Ashish, I am having 5.5 years of work ex (XII-76%, BE-65%, 5.5years IT experience- working with SAP from past 4 years.). What are my chances of getting in to ISB / IIM - executive education - no EC?
Ashish answers, Tough sresh. See if you can get an extra-ordinary GMAT score (750+).

DivyaPrakash asked, Hi Ashsish. I am A CA with2 year experience and I want to get admission in ISB Hyderabad. My questions are as follows 1) What woudl be expected cut off needed 2) How much time I need to spend 3) What are job prospects after doing MBA from ISB
Ashish answers, There is no 'cut off' for GMAT. You should aim for 700+. Prospects of CAs after MBA are rosy, and that's an understatement.

Prateek asked, Hi what is the ideal strategy for 100 days preparation with 2 hour study/day. I have 15 years of work expeience and earlier GMAT score of 550 in Oct last year
Ashish answers, Hi Prateek, with a 550 to improve on, you need to work signifcantly harder than what you have budgeted.

tusheet asked, Hii...I have my GMAT exam date as 21st june..I am presently doing engg and get to study only 1.5-2 hrs a day..do u think this much time is sufficient to prepare for over 720+ score??
Ashish answers, If you have not yet started/just started preparation, then the answer is 'no'. Generally people require more than that to prepare well.

CrownEagle asked, Pls tell me if there is any online GMAT training available in India?
Ashish answers, If you are taking 'online' course, it would not matter where that course is offered. Internet plays a level field.

Shilpi asked, I have scored 720 in the GMAT recently...Could you suggest some colleges in Europe and US that I could apply to?
Ashish answers, Hi Shlipi, tough to comment just on the basis of score, when I don't know your profile.

d asked, how much years experience necessary with gud education background and is 1yr study sufficient????......... thanks ashish
Ashish answers, 1 year of study for GMAT is an overkill. Max. 5 months is what your target should be.

rig asked, Hi. Got a 700 in my last attempy. I am BITS , Pilani passout with 6 plus years of experience in IT industry. Couldnot make it in to ISB . SHould I take it again & aim from 750?
Ashish answers, If you have the patience and perseverance, a 750+ would significantly improve your chances rig.

Ashish says, That's all we had time for friends. Come, together, let's Checkmate the GMAT!!

Business Standard, Kolkata ,

Faculty members at the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) have gone on the offensive and published a paper in protest against recommendations by two committee reports for restructuring at the premier B-school.

The paper, available on the institute’s website, marks the discontent of the faculty on issues of governance, teaching hours, size of the IIM-C governing board and the fact that the faculty was left out of consultations in coming up with recommendations for change.

Among the primary issues professors are opposing are the teaching hours. According to the recommendations by the Bhargava and Balakrishnan committees, the faculty members need to cut on management or executive development programmes (MDPs) and increase time allocated to classroom teaching.

“At present, we are doing 6,900 hours of post-graduate programme teaching, which will go up to 8,000 hours with the increased student strength, in a year, in addition to teaching of at least 1,800 hours of doctoral-level courses, to be divided between the 90-odd faculty members. The accusation of limited time to classroom teaching is baseless,” said an IIM professor.

According to the professor, apart from the fact that the faculty members were not consulted when arriving at this decision, the recommendation also disregards singular requirements for time that the faculty has to allocate for classroom teaching and comes up with a blanket must-do for all.

The Balakrishnan Committee has proposed a work norm of 160 hours of classroom teaching, a proposal which has been accepted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and now under fire from the faculty at IIM-C.

The fact that they were not consulted in coming up with the recommendations has not gone down well with the faculty members either, who are now complaining over a “unicameral” method of decision-making.

“There is a problem with the communication, given that the faculty was not consulted and opinions were excluded, especially in context of the fact that a majority of these recommendations are to do with them,” said a visiting faculty member at IIM-C on condition of anonymity.

The faculty members are also miffed at this exclusion in light of the fact that they had earlier raised concerns with respect to the previous ‘Report of IIM Review Committee’ published in 2008, which dealt with restructuring as well.

“In a bicameral governance, structure decision making is formally divided between the faculty… and the board…We believe that such attempts to exclude the faculty are to silence voices of disagreement and violate the established norms and practices of our governance,” the paper states.

Also under contention is the restructuring of the governing board and the Bhargava Committee recommendation of reducing the overall size of the board from the current 30 to 14.

“A reduction in the numbers would make it easier for a small set of individuals to gain control of our institution. A large number as suggested in our current Memorandum of Association reflects a plurality of interests in our functioning and this should be strengthened even further,” the paper states.

Under fire again is the issue of ‘enlightened ownership’, which IIM professors term “roundabout privatisation”. According to this recommendation, board members would be selected by a nominations committee comprising government representative and corporations that made donations.

“The Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta is a property of the public and placing this kind of a power in the hands of a corporate is dangerous, inasmuch as it will lead to privatisation in a roundabout manner,” said a professor from the MIS department.

Chairman of the IIM-C board and the Balakrishnan committee, Ajit Balakrishnan, who had earlier shot down any possible chances of IIM privatisation said the recommendations took into account the fact that IIMs were in differing stages of evolution.

“Recommendations have kept in place a condition of flexibility depending on faculty talent and inclination. At IIM-C the faculty presented a set of recommendations of flexibility which are under consideration,” he said.

TNN, BANGALORE:

Value chain migration at IT bellwether Infosys, store operations management at Subhiksha and supply chain management at HAL are among the dozen teaching cases of Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) that the Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) will now exclusively market to B-schools across the world.

IIM-B has become the first Indian B-school to have an exclusive distribution agreement with HBP, a subsidiary of Harvard University. Under the pact, HBP will distribute a collection of teaching cases developed by the IIM-B faculty for an initial period of three years.

To start with, 12 cases and their associated teaching notes (pedagogical aid for educators) will be marketed. The B-school plans to add 24 new cases to its collection every year. Some of the recent cases are about Kudremukh Iron Ore Company, Jet Airways, Vaatsalya Hospitals and Hindalco's acquisition of Novelis.

IIM-B director Pankaj Chandra said" "The partnership with Harvard Business Publishing is a significant milestone in the institute's journey to achieve its long-term vision of establishing itself as a global centre of management research and education. The occasion marks the recognition of the relevant and in-depth research being carried out by faculty at IIM-B. We have consciously invested in research-based publication, and this agreement will add impetus to our efforts in this area."

With this, IIM-B joins a select group of business schools such as the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and the Darden School of Business that also distribute their cases through HBP.

Hindustan Times , New Delhi

The human resource development (HRD) ministry has put on hold a proposal to make membership of managing societies of the Indian Institutes of Management conditional on the payment of “substantial” donations. The ministry has decided against accepting the proposal of the panel appointed by HRD minist
er Kapil Sibal under Maruti Udyog chairman RC Bhargava because the recommendation, “though well meaning, could be misunderstood,” top government sources on Tuesday told HT.

The ministry sources said they had decided to steer clear of the proposal at a meeting with IIM directors last October itself. The minutes of that meeting reflect the ministry’s decision of not accepting proposal, they argued.

But IIM teachers — who have been opposing the recommendation — countered that the government has never publicly and formally said it had “struck down” the proposal.

Faculty across the IIMs have been protesting this proposal, which they argue could lead to the privatisation of the premier B-schools — despite assurances from Sibal last Friday.

As reported by HT on Tuesday, the faculty association at IIM Calcutta - the country's oldest IIM - on Monday placed on the Institute a public critique of the proposal and other key recommendations of the Bhargava panel and another committee under Rediff chief Ajit Balakrishnan.

The proposal involves restructuring the IIM societies and inviting private firms to join the society in exchange for a R20 crore donation. Individuals can join the managing society of an IIM for a donation of R5 crore while alumni can become members for R3 crore under the Bhargava panel's proposals.

The principle behind the proposal is not completely new, ministry sources argued. The memorandum of association (MoA) between IIM Bangalore and the government allows private parties to become members of the managing society of that B-school for a donation of Rs. 4 lakh.

But the Bhargava panel's report suggests that membership be made conditional on donations - potentially ruling out other membership routes - faculty countered. The panel's recommendation - if accepted - would also extend to all IIMs.

ET Bureau ,

Three words "You are fired" made Donald Trump famous and every intern shake in his new office-going shoes. But every summer, about 10,500 fresh-faced MBA graduates from 40 business schools brave the internship period to find a foothold in corporate India.

Be it a Trump, like boss or the prospect of being the office flunkey, these boardroom novices will take on anything to get a feel of the real-life workplace. Their aim: to come out of the two-month period armed with knowledge that helps them chart their future course.

Part of business school curriculum globally, the summer internships can be a period fraught with apprehension and doubts about where you fit in. Gurdit Singh Sachdeva, a Xavier Institute of Labour Relations (XLRI), Jamshedpur alumnus, was a nervous wreck in the days leading to the start of his internship with Citibank in the compensation and benefits team.
Karan Mehta, 24 years
B-school: IIM-Ahmedabad, Class of 2011
Qualifications: Bachelors in Engineering (Electronic and Communications), Netaji Subhash Engineering College, Delhi
Pre-MBA work experience: Design engineer, STMicroelectronics, Noida
Interned at: A foreign bank in India, capital markets division
Stipend: Rs 50,000 per month
Next Step: Joining a rival foreign bank in the same division
"It was akin to joining a new school. You are scared even to go to the washroom," he says. At first, he faced problems establishing links within and outside his organisation. But he approached his mentor who smoothened out the process for him. Sachdeva realised that he had underestimated his people skills. Comparing himself to his peers, some of whom suffered from bad mentors and long work hours, he counts himself lucky.

However, he missed out on the pre-placement offer (PPO), the Holy Grail for every summer intern, an offer to join the company at the end of their course. The two-month period is a time to test the waters. For Yogesh Padmanabhan, 24, an Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) alumnus, the internship with a leading infrastructure consultancy was his first interface with the corporate world. He came out of it with a PPO. "My internship helped me gain exposure in the infrastructure sector, especially an on-the-ground view," he says.

Karan Mehta was accustomed to comfortable hours at a semiconductor company he worked with prior to joining IIM-A in 2009. His internship with a foreign bank in the capital markets division brought him out of his comfort zone. "I realised one needs to sit as long as there is work and learnt that sales is as important as trading itself," he says.

For professionals-in-waiting, internships are mini career labs. Vinay Arya, 23, joined Faculty of Management Studies with the intention of getting better opportunities in the financial sector, more so than the ones provided by his chartered accountancy degree. "Internship helped me get a close look at the corporate finance division of a company, which helped me in my final placements," he says.

Usually, companies take in 8-10 interns every season and offer a PPO to just a few. As a result, internships turn into a bloodless battleground. For companies, internships help to build their employer brand value and focus on areas the regular employees are not able to. "Some interns tend to go overboard with their enthusiasm. Others need constant guidance," says SA Siddiqui, head of human resources at Maruti Udyog. According to him, interns should understand the overall business framework of the company and not incorporate a tunnel vision when they work on their projects.

According to placement heads, students with work experience adapt better to the office environment. It's the fresher who goes overboard. "They find it difficult to adjust to the change and to execute the given project," says Prakash Pathak, head, corporate relations and placements, Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad.

However, MBA veterans assert that a PPO is all about working smart than working hard. "You can work for long hours, but if the management hasn't registered your presence, you will not get a PPO. Then again, you might be a moron but if you have made the right impression, you might land one," says Aditi Varma, an IIM-A alumnus (see Work Hard Not Smart for tips to grab a PPO).

Vinay Arya, 23 years
B-school: Faculty of Management Studies, Class of 2011
Pre-MBA work experience: Articleship with KPMG, Delhi
Interned at: Bharti Airtel, finance department
Stipend: Rs 30,000 per month
Next Step: Joining Deloitte India in their operations and strategy division
Final Salary: Rs 10 lakh per annum
Internships are often misconstrued as make-or-break assignments, but the industry believes they should be taken as live case studies. "It's an opportunity for students to judge the company and the company to see students in the real world context. This process allows both parties to make a more informed choice," summarises Leena Nair, executive director, HR for Hindustan Unilever. Hopefully, "You are fired" are stuff reserved for exciting reality television, or so the interns pray, as they take their first steps into corporatedom.

Work smart not hard: Six steps to land a pre-placement after your internship

Look like a professional: Swap sneakers for oxfords and denim for a suit.

Talk: Break ice with your colleagues. Plan ahead for your project.

Brush up: On Excel and PowerPoint skills, a must for the corporate world.

Take the lead: But don't go overboard. Persevere, do not pester.

Know your company: Keep their vision in mind while working.

Don't be invisible: Be seen and heard. Let your work do the talking.

Beat your deadlines: Finish early to make a perfect presentation.

TNN , BANGALORE:

After playing out in the courtrooms and boardrooms, some of India Inc's scams have crashed into the classrooms of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

A slew of scams, including Satyam, 2G, Bhopal gas tragedy ( Dow Chemical Company) and their protagonists have become a talking point at the new IIMs. Business ethics and values will now be taught as a part of the flagship postgraduate programme in management.
The newest IIM at Trichy, mentored by IIM-Bangalore, will introduce a full credit mandatory course in ethics, corporate social responsibility and values this summer for its maiden batch. ''India has always been known for its values and ethics. But things have changed in recent times. We believe each student passing out of the institute should act as change agents with socially responsive behaviour. During the interview stage, we are looking for qualities like ethical behaviour, integrity and spirit of inquiry among prospective students,'' said IIM-T director Prafulla Agnihotri.

Aditya Somani, a first year student at IIM-Ranchi, recently completed a second term course in business ethics and values. He said, ''The course did not teach him how to be ethical per se but focused on ethical decision making. ''I remember the Bhopal tragedy case where we discussed what ought to be done and what happened in reality. Professors throw up situations and we discuss how to tackle them.''

Heads of some of the biggest corporate houses, who hold honorary positions at IIMs, had pitched for these courses. Tata Motors vice-chairman Ravi Kant, who is chairman, board of governors at IIM-Rohtak, suggested a re-jig of the curriculum to include ethical business practices and CSR. In the first board meeting of the B-school in June 2010, he stressed the need for ''sensitisation of budding managers on sustainable profit making in long-term perspective versus short-term profitability.''

The convocation is a bittersweet moment in the life of every student — a degree in one hand, goodbye to campus life on the other.

But for this outgoing batch of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, it is even more so. For getting their caps on Saturday would mean missing out on a match that could give India her crowning glory.

The 2009-2011 batch of 300-odd students will be busy donning their robes as the Indian and Sri Lankan captains go for the toss. From then on, the students will have their ears tuned to the stage in the main auditorium and their eyes glued to their mobiles for match updates from friends, family and the Net.

“I will station my brother in my hostel room so that he can keep giving me match updates,” revealed final-year student Amit Ambre, a diehard Tendulkar fan.

On Friday, it was not their last night at IIM Calcutta that was the topic of discussion, but plans on how and where to put up screens on campus. And, of course, the match itself.

For the cricket-crazy students of the B-school, some of whom came back on campus long before the convocation just to watch the India-Pakistan match together, having their convocation on April 2 means that their big day might just become a part of history.

“Just imagine! We will always remember that our convocation was on the day India won the Cup for the second time. It is going to be a special day twice over,” said another student, Sanuj Dubey.

The moment the ceremony (that will begin at 3.30pm) wraps up around 6pm, students and some professors too, will make a dash for the nearest TV set. “A big screen will be put up at the dinner venue. The convocation is a red-letter day for us. And if India wins, it will be extra special,” said Arun Devadas.

Professors are also disappointed at missing a chunk of the finals but are very clear why the convocation date couldn’t be changed. “The convocation is always held on the first Saturday of April,” explained one of them.

For Sanuj, Tendulkar scoring a century and taking India to a World Cup win would be the best convocation treat.

As match frenzy gripped India, his batchmate Paromita Chakravarty summed up the mood on campus: “India cannot but win because that would spoil one of the best moments of our lives. That is not going to happen!”

DNA , Banglore,

Nishant Kumar Ojha, who bagged a gold medal for scoring the second rank in Post-Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), does not find the corporate world appealing. Instead, Ojha wants to serve rural India and its people.

The youngster who was awarded his degree, along with 578 other students at the 36th annual convocation ceremony of IIM-B on Thursday, is now preparing for the civil services examination to serve the Indian masses.

Hailing from a middle-class family in Bihar, Ojha did his mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur. “I want to serve the grassroots people by joining the civil services,” said Ojha.

Before joining IIM-B, Ojha had five years of work experience in construction equipment sector. At IIM-B, he made it to the prestigious director’s merit list and bagged the Sir Ratan Tata Trust Scholarship.

He initially wanted to do an internship with Deloittee-S&O, but later he kept away from the placements itself to fulfill his dream of “serving people”.

Ojha’s dreams are shared by his classmate, Subhrajit Majumdar, a physically challenged ex-army man, who wants to start his own enterprise in the energy sector. “It was a great learning experience at IIM-B. Now, I want to start my own company in the energy sector,” smiled Majumdar, who uses a wheel-chair.

However, for all the graduating students from the top B-school, lot of sweat and hard work went behind achieving success.
Rohit S, who bagged a gold medal for securing first rank in PGP course, said that it required lot of hard work and consistent performance to top a batch consistingof some of the finest brains.

“I would like to give credit to my regular studies, support given by friends and guidance by professors and parents behind my success,” said Rohit, who will be joining McKinsey & Co as a junior associate.

Anirban Ghosh, who shared the second rank with Ojha, said it was a great experience to be part of the institute. “Although I will be going to London to join my new assignment, I will soon be coming back to India,” said Anirban, who will be joining Goldman Sachs.

Degrees were also awarded to students of Fellow Programme in Management, Post-Graduate Programme in Software Enterprise Management, Post-Graduate Programme in Public Policy Management and Executive Post-Graduate Programme in Management courses.

The degrees were presented to the students by Mukesh Ambani, chairman of the IIM-B Board of Governors, in the presence of chief guest Kapil Sibal, Union minister of human resource development and communications and information technology, IIM-B director Prof Pankaj Chandra and a host of faculty and family members.

Looking back at the trajectory of the MBA, much has changed in its more than hundred years of existence. Several observations have been made in recent years regarding the future of the MBA. In order to meet the demands of the fast changing economy and markets, it became imperative for B-schools to start a new accelerated MBA programme to churn out skilled professionals in a short period of time. This explains the increasing number of institutions offering one-year MBA and executive MBA programmes, a nontraditional format, as well as the large number of weekend and distance learning programmes.

Accelerated full-time MBA programmes, the norm in Europe, are now in vogue in Asia  and are also gaining acceptance and popularity in the United States. These fast-track MBA programmes, typically take between 11 to 16 months to complete and provide the perfect solution to applicants who do not want to take two-years out of their careers. With the ever-increasing demands at the workplace, a large number of students are opting for a shorter and more intensive B-school experience at roughly half the price of the two-year programme. The argument becomes even more powerful when the economy is performing well — why spend two years away when the going is good.

Highly specialised

A one-year MBA does not necessarily mean the curriculum is more difficult. What it really means is that it is fast paced, highly specialised and applies to business and industry. In fact, the curriculum for most one-year and two-year MBA programmes is pretty much the same. With less core coursework than typically required by two-year programmes, the accelerated MBA offers classes that complement your experience in the workplace.
We studied many business schools in different parts of the world and noted that many good schools in Europe such as INSEAD and IMD had an intense one year format rather than the conventional two year programmes offered in India.

We visited the Richard Ivey School in London, Ontario — the best known school in Canada and listened carefully to the reasons that encouraged them to give up a successful two years programme after decades to start a new one-year programme.

Here is what we understand:

*Increasingly, business schools the world over attract students who have worked for a few years after their undergraduate programmes (what we in India call ‘graduation’ ie BSc/BA/BCom/BE) before returning to study ‘full time’.

*Most two-year programmes have seven months of vacation time built into the programme and have classes five days a week.

*If we run a programme six days a week and do not have any vacations, we can do the same number of courses that a two-year programme teaches in one year.

*Students prefer one-year programmes because the ‘opportunity cost’ of giving up a job for two years is much higher and the living and tuition fees are also much higher.

*Globally the compensation that alumni of a one-year programme receive is no different from those who do a two-year programme.

If schools select students carefully and ensure that they have the capacity to “take on pressure” (most have built this competence by working for a few years) they are able to provide the same quality of education in a one-year programme that the best two-year programmes do.

Increasingly, enlightened employers are beginning to see this and hence are overcoming their ‘bias’ in favour of two-year programmes.

It is also possible to build a 7-8 weeks internship programme within the one-year format. Most schools do only 3 classes in a day. By doing 4 classes a day of 90 minutes each, one can ‘create’ the time that you require for this feature.

This internship helps those students who wish to make career track changes (for example, move from a technical role in IT to a marketing role in FMCG) and enables companies to assess their competence before ‘hiring’ them. In the case of sponsored MBA candidates, it is easy to convince one’s employer about sponsoring him or her on a one-year programme rather than on a two-year programme. Not only are the costs lower, you are also away for a shorter period of time. Besides, if one is not looking for a job, then internships do not matter either.

Shorter learning cycle

As the cycle time for learning gets shorter and shorter due to the ‘speed’ of change happening in the market, schools can also keep making changes in their curriculum faster and teach more contemporary cases in a one-year format.

It is for this reason that most top B-schools all over the world have either already introduced a second programme of a one-year format or are considering doing so.The one-year business school journey is slowly but steadily becoming common for a growing number of students. If institutions of excellence such as the London School of Economics have also offered a Master’s degree in one year, it is time for B-schools to challenge the current expensive two-year format and switch over to the more contemporary one-year model that the world is embracing. India too is successfully following the path, as more and more institutes like the IIM’s and more recently Narsee Monjee Institute of Management (Mumbai), join the fray. Clearly the one-year programmes are here to stay, aiding in the development of managers and leaders.

It’s convocation time at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIMK). As the students smartly walk to take their seats, I cannot help but notice the number of female students—almost every third student is a woman—something that’s not a familiar sight in any B-school across the country. (Go around any B-school, women form only 10-15% of the total students.) The next morning, while talking to the IIMK director, Prof Debashis Chatterjee, at the oxy-rich IIMK campus, I ask him how he managed to get a higher percentage of women students. “We don’t manage women, women are fairly unmanageable,” he smiles, adding, “What I wished was to create an aspiration at IIMK where we will have more representation from one half of India.” And why not, by 2050, India is supposed to be among the top 2-3 nations of the world, and so how can a nation be among the top 2-3 with 50% of its own population not reaching its fullest potential—well, women are realising their potential in various fields, but that kind of potential is still missing in management education, and well, our Parliament. So how did IIMK do it? “I aimed for a diverse classroom,” says Chatterjee. And he is right, since learning doesn’t come only from books, but associations as well. If I, as a student, only have, say, male journalists around me, my learning gets compromised! But then, doesn’t CAT test the requisite skills to be a good manager? “No,” Chatterjee chuckles, “What is CAT, it is a series of tests that selects your ability to take that exam, it’s nothing more than that. CAT doesn’t test your managerial ability, it doesn’t test your interpersonal skills, it doesn’t test your social skills ... it simply tests your ability to take the test. Because you clear the test you will be a good manager is not a correct assumption. But the test is nevertheless important. What we did was we enlarged the frame through which we see our candidates. And so, unlike other IIMs, we expanded the base of the students we interview.”

Women in India, especially after graduation, do suffer from what can be called situational deprivation—that the conditions under which they take the CAT are very different from those of men. Chatterjee explains that he simply opened the doors to IIMK a little wider (unlike some other B-schools that give a few more marks to women candidates so as to increase their percentage). “Earlier we used to interview 800 candidates, we then increased the number to more than 2,000, and there we saw that the women are equally bright, and some more (proved by the fact that during our summer placements, of the first 100 jobs, 60 went to women),” he explains.

As we walk towards his office, I ask him why such a thing isn’t happening at the other IIMs, or for that matter, at other fine B-schools in India. “Because they are stuck on a success model. Just take 99 percentile and don’t worry about what is going on in the institutional context. People who clear CAT are analytically bright, verbally elegant, but they may not be good at ‘delivering’ in the field of management,” he says.

The view from his office, situated slightly uphill, is majestic. Among the thousands of trees, I see some aesthetically designed buildings. I point out to one. “That is the museum of Indian business history, the first for any IIM.” First! Well, there seem to be many ‘firsts’ for IIMK, I ask him. “Yes, we are the first IIM to set up an endowment fund in the memory of the late CK Prahalad; we are the first IIM to be awarded international accreditation by the Association of MBAs for our PGP and ePGP; we are the first IIM to start a Centre for Excellence in Academic Leadership (in partnership with Yale); we are the first IIM to put gender diversity on the agenda of higher education; the list is long,” he says.

Along with these ‘firsts’, I also notice—from a report he hands over to me—that the student intake at IIMK has grown 5 times in the last 7 years. Aren’t you going too fast, it’s just 14 years and you are among the finest B-schools in South Asia, I ask him? “I don’t believe in speed, I believe in rhythm. We are a school of ideas, success follows. Every 3 months you will see an idea taking birth at IIMK and that idea will be implemented. We had the idea of CK Prahalad endowment fund, we had the idea of gender diversity, we had the idea of social equity, and so on. Also, ideas have no hierarchy, my ideas come from my faculty, students et al and all I do is open the doors so these ideas become real. A caterpillar, if it is stuck in its form, will remain a caterpillar, but if it is not stuck in its form but in its essence, it will turn into a butterfly. So, we are not stuck in the format of management education at IIMs. We are not an IIM in the conventional sense, we are an ideas school.”

The mention of Yale a few minutes ago makes me ask him about the Ivy League standards and how some of our institutes like IIMA and ISB and close to those. Why do we want to match those standards, I ask him? “Ivy League standards are not set by a country or a culture or a group of institutes, they are set by the universal nature of what education is. You take Harvard, in its executive education programme there are 60-odd students, representing 35 nationalities, and each of them run close to a billion-dollar enterprise. Thus, their view of the world is very different from the view of the world of a student from any B-school in India, including IIMs. So, when you talk about an Ivy League school, you are talking about a perspective, not about a building,” he says. We all know that there is no question about the fact that the talent pool coming to IIMs is slightly better than what goes into most Ivy League schools, but there is no denying the fact that the Ivy League school will give the student a perspective much better than what IIMs are currently able to provide. “Ivy League standard is a benchmark that we are trying to achieve and that benchmark essentially is: more diverse students, more diverse faculty, more diverse audience. Nalanda was an Ivy League school, it had students from all over the world,” he says.

On entrepreneurship, he says that IIMK encourages students to use the school itself as a laboratory for developing their entrepreneurial skills. “Many of our students are doing so. I tell them why you have to go out when we have the capital, we have problems, and we need people to solve these problems, we know who you are, we have seen you for 2 years,” he says.

The major chunk of the revenues at IIMK comes from PGP right now, which is roughly R30 crore. As he tells me this, he points to yet another building. “That’s one of the places where our MDPs take place. Our Management Complex—with an investment of R50 crore combines the art of management with the science of ayurveda—will be the most sought after executive education facility anywhere in the country. We are creating an ayurveda spa facility, because when a CEO comes to IIMK, he has not come to learn about Maslow or a Harvard case study, he has come to experience something unique. This one is for our short-duration executive MDP programme, where the CEOs and managers can learn as well as relax, and take back a unique experience,” he says. He also adds that the major chunk of revenues will slowly shift from PGP to shorter duration MDPs and eMDPs.

It’s Holi festival and the students and faculty are celebrating in style. He gets an invitation call, smiles, and says, “I’ve played Holi thrice since morning, we are one big family, I have to play again.” And as we walk towards the parking area, I feel the softness of the lush-green Buffalo Grass under my feet. I look at him, he smiles, perhaps he is thinking: “The grass is greener on my side, and I have made it.”

Ahmedabad,

Persistently high inflation has forced the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), to increase fees for its various courses by a little more than 5%, the third hike by the premier business school in the past three years. With this, the fee for the institute’s flagship programme, the post-
graduate programme in management (PGP), is Rs 14.45 lakh for the batch 2011-13.

The PGP fee stood at Rs 13.7 lakh for the academic term 2010-2012. It was Rs 11.5 lakh in 2008-10 and was raised to Rs 12.5 lakh in 2009-11

Another important course the institute offers is a one-year programme in management for executives (PGPX), which will now cost Rs 20.31 lakh. It has been increased by about Rs 1 lakh.

“We had to hike the fees to meet the increasing cost caused by high inflation. However, this rise is still roughly half the inflation rate,” IIM-A director Samir Barua said.

The business school does not receive government funding to run its programmes because such financing is limited to developing infrastructure for accommodating students under the other backward classes quota.

The institute says the expansion of facilities to accommodate OBC students will be completed in 2011-12 for the PGP and 2012-13 for the PGPX.

The new fee structure for various programmes was approved in the meeting of the board of governors on Saturday, just before the 46th convocation presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

During the NDA regime in 2003-04, the union HRD ministry under Murli Manohar Joshi had cut fees by almost 80% for the PGP.

However, the earlier fee structure was restored under persuasion from prominent thinkers when Arjun Singh took charge of the ministry after the UPA came to power.

The international placement offers coming the way of Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) graduates from consulting and banking firms have gone up this year, reflecting a better market sentiment overseas, the top business school said on Friday.

"Consulting firms like Oliver Wyman, Analysys Mason and Heidrick & Struggles made international offers this year, spanning across New York, Dubai and Singapore," an IIM-A report said without divulging numbers.

IIM-A is adopting international standards for placement this year and will release the final placement statistics after the convocation on March 26, it said.

"Amongst the marketing firms, HUL and Proctor & Gamble offered roles in Singapore while Cadbury Kraft and Dabur also made international offers."

The consultancy firms offered more international roles this year to the B-school graduates, besides banks. The final placement process for Post Graduate Programme (PGP) kicked off on February 12 and ended on March 4.

"We saw an increased number of banks participating in the placement process this year. These included Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, HSBC and Citi," the report stated.

The students were offered roles in investment banking as well as global marketing, it said. "Goldman Sachs, Nomura, and Royal Bank of Scotland were among the major recruiters."

A batch size of nearly 314 PGP sought placement. Over 120 firms participated in the lateral and final placement process at IIM-A, according to the report.

Nearly 37 per cent of the batch was eligible for lateral placements, which were conducted between January and February, an IIM-A official said.

"Over 40 firms were part of the lateral recruitment process. Firms like Amazon, Deloitte Consulting, Bain, Barclays Bank, Yes Bank, Clearwater, Cognizant, Microsoft and Infoedge were amongst the major recruiters," he said.

Students with 18 months of prior work experience are eligible for lateral placements, the official said.

"This year seven students, 2 per cent of the batch, opted out of the placement process to become entrepreneurs," the report stated.

The leading analytical firm CRISIL has hired more than 250 fresh recruits through campus interviews conducted at the leading business schools this year. Of these, 22 were management graduates from the IIMs.

CRISIL's placement programme offered analytical roles in its ratings, research, global research and analytics, and infrastructure advisory businesses. These roles elicited a positive response from fresh MBA graduates.
 
Ms. Roopa Kudva, Managing Director and CEO, CRISIL said, “This year, we hired around 8 per cent of our employee base from more than 50 leading B-Schools across India. We believe that our young, competent new hires will help us emerge as a stronger player in the global financial market."
 
CRISIL strongly believes in the concept of hiring freshers from campuses: three of its four current senior directors were either hired directly through campus placements, or began their career with CRISIL.
 
The group also has a track record of retaining its talent. Adds Ms. Kudva, "More than 50 per cent of our business leaders have been part of the group for more than a decade."
 
Commenting on CRISIL's preference amongst students, Dr. Debashish Sanyal, Dean, School of Business Management, NMIMS University said, "The School of Business Management of NMIMS shares a good relationship with CRISIL. The profiles offered make it a much sought after company for our finance graduates. Also our alumni occupy responsible positions in CRISIL."
 
CRISIL has a young workforce, with an average age of 28 years. Its young and work culture offers employees intellectual challenges.

The last cluster of the PGP Placement Process 2011 finished on 4th March 2011. Despite a larger batch size of 314, almost all students have been placed in firms of their choice. Over 120 firms participated in the laterals and final placement process. This excludes firms that only extended Pre Placement Offers (PPOs) through the internship process. 

To create further understanding and visibility of the new Cohort based recruitment system, IIM Ahmedabad organized two Recruiter Conclaves for stakeholders, including recruiters and media, where queries were addressed and concerns about the new system were heard out. These were held in Mumbai in October 2010 and in Singapore in December 2010.

The first draft of the proposed placement reporting standards was published in February 2011. The standards aim to establish a clear, consistent process of reporting placement information across B-school campuses in the long term. All recruiters have been sent a copy of the placement reporting standards, so that they can be aware of the information the institute requires to publish the report. Feedback on these standards has also been invited from recruiters, other B-schools, media, alumni and general public.

The laterals placement process was conducted in January and February this year. With 37% of the batch eligible, the thrust on lateral placements ensured that students could leverage their experience. More than 40 firms were a part of the lateral recruitment process. Firms like Amazon, Deloitte Consulting, Bain, Barclays Bank, Yes Bank, Clearwater, Cognizant, Microsoft and Infoedge were some of the major recruiters during the process.

Cluster 1
The Final Placement Process kicked off on 12th Feb 2011, with companies across three cohorts – international investment banks, global strategy consulting and private equity/ venture capital. IIM -A saw an increased number of banks participating in the process this year with banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Citi coming down for the finals.

Increase in the number of the Investment Banks
This year marked an increase in the number of the Investment Banks for the Final Recruitment Process.

Banks like Goldman Sachs, Citi, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, HSBC came down for the finals. Both roles in investment banking as well as global markets were on offer during the finals.

While Goldman Sachs, Nomura, and Royal Bank of Scotland were among the major recruiters to extend offers through the PPO route, Citi, Merrill Lynch and HSBC also participated in the finals process.

International Offers
As a reflection of the improving market sentiment and recruiters’ confidence in IIM-A students, an increase in the international offers made to students is seen. Not only did banks offers roles across geographies, but consulting firms also made more international offers this year. Oliver Wyman, Analysys Mason and Heidrick & Struggles were some of the consulting firms which made international offers this year, spanning across New York, Dubai and Singapore. Amongst the marketing firms, HUL and P&G offered roles in Singapore. Cadbury Kraft and Dabur made international offers as well.

Overview across clusters
Firms participated in the recruitment process across a variety of cohorts, namely global and Indian investment banks, strategy consulting, corporate leadership program, global FMCG operations, and IT services. BCG (11 offers including PPO) and EXL (11 offers) were the top recruiters on campus this year.

This was followed by McKinsey and P&G, which made 10 offers (including PPO) each. Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries made 8 offers in general management roles. Amongst Indian banks, Yes Bank made 8 offers to students.

Fostering Entrepreneurship
IIM Ahmedabad has always encouraged students to take up entrepreneurship as a career. This year seven students, 2% of the batch, opted out of the placement process to become entrepreneurs.

Additionally, three students used the final placement process to join Ingersoll Rand’s unique 2 year entrepreneurship development program.

This year IIM Ahmedabad also saw one student, who had opted out of placements in 2008, come back and use the IIMA placement services.

Students still exploring opportunities
Post Cluster 4, there were two students who had not been placed with firms of their choice. Both these students have specific career objectives as well as location preferences. IIM-A have been supporting both students in their efforts in making a right career choice. One of these students has since found and accepted a suitable role. The b-school have agreed to support the efforts of the other student, and is yet to officially close the placement process.

Mumbai ,

IIM Ahmedabad overcame IIM Kozhikode in a hard fought final of 'Lessons in Marketing Excellence' (L.I.M.E), a case study challenge to find India's brightest and best young marketers. L.I.M.E. is one of the most prestigious competitions in India's business school circuit.

The case was offered by, the Olympic Gold Quest. With London Olympics 2012 approaching, the Olympic Gold Quest is supporting handpicked athletes with their mission to win India gold medals. The teams from IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Kozhikode chalked up the plan to mobilize mass support and funding. IIM Ahmedabad won 'Lessons in Marketing Excellence - Season 2' by a small margin. Both team cases not only reflected in-depth research and understanding of the challenge but also provided focused and relevant solutions that were cost effective and easily implementable.

The jury who selected the winners were the heavy hitters of India's marketing fraternity - Geet Sethi-Billiards Maestro & Director Olympic Gold Quest Viren Rasquinha, Former captain of Indian Hockey Team & COO, Olympic Gold Quest; Rama Bijapurkar, an author and a thought leader on market strategy and consumer behaviour in India, Piyush Pandey, Chairman, O&M; Jaideep Sahni, Screenwriter of Chak De India; Senthil Chengalvarayan, President & Editorial Director - Business Media, CNBC-TV18; Shrijeet Mishra, Executive Director-Foods, HUL and Gopal Vittal, Executive Director-Home & personal care, HUL.

Mr. Ajay Maken, Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs could not attend the event due to parliamentary commitments however sent a message, "HUL and CNBC-TV18 endeavor, Lessons in Marketing Excellence is an innovative way to get India's brightest young people to give their inputs on issues and themes of National interest".

Commenting on the Olympic Gold Quest, Mr. Ajay Maken said, "The Olympic Gold Quest is doing great work, but unfortunately corporates are willing to only help individual athletes but not sports federations and infrastructure". He further added, "National Sports Federations have not been able to create credibility for themselves for corporates to come forward and help in any way. These federations should be more professional in their functioning, for corporates to be more forthcoming to help the cause of sports as a whole rather than an individual athlete".

Speaking at the occasion Anuradha Sengupta, Features Editor, CNBC-TV18 said "Lessons in Marketing Excellence was launched last year and in less than 12 months it has become one of the most prestigious competitions for Business Schools. It has a prestigious jury who has played an important role at every stage of the competition and has been very critical and looked for in-depth research and solutions. Keeping up with the tradition, this year too, the finale case study goes beyond business to give the students to deal with a case that is of interest and importance to India. "

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Nitin Paranjpe, CEO & MD, Hindustan Unilever said, "We wanted to provide a platform for some of the brightest minds in the country, to engage in debate on real business issues and at some stage get an opportunity to address issues of massive importance. With LIME we got the opportunity to nurture and showcase some of the finest talent in this country. The combination of the experience and expertise of HUL, coupled with the freshness of perspective that these young minds bring in, has paved way for new thoughts, new insights and new solutions to problems which may have not been solved in the past."

On attending the event, Prof. Renuka Kamath, Head - Marketing Deptt., S P Jain Institute of Management and Research said, "This is one competition that goes much beyond the usual B-School spirit, especially in the Finals. Both Season1 and Season2 finals of LIME have been real issues and ones which are of national importance. This is what makes LIME so special."

In attendance top corporate honchos including the likes of Sam Balsara, Pranesh Mishra, Ravikant Sabnavis, Manisha Lath Gupta amongst others were present at the event. The sports fraternity was also well represented by Geet Sethi, PT Usha, Ritwik Bhattacharya, Pankaj Advani, Sushil Kumar among others.

The winners Sashank Rajpurohit, Srikanteaswaran T K & Saurab Vivek Nair from IIM Ahmedabad have won themselves 1) A trip to London 2) An international internship at Vietnam and 3) A pre-placement interview with HUL

If 2007 was the year of peak salary figures, 2008 the year of reckoning, 2009 the year of a real recession as far as B school placements were concerned and 2010 the year of comeback for the placements, 2011 has seen the cycle getting completed. Not only are some of the best companies trying to get the best of the newly minted MBAs from premiere b schools, but they are going all out to ensure their interview room gets the right footfalls. It is a competition of sorts to help these about-to-graduate MBAs pay off their education loans, start actionating on their relocation plans,  or simply fulfill a social obligation.

BANGALORE:

Holding back the fee hike for its flagship post-graduate programme in management, the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) will increase next year's fee for two of its long-term programmes aimed at working professionals.

The fee for the one-year executive post-graduate programme in management (EPGP) will go up by Rs 1.8 lakh for the 2011 batch. The intensive programme designed for senior managers will come with a price tag of Rs 20.55 lakh this year, and Rs 21.50 lakh with family accommodation. Last year, the institute charged Rs 18.75 lakh and Rs 19.70 lakh respectively.

This will be the first time that fees are being revised for the EPGP after it was launched in 2009. "In the first two years, we retained the same fee structure. For the 2011 batch, the hike is unavoidable due to rising costs and increase in expenses to offer international immersion component," an IIM-B official said. Up to 75 candidates with 7 to 15 years of full-time work experience will be admitted for the next batch.

The B-school will also revise fee for its over-decade-old post-graduate programme in software enterprise management, a hit among techies. The flexible course will cost Rs 9.5 lakh from 2011, half-a-lakh more than last year.

At its board of governors meeting earlier this year, the B-school decided not to increase fee for the two-year post-graduate programme for 2011, but approved hikes for other long-duration courses.

The year final MBA Placements 2011 have given many reasons to the MBA students to cheer. Not only the students have been offered their dream profiles by leading companies of India and abroad, but have also got far better pay packages compared to what the students of year 2010 final placements got.

The MBA placements 2011 at most of the leading B-schools Placements have ended. MBAUniverse.com brings to you how some of the leading B-school placements have performed vis a vis salary. For this we look at the Average Domestic Salary figures of IIMs and other B-school placements. These B-schools have shared their placements 2011 data with MBAUniverse.com.

The average salary figures have risen this year across all leading B-schools, representing the good performance of Indian companies and a bright future outlook.

IIM Indore: In terms of compensation, the MBA Placements 2011 average package this year has increased by 27% over last year. The highest domestic compensation offered was Rs. 32 lakhs per annum which was made by an Investment Bank. The top 12% of the class of 2011, regarded as being amongst the best management talent in the nation, secured offers on campus in excess of Rs. 20 lakhs per annum. Further, more than half the batch secured offers in the range of Rs. 14-18 lakhs per annum.

IIM Kozhikode: this year mba placements 2011 salaries offered for domestic roles increased by an average of about 30%.

IIFT: IIFT has recorded an increase of more than 10% in the average domestic salary. The average salary of MBA Placements 2011 is Rs. 11.6 lakhs per annum.

XLRI: The MBA Placements 2011 average domestic package stood at Rs. 15.8 lakhs per annum, a rise of close to 12% over last year’s figure. The median figure for the domestic salary is Rs. 14.7 lakhs per annum.  The highest domestic package was Rs. 23 lakhs per annum.

FMS Delhi: In MBA Placements 2011 Average domestic salary of total offers is Rs. 15.4 lakh per annum. Rise of 18% compared to last year.

SPJIMR: MBA Placements 2011 average salary increased by 27% to Rs. 14.07 lakhs per annum from Rs. 11 lakhs per annum last year, with the highest domestic offer of Rs. 23 lakhs per annum.

XIMB: MBA Placements 2011 batch of 2011 saw an average salary of Rs.10.76 lakhs per annum, which is a marginal rise from last year’s average salary figure. The median salary stood at Rs.10.3 lakhs per annum.

All the GD-PI call getters who think that they will be facing problems of plenty after the final selection list is put up by the B-schools placements, they can look at the above salary figures to pick their right B-school.

Amaethon 2007 is also attempting to foster entrepreneurial spirit among the students with various activities devoted towards this end. Apart from Business Plan contests, the event will try to find ways in which such plans can actually be taken forward and a sustainable growth is achieved.
Students from all across India will share their views and plans and will get the opportunity to listen to business and thought leaders like: -
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Mr. Joseph Massey (Deputy Managing Director, MCX)
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Dr. K. G. Karmakar (Managing Director, NABARD)
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Mr. Parag Desai (Director, WaghBakri Tea)
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Dr. Sudarshan Iyenger (Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapith)
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Mr. Jagat Shah (CEO of Global Networks, International Trade Management Consultant)
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Mr. Satyan Mishra (Founder and CEO, Drishtee.com)
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Mr. Vipul Mittra (Commissioner and Secretary, Rural Development)
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Mr. Bakul Dholakia (Director, IIM Ahmedabad)

Many other dignitaries and academicians from IIM Ahmedabad and other institutions will also present their views during Amaethon 2007.

There would also be various informal activities like Antakshari, Agribusiness Simulation Game, Quizzes, Lateral Thinking Puzzles, Treasure Hunt, Cultural Night & Dance Party, etc., to add color to the mega-event called Amaethon.

Amaethon 2007 is also associated with renowned corporate partners like MCX (Title Sponsor), ICICI Rural Banking (Associate Sponsor), NABARD (Session Sponsor), SBI (Event Sponsor), RPG Spencer (Event Sponsor).

This year's Amaethon really promises to be a major success and an honest attempt to find ways to bring about 'the awaited dawn' in India's agri-business and development sector. IIM Ahmedabad welcomes all students and young professionals to come and enjoy the experience.

New Delhi,

The human resource development ministry has rejected key amendments proposed by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore to its fundamental statute book aimed at ending government power over major decisions at the premier B-school. The HRD ministry has called seven proposed amendments to i
ts memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the IIM “not acceptable” since the IIMs are public institutions, documents available with HT show. The IIM submitted its proposed MoA amendments to the HRD ministry in January.

The IIM-B Board of Governors (BoG) – which finalised the amendment plan -- is headed by Reliance chief Mukesh Ambani.

The ministry’s move has triggered concern at other IIMs too since they are seeking similar amendments to their MoAs with the government. Unlike his predecessors Arjun Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi, current HRD minister Kapil Sibal has encouraged the IIMs to seek greater autonomy.

“We too have similar amendment proposals and hope the government will reconsider its position,” an IIM Director said, speaking on condition of anonymity. But the government has deep reservations about some of the proposed amendments, which sources said could change the “fundamental character” of the IIMs from public institutions.

The IIM-B proposals struck down include ending the government’s power to “take over the administration and assets of the Institute” if dissatisfied with its functioning, and making it mandatory for the government to obtain approval of the IIM’s Board of Governors (BoG) to probe irregularities.

The HRD ministry has also rejected a proposal to delete a clause that allowed the government a role in deciding the IIM’s mandate. The ministry in its response to the IIM has also pointed out that contrary to its proposal, the Institute cannot award degrees as it is neither a deemed university nor established under a central or state legislation.

The ministry has rejected a proposal to end government role in deciding the fate of assets and property bought from government money, and a proposal to end the IIM’s responsibility towards improving management education in southern India.

It has asked the IIM to put on hold a proposal to allow the IIM Board to pick the Institute Director without any government role.

The Directors are at present appointed by the Board – but based on the recommendations of a search-cum-selection panel appointed by the government. The IIM-B proposal argued for allowing the BoG to decide the “terms and conditions” for appointment of the Director instead.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal had in a recent meeting with the IIMs proposed that a national Collegium of experts – which the government is planning to set up – could pick Directors of the B-schools. The IIMs had at the time agreed.

The HRD ministry in its response to the IIM-B proposal has argued that the MoA can be amended to incorporate this mechanism for selection of Directors once the Collegium is set up.

The ministry – apart from rejecting outright seven proposals – has also said it does not support several other proposed amendments pitched by the IIM.

The IIM has proposed making the salaries of its faculty and staff independent of government pay scales. But the ministry in its response has said that it "would be prudent top retain government pay structures which could however be topped up by providing incentives."

This means that while the government is ready to allow the IIMs to pay additional incentives to teachers, their basic pay structure must remain in conformity with government pay scales, a senior official told HT.

The HRD ministry has also insisted that the IIM retain reservations for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes among government representatives on the Institute BoG and Society. Representation of the All India Management Association (AIMA) – an apex body of management institutions – must also be retained on the IIM Board and Society, the government has said. The IIM wanted to end AIMA representation.

The ministry has also clarified that while it supports the IIM in its plans to expand outside India – by setting up campuses and institutions abroad -- the Institute must not divert internal resources or use government funding for this expansion.

But the ministry has accepted other proposed amendments to the MoA – such as reducing the size of the BoG from 26 at present to 16. A government-appointed panel under Maruti chairman RC Bhargava had recommended downsizing BoGs of the IIMs.

A proposal to raise the quorum required to call a meeting of the BoG from one-tenth of the Board size to one-third has been accepted.

The IIMs have debated and worked on amendments to their MoAs for over four years now, and Sibal – in meetings with the IIMs has told them that he supports their plans for greater autonomy.

TNN, KOLKATA:

Engineer-turned-IIM-C grad Hariharan Sriram has bagged what he calls his "dream internship". And, it's not with a top-of-the-heap finance or investment company, but with the political party that's billed to be the change agent' in Bengal politics.

Even when he was in the National Institute of Technology, Trichy, Hariharan couldn't resist the pull of politics. "I have done assignments in politics. In college too, I had opted for subjects that taught political nitty-gritty and had run for posts in the college elections. Indian politics is not alien to me," he says confidently.

But it was an open lecture by Derek O'Brien four months ago that motivated Hariharan to jump on to the political bandwagon to be able to observe the "impending change". And he is not alone. Mansha Tandon, also from the prestigious B-school, has decided to be an active part of the Trinamool Congress campaign.

Mansha spent 13 years in Australia before returning to join IIM-C. At 27, she has already bagged a cushy job with a global MNC while Hariharan will soon join a tobacco major. However, unlike their friends at the Indian Institute of Management, they are set to be perhaps among the lucky few to have worked in close association with political stalwarts like Mamata Banerjee.

It's not that Hariharan and Mansha have decided to take a plunge into politics right now. They are keen on a corporate career, but believe an exposure to the hurly burly of Indian politics will equip them for the challenges ahead. And, what made them opt for Trinamool is to "be able to witness the possible change".

"This will be an election that probably the country has never seen before. The Left has been in power in Bengal for the last 33 years. But now, Trinamool and its leader are in the forefront to bring about a possible change. It will be amazing to witness it from inside the system," gushed Mansha.

The young business grads were asked to come down to the Trinamool Congress Bhavan to meet party president Subrata Bakshi. The duo says they are now eagerly waiting to meet Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee after she returns from Delhi.

MBA Universe ,

The final Placements of IIM Lucknow have been concluded with 100 per cent placements. The B School has received total 528 offers for the batch of 366. IIM Lucknow mentions that by far, this is the largest graduating batch to be placed across all IIMs. Among the offers made, there were 70 Pre Placement Offers (PPOs), 213 lateral offers and 245 offers in the Placement week.

A total of 206 companies participated in the placement process. Out of them 53 companies were first time recruiters. Among the key recruiters were Accenture, Avendus Capital, Capgemini, Citibank, Kraft Foods Cadbury, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, KPMG, McKinsey and Co., PricewaterhouseCoopers, Procter & Gamble, Tata Administrative Services and The Boston Consulting Group.

The key sectors in which the recruitment took place were Consulting, Finance, Sales and Marketing, IT and Telecom industry. The Consulting sector saw 82 recruitments. Some of the notable firms making the offers were Accenture, Cognizant Business Consulting, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Headstrong, KPMG, McKinsey and Co., PricewaterhouseCoopers, The Boston Consulting Group and Virtusa among others. Aon Hewitt also offered roles in HR Consulting.

In the Finance sector, the key recruitments took place from Banks and Financial Sector firms. The positions offered were in Investment Banking, Proprietary Trading, Treasury, M & A and Global Risk Management to name a few. Prominent financial firms include Amex, Avendus Capital, Axis Bank, Baring Private Equity Partners, CRISIL, DBS, Edelweiss, Futures First, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ICICI Prudential, IIFL, Indus Valley Partners, JM Financial, JP Morgan, Karvy, Kotak Wealth Management, Nomura, SBI Capital, Standard Chartered and Yes Bank among many others.

In Sales and Marketing sector, the key recruiters were Asian Paints, Aviva, Britannia, Castrol, Dabur, GSK Consumer, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods Cadbury, Marico, Nokia, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Ranbaxy, Raymond and Reliance among others. Conglomerates such as Adani Group, Aditya Birla Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, Jindal Group, Larsen & Toubro, RPG and Suzlon were prominent recruiters. Asian Paints, L’Oreal, Olam International, Philips and Target offered lucrative Supply Chain Management profiles.

Firms in the IT sector that offered roles were iGATE, Infosys, MindTree, Wipro and TCS among others. Recruiters in the Telecom industry are the top companies in the sector such as Aircel, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.

Among the 53 first time recruiters, the companies included Amazon, BMGI, Bloomberg, Comviva, Coromandel, Deutsche Post DHL, Ford, Fujitsu Consulting, Google, HP, IndusInd Bank, JFS, Lenovo, Microsoft IDC, Nereus Capital, Panasonic, Planet M, Star CJ, Subros, Tally Solutions and The Nielsen Company among others.

TNN, BANGALORE: 

Students of one of the country's premier Bschools will soon be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bollywood superstars Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, Sandalwood star Upendra, directors Madhur Bhandarkar and Yogaraj Bhat.

The elective for understanding the business of moviemaking in the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B ) is attracting more than the usual crowd this year.

Encouraged by last year's response, IIM-B is organizing a general management programme in March for a motley group of cinema professionals who have opted to scale new frontiers in entertainment .

"We are overwhelmed by the response we got for our programme last year, following the shooting of Three Idiots starring Aamir Khan on our campus. We now plan to take it to greater heights by roping in some prominent film and television personalities from Sandalwood and Bollywood, and give our programme a new dimension,'' said S Raghunath, professor of corporate strategy and policy at IIM-B. He said the entertainment industry's focus has now shifted on understanding the business dynamics of making movies.

The Financila Express,

Unlike the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) where placements were dominated by the consulting profiles, other business schools have seen an increased number of finance profiles being offered.

For instance, at Delhi’s Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), the finance sector has been the largest recruiter with 20% of the batch being placed in it. Same is the case with Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad where companies from the finance sector recruited 30% of the batch compared to 15-20% in earlier years.

“Traditionally, the biggest recruiters have been information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services that take up to 40% of the students. However, this time, the BFSI sector has picked up momentum by recruiting 30% of our students,” said Prakash Pathak, chairperson, placement, IMT Ghaziabad.

Placements at the institute commenced from mid-December 2010 and almost 75% of the batch - around 300 students - has been placed till now with 109 students being recruited by the BFSI sector.

The major recruiters were Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Kotak Bank, Yes Bank, Citi Group, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), HSBC, Deutsche Bank, among others of which the major first time recruiters were RBI and Goldman Sachs. The highest salary of R13 lakh — 10% more than last year —was offered by a couple of finance firms including Goldman Sachs.

This trend is different from what the IIMs have exhibited. At IIM Indore, management consulting and investment banking stood out as the most sought after profiles and 28% of the people accepted finance roles while 25% accepted consulting roles.

“This is a marked changed from previous years when finance roles dominated more than 40% of placements,” the institute said in a statement.

At the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, financial firms with a number of offers made across private equity, investment banking, markets, treasury, asset management, corporate finance, and wholesale and retail banking. Niche profiles offered by private equity firm Avigo Capital and investment banking major Avendus Capital emerged as some of the most sought after roles on campus. Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank returned to campus in style, making six and five offers respectively.

“The highest package offered was of R26 lakh by Avendus Capital, up 28% from last year,” said a member of FMS’ placement team.

KOLKATA:

The craze for an MNC job is finally fading. B-school students are veering towards domestic recruiters this placement season, as Indian companies acquire the professional edge and go global.

At Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar , five Indian companies topped the recruitment charts — Polaris, TCS, HCL Technologies , ICICI Bank and SBI Capital Markets. The story is no different on campuses like TA Pai Management Institute , XLRI and Welingkar Institute of Management , which have nearly completed placements.

Students at the IIMs, who are gearing up for placements, too believe a career with Indian companies is as challenging and rewarding as it is at an MNC. “Indian companies have changed from the earlier stagnant growth for employees and undefined job profile. Today, public sector companies too are projecting growth prospects to students,” says IIM Indore chairperson (placements) Prashant Salwan.

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), one of the early birds in the current placement season, saw domestic firms like Aditya Birla Group , ITC , Godrej Consumer , Bharti Airtel , Tata Motors, Hero Honda and Axis Bank recruiting with increased vigour. "There was a time when a job offer with a foreign position would trigger excitement amongst all the students. Often, the entire batch would apply for it. Not any more," says Munish Bhargava, corporate and placement advisor. Students have become more role and job profile-oriented, which Indian companies are catering to, he adds.

The recession-proof nature of the Indian economy, which is expected to expand by 8.6% this fiscal compared with 8% last year, is another draw for students. At the same time, globalisation of Indian corporates and Indian innovation over the past few years have played their part. The launch of the world’s cheapest car Nano, consumer goods companies like Godrej and Dabur looking to go global, Tata Motors buying Jaguar Land Rover , Hindalco’s Novelis acquisition are just a few instances that have left a lasting impression on young minds.

A recent study by consultancy firm Towers Watson (see chart, below) has given the highest score to Indian employers in the area of career advancement opportunities. Almost 60% of the surveyed companies reported that opportunities for employees have improved over the past 12 months, in contrast to China at 54%. Developed economies like Japan and Singapore reported just 19% and 28% respectively.

More than anything else, hierarchical barriers have dissolved in domestic companies, as has the ‘babu’ culture, where promoters would have the last word in everything. Senior executives now enjoy empowerment in their jobs and independence in decision-making.

“Successful brands attract both consumers and employees. Earlier, India had very few such home-grown brands,” says Future Group head (private brands) Devendra Chawla, who has had stints in both MNCs and domestic companies. Indian companies are creating new marketplaces, innovating, leading, winning consumers as well as offering meaningful, satisfying job roles which allow talent to reach their potential, he adds.

“Indian companies have become employers of choice over the past two to three years. Students are increasingly looking at the job profile and not necessarily money,” says IIM Lucknow director Devi Singh. Experienced professionals too are seeing improved scope for growth in domestic companies, he adds.

Salaries at Indian companies and MNCs are on par too. While such differences were as high as even 100% just four to five years ago, the slowdown has rationalised the gap. It is currently not more than 10% to 20% in entry-level and senior positions.

The Towers Watson study quoted earlier said Indian employers score relatively better in terms of salaries. While 37% of employers in the Asia-Pacific region believe they provide their employees an opportunity to earn higher levels of compensation to a great extent, the number is almost 54 % for India. Compensation differences have narrowed to negligible levels over the past few years, says Santrupt Misra, director (HR) of Aditya Birla Group. The group offers pay packages that have made it one of the most preferred recruiters on campus.

Dabur too claims to offer salaries that are 15% to 20% less than its global counterparts like Unilever and Procter & Gamble . “But our job profile will be much more challenging. In fact, in the IIMs, we are also going to offer foreign postings to the students,” says Dabur India executive director (HR) A Sudhakar.

In the first quarter of 2011, India, China, Taiwan, Brazil, Turkey and Singapore reported the strongest hiring plans, according to a recent survey by US-based HR firm Manpower. “Management practices in domestic companies are no less inferior to their global counterparts,” says Misra. Globally, there is a lot of consolidation in the corporate world, and Indian executives find that unsettling, he says. In India, the downside of consolidation is not that bad, as job losses are curtailed, adds Misra.

Ankul Mishra, a graduating batch student in one of the IIMs sums it up: “If the past decade was all about foreign MNCs, this decade will surely be about Indian MNCs. Be it job profile, salary, growth prospects or prestige — nothing is less these days in Indian companies.”

Bangalore:

Faculty bodies at IIM-Calcutta and IIM-Bangalore have passed unanimous resolutions to set aside the reports which suggest reducing the size of IIM boards and societies and asking each faculty to teach for 160 hours a year.

Other IIMs are likely to follow suit seeking broader consultation on the proposed reforms.

They have trashed the HRD ministry-appointed committee reports on the new governance structure and teaching load, saying that they are based on incorrect data.

They believe that these recommendations are the outcome of several wrong assumptions and incorrect data and would not allow IIMs to become global leaders. These changes, if implemented, will have a negative impact on the morale of the faculty, IIM-B faculty said in a memorandum submitted to board of governors chairman Mukesh Ambani last week.

They have now called for a fresh panel involving alumni and eminent academics to create a governance structure for long-term development of IIMs.

A five-member committee headed by IIM-Ranchi chairman R C Bhargava had recommended reducing the size of the IIM boards and societies by almost half, and allowing corporate bodies, individuals and alumni to become members of the IIM society by paying Rs 20 crore, Rs 5 crore and Rs 3 crore respectively.

The IIM-B faculty rejected the idea, saying that it will lead to a major structural change in the ownership of IIMs and would be completely against public interest. They believe that contribution for the society should be more in the nature of developing institutions rather than owning the institutions.

The dons at the elite Bschools have also taken exception to the HRD ministry's decision to fix a minimum teaching load for faculty which will be the same for all IIMs.

AHMEDABAD:

Multinationals led by investment banks will raise variable component in salary offers to lure more B-School freshers this year as higher growth at home and recovering Western economies prompt companies to speed up dealmaking activity. The variable pay portion was around 20% two years ago and will rise up to 60% this time.

"Recruiters will give higher compensation in performance-linked salary. They may not increase fixed salary significantly, but will offer higher variable pay," says IIM-A director Prof Samir Barua.

HR consultants say increasing number of M&As will raise chances of recruits earning more than the promised portion of variable pay. "There is certainly a possibility that a number of crore-plus salary packages will be bagged by premier B-schools like IIMs," says Sunil Goel , director, GlobalHunt, a Delhibased executive search firm.

A campus official at one of the IIMs said five to six candidates were offered packages, including variable, above Rs 1 crore last year for foreign locations. This number is expected to rise to 10-12 this year at that IIM. B-schools do not give out salary figures and announce only average salary figures after the placement season.

Campus recruitments have started at IIM-Ahmedabad and the process will begin at other IIMs next month. However, corporates have already given out pre-placement offers, or PPOs, to those who had interned with them. The number of PPOs are higher this year, up from 60 to 80 at IIM-A and 70 to 73 at IIM-Bangalore.

Investment banks such as Citi Bank, UBS, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse offer packages in the range of Rs 40 lakh to Rs 70 lakh. Most of the crore-plus packages will ride the rising quantum of variable pay, a segment used by recruiters to slash costs during recession. Variable pay is increased when companies want to control their fixed costs amid any downturn in economy.

Ahmedabad:

Following the example of Harvard Business School in the US, the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad is looking to increase revenue by selling its case studies, a move the institute hopes would help it make up “perhaps 5 per cent or more of its total revenue”.

This marks another lesson the B-school has learnt from the Harvard, which charges US $10 per participant for a case study and fills up roughly 30 per cent of its coffers this way, said IIM-A Director, Professor Samir Barua.

The IIM-A follows the Harvard’s pedagogy system of case studies and even has an infrastructural replica on campus —the “Harvard steps” — that lead up to the main entry to the main academic building.

Professor Barua said the institute had not really looked into this aspect of revenue generation until recently, but would, however, not look to charge as much as Harvard does.

There are many reasons why IIM-A is looking to increase its revenues: one being that for the past few years, its revenues have been “in the red” mainly because of back-payments of salaries as per the Sixth Pay Commission. Second, fee revenues went down due to dwindling demand for its corporate education programmes. The companies were largely unable to enroll students of this programme due to economic slowdown. However, it has picked up again post-recession. Recognising this, IIM-A added 14 new Managment Development Programmes (MDPs) in June 2010, a 25 per cent increase. Revenue from MDPs — short-term courses for working executives — generate about a third of the institute’s revenues.

Currently, the institute has not received funding from the government for about six years now except for extension of hostels and other infrastructure (necessitated by a Supreme Court ruling), and revenue had been garnered from advisory services, academics and corporate education programmes.

The revenue crunch has had several implications, a major one being that the institute has been unable to attract world-class teachers from abroad or even the corporate sector.

The Hindu Business Line: Kozhikode:

The Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK) has received international accreditation from the Association of MBAs (AMBA) for its Post-Graduate Programme (PGP) and Executive Post-graduate Programme (ePGP).

AMBA accreditation is an internationally recognised standard for post-graduate business education and its network currently has 9,000 members from 88 countries. AMBA has so far accredited 168 business schools located in 72 countries.

The AMBA accreditation differs from AACSB in the US and EQUIS in Europe as it looks at the specific post-graduate business programmes rather than the entire school.

According to a statement from IIMK, the accreditation panel from AMBA made a thorough review of the campus, curriculum, operations and the stake-holders and expressed satisfaction over the quality of faculty and the students, industry interface and the world class physical infrastructure.

Prof Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIMK, said that this was yet another milestone for the institute.

India's human resources development minister Kapil Sibal has a new mission: He wants to create homegrown education "brands," or elite universities with the same type of cache among the population as that enjoyed by the Ivy League in the United States. "We intend to nurture these select universities like the public sector navratnas, through generous financial support, freedom in access to external funding, and total autonomy so as to free them from the shackles of governmental control," he told the 98th Indian Science Congress inauguration early this year. The navratnas are public sector undertakings that have been given a certain amount of independence in making operational and financial decisions. "We are working on the concept of having navratna universities, or an Indian Ivy League," Sibal added.

The minister's plan to nurture these education "brands" has two sides. One is to encourage U.S. institutions to open branches in India; the other is to facilitate the creation, or upgrade, of homegrown institutions. In March 2010, the Union Cabinet approved the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialization) Bill. Though quite a mouthful in name, its purpose is simple: to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India and confer degrees. The bill has, however, met with resistance both inside the governing coalition and outside on grounds that it promotes elitism. It is yet to become law.

The bill requires that all foreign universities planning to set up shop in India be at least 20 years old. These institutions have to maintain a corpus fund of a little more than US$10 million (Rs 50 crore). This is essentially to separate the chaff from the wheat. "A number of foreign educational institutions have been operating in the country, and some of them may be resorting to various malpractices to allure and attract students," according to the bill. Estimates show there are more than 150 foreign universities with "twinning" programs with Indian schools that allow students to spend part of their time on each campus. In addition, foreign universities send their faculty to the country to conduct short-term courses. This too is unregulated at the moment, however.

The other issue is that Indians spend large sums to study abroad. Every year, some 500,000 students travel elsewhere to attend college, spending around US$10 billion. The new bill could help save at least US$7.5 billion, according to a study by ASSOCHAM, which represents India's business community. "This will also prevent brain drain, as students who go overseas for higher education usually prefer to work abroad," the report added. Foreign institutes in India will also attract students from third-world countries.

The government's insistence on the US$10 million corpus to prove financial muscle and a 20-year heritage underscores the importance of the brand. But Ivy League schools are not exactly falling over each other to set up shop in India. They fear that adding an India campus may dilute their brand, experts say. The worst-case scenario is that only second-rung institutes start campuses here, producing only second-level graduates at home while the outflow of talent and money overseas continues.

"India is fast becoming an important economic zone globally and it would be in the interest of institutions abroad to engage with the country on an equal footing," notes Pankaj Chandra, director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore. "The challenge will be to ensure that only quality institutions enter India to forge partnerships or start their own campuses."

The Dangers of Dilution and the Rise of ISB

The foreign institutions are getting their visa to India at a time when the debate about Indian education brands is becoming more intense. On the one hand, the private sector is entering the field of primary and secondary education with for-profit models. This has caused the expected heartburn amongst those who feel that education at that level should be free. The more germane issue concerns the highly-rated Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the India Institutes of Management (the IIMs), which are known all over the world. There are hundreds of IIT graduates teaching at U.S. universities. They form the backbone of many tech companies, becoming so ubiquitous in the Internet era that Michael Lewis wrote in his book, The New, New Thing, "The definitive smell inside a Silicon Valley start-up was of curry."

The IIMs have also made their mark, though in different places. In China, where there is no need to import engineers, there are IIM alumni associations in Beijing and Shanghai. The IIMs are the most difficult institutes in the world to get into, according to The Economist. Alumni have gone places in corporate India. According to a survey by executive search firm EMA Partners, "33% of the CEOs from top Indian companies are from IIM. Some 16% are from IIT." EMA managing partner India K. Sudarshan describes the institutions' domination as "undeniable. No other institute in the country comes close to them."

As government-supported organizations, however, the IITs and the IIMs have several crosses to bear. Government meddling in academic matters is one. Low pay scales for professors, which makes it more difficult to attract the best talent, is another. But the biggest problem is dilution of the brand, experts note. The government has addressed the lack of quality higher education institutes in India by opening new campuses and labeling them IITs and IIMs. There are 15 IITs now, more than half of them having come up in the past two to three years. Sibal has already expressed unhappiness with the growth, saying that the new IITs lack adequate infrastructure. Until a couple of years ago, there were seven IIMs. In 2009, the Union Cabinet approved another seven, which are in various stages of being set up. "IIMs are of varying vintage," says IIM Ahmedabad director Samir K. Barua. "Each IIM is an independent institute and has its own legacy. As any averaging process helps those below the average and harms those above the average, umbrella branding will hurt the older and well-established IIMs."

"Just the act of setting of more campuses may not dilute the mother brand," adds K. Raman, head of infocomm, media & education at Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG), an independent management consulting firm. "However, if the processes to ensure quality of inputs and access to experts and industry are not in place, that is when the dilution starts. This is true of any industry. An uncontrolled expansion without the underlying process will impact brand equity of any product or service."

There are fingers being pointed at the IIMs. With all their credentials, they have been unable to break into the top league of global B-schools. "It's a problem of image," admits IIM Calcutta dean Sougata Ray. Adds director Shekhar Chaudhuri: "We are making all efforts to tackle this problem." This is the 50th year of IIM education in India and the older institutes are doing some soul searching. "We have to continue to be relevant and the best," Chaudhuri says.

The IIM-Calcutta director is not afraid of the arrival of the foreign universities. The best won't come, he says. Others will take time to establish themselves. The foreign universities that set up shop in Ras al Khaimah in West Asia have not been able to attract enough students. Besides, those who can afford it will always prefer to go abroad. Education abroad gives students more than just learning; it gives a worldview -- international exposure.

What is probably more worrying for the IIMs -- though not admitted -- is the rise of the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB). The ISB has just entered its 10th year. Yet, in the Financial Times global B-school rankings, it was No. 12 in 2010. (London Business School was No. 1, Wharton No. 2 and Harvard No. 3.) The IIMs were not in the top 100, nor were the high-profile B-schools attached to the IITs. "FT ranks only programs that admit students with a minimum of two years' work experience," says Chandra of IIM-Bangalore. "Most of the students in the IIMs have no experience." This means the institute starts at a disadvantage and several IIMs don't even bother to participate in the survey.

"This year, IIM-Ahmedabad submitted its details for getting ranked [by FT] for the first time but for its one-year program, which has students with experience, and not for the flagship two-year course," Chandra says. "In this ranking, IIM-Ahmedabad was No. 11, which is terrific for a first-time applicant." Adds Barua of IIM-Ahmedabad: "IIMA's flagship program did not qualify for inclusion in the list as it is not a post-experience program." But this fact is not at all well known in India and the publicity given to the lack of an IIM presence in the top order affects its image.

The ISB success -- and insistence on students entering with the benefit of previous work experience -- has lessons for education branding. How did ISB do it? "We had to break many established beliefs within the academic community to speed up the establishment of our reputation," according to ISB dean Ajit Rangnekar. "We identified five key areas in the beginning, partly based on Peter Lorange's excellent work at the [International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland] -- an outstanding student body, a world-class curriculum, global faculty, a strong infrastructure and a very committed staff to look after the 'business' part of the school." Officials at Wharton and Northwestern University's Kellogg business school helped ISB develop its curriculum, and to create a model to attract global faculty to teach at the school, Rangnekar said. "[We] attracted brilliant students from the beginning. The presence of the who's who of corporate India on the ISB board was also a huge help in getting instant credibility."

When building an education brand, "trust is everything," Rangnekar says. "Trust among the students that they will get the promised level of education, that they can significantly enhance their careers by completing the course, that industry recognizes the value of their education and that the school will support them over their career." Also important, he adds, is trust among the faculty that the school will provide them a strong, supportive environment for furthering their careers, and trust among the corporate world that students or executive education from that institution will help further the organization's goals.

"Many factors have led to ISB establishing itself so quickly," according to Gopal Shrikanth, a CEO coach & strategist. "These include: Ivy League partners; a board composed of industry icons and academic gurus; recruitment by corporate sponsors such as McKinsey; ... candidates with five-plus years [work] experience; international exposure -- [including] a semester at Wharton or Kellogg; and a shorter course [one year] compared to the IIMs. This makes [companies] more amenable to granting a sabbatical and families are also more supportive." Adds Raman of TSMG: "ISB was established on a commercial model and has gone about building their brand more consciously and efficiently. Hence, in a shorter time they seem to have created a greater impact."

Beyond the Alumni

One potential advantage for Ivy League schools setting up campuses in India is that they already have alumni in high places. More importantly, these schools have "engaged" with those alums from the very beginning because American colleges depend on graduates for financial contributions. The IIMs are funded by the government. They don't need to woo past pupils now in a position to give back. It's only today, with funds drying up for several reasons, that the IITs and IIMs are looking towards their alumni.

The alumni are important. But what else matters? According to Barua of IIM- Ahmedabad,"The factors that contribute to the brand include: the portfolio of activities; the relevance of the curriculum of the programs offered; the quality of the academic processes; the quality of the cohort admitted to the programs; the quality of teaching; the quality of the research, and the placement opportunities to students and graduates."

CEO coach Shrikanth divides the essentials into four buckets: The "Academic Halo," or tie-ups with leading international universities, global gurus on the governing board and visiting and full-time faculty from leading universities. The "Industry Halo," including sponsorship by global companies and the induction of top CEOs on the governing board. Third would be infrastructure issues, such as proximity to major cities, proximity to a student pipeline and conference halls to host industry events. Lastly, there are public relations concerns, like the need to conduct high-power events in terms of external participation and a dedicated media management group.

Indian schools, particularly the newer variety, may not have all that. But nor will the foreign schools at their India campuses. That is why at the institutes nobody seems particularly worried. "The Indian management school landscape is quite mature," says Chandra of IIM-Bangalore. "Our programs are quite relevant, robust and cutting edge. The only challenge that I see relates to faculty, as the pool is not very large." Adds Ray of IIM-Calcutta: "The faculty is the challenge." But there could be a problem for the institutes that depend on government grants. Their pay scales for faculty are dependent on government norms.

But Ray doesn't expect a flood of foreign schools once the gates are opened. Neither does Rangnekar of ISB, who says it is unlikely that top foreign universities will rush to build full-fledged India campuses right away because "even top institutions are not exactly flush with funds, and building new campuses outside their home country does not seem to rank high on their list of priorities." The preferred route, he says, will be through collaborations with existing Indian institutions. "The top foreign institutions are extremely conscious of the sanctity of their brand, and will want full assurance that the collaboration will enhance their own brand. That means Indian b-schools will have to convince their potential partners of their high governance standards. Such collaborations will also strengthen the competitive position of the various Indian b-Schools, and hence their ability to attract students and recruiters."

But it is not necessary that every school that comes in will automatically succeed. "While India does offer an opportunity, it is a discerning market," Barua of IIM-Ahmedabad says. "The entrant will have to very carefully choose the quality-price trade-off to make the programs 'value for money' propositions to the target segments." Ray of IIM-Calcutta says that every institute -- Indian or foreign -- with the money can obtain the necessary infrastructure, such as classrooms and libraries. "It's the software -- the faculty, the right quality students, the alumni, the intellectual property... that is the challenge."

Harsha Jhunjhunwala, one of first batch of alumni from one of the newest IIMs at Shillong in northeast India, uses another software analogy to describe education branding, particularly umbrella branding under the IIM marquee. "Confidence and trust in an institute are like software versions in reverse," she says. "For software, the newer is better; but for institutes, the older is better." Thus, she says, Harvard 2.0 or IIM 7.0 must go a long way in a short time to prove themselves.

Big brother AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) has been given just eight days by b-schools to modify the notification it issued on December 28, 2010 (pushing for sweeping changes in business education) or else face legal action. The Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) has decided to march up the steps of the Supreme Court on February 11, 2011 if the AICTE does not take back most of the statutes in the notification.


Among other changes, this notification seeks to regularise the fees charged by b-schools and bring all b-schools’ admission processes under one umbrella operated by the respective state government.


Speaking to PaGaLGuY.com, Dr Prabir Pal, the President of AIMS said that his association has been forced to take legal help to solve the matter. “We have had talks with the AICTE and the Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal but there is not much progress on the front. If nothing works to our advantage till next Thursday, we will file a petition in Supreme Court on Friday, February 11. We have already sought the services of eminent lawyer K Venugopal.”

Sources however told PaGaLGuY that during one such meeting, Sibal said that he would ‘look into’ the issue of the state machinery handling the admission process since many b-schools conduct their group discussions and personal interviews (GDPI) at many cities across the country. ”But he did not say that he would alter or modify the point. He only said he would look into it which may mean nothing,” said the source.

AIMS has also dashed letters to both Sibal and AICTE but nothing has come out of it.

The controversial notification was issued bang in the middle of the MBA admission season and with the GDPI sessions of various b-schools having already started, it is sending admission processes haywire everywhere. B-school directors do not know whether to go ahead with the admissions or not. Strangely, though many b-schools are ganging up to file the legal suit, not many want to speak about it officially, fearing repercussions if the end-result does not go their way.

Suresh Ghai, Director, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai one of the few who was willing to stick his neck out, said that he does not know what course of action to take for his institute’s GDPI. “I have no idea what to do. Do I conduct the GDPI or does the state government body do it? There is just no clarity.”

A spokesman from another b-school said that the AICTE’s circular is as ambiguous as it is unfair.

“The circular does not state anything clearly. By saying that entrance exams such as CAT/MAT are allowed, is it saying that others are not allowed? If so, why use the word such as at all, just say it directly.”

PaGaLGuY had earlier spoken to Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur Director Fr E Abraham about the fact that the notification excluded XAT from its list of permitted b-school entrance exams. Fr Abraham had quoted an older AICTE decision passed in 2007, which said that ‘Admissions to MBA/PGDM (or equivalent) programmes, shall be through one of the five (5) All India Tests, namely – CAT (conducted by IIMs), JMET (conducted by IITs), MAT (conducted by AIMA), ATMA (conducted by AIMS) and XAT (conducted by XLRI). All institutions admitting students on all India basis will have to opt for one these All India Entrance Tests.’

Apparently, the case to include XAT is being reviewed by AICTE.

Dr Prabhat Kumar Sahoo, Director and Regional Officer of AICTE, Western Region justified the notification. “These changes have been initiated to clean up the system. There are b-schools charging just about anything they want as fees and also offering sub-standard education. It is high time these institutes fall in line and quality comes into the system. This is being done to benefit students. Anything upto Rs 2 lakhs is fair enough to charge as fees,” said Dr Sahoo.

However, it is this line of thought that has got the b-schools all worked up. Explains another Director of a b-school, “To punish those schools which are spoiling the system, why does every other b-school have to be put through this. Why can’t AICTE just tackle those b-schools which are slipping up on quality and let the rest of the schools do their own thing?”

The Director adds, “With paltry fees, one cannot attract good faculty and install qualitative systems and build up infrastructure in colleges.. The AICTE wants to regulate fees taken by b-schools when it does not regulate the fees taken by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). The IIMs are allowed to charge whatever they want and secure all the possible international partnerships, while other b-schools have to follow all rules.”

Coming to the immediate issue of GDPIs which have begun in many b-schools, Dr Sahoo said that the b-schools can approach their state government’s Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) or the equivalent body directly and sort out the ambiguity. When asked what a b-school like KJ Somaiya should do, Dr Sahoo replied, “Somaiya can go ahead with its GDPI. We have no issue with it. Only that the b-school has to discuss its fees and other issues with Maharashtra’s DTE. Once these are discussed, the GDPIs can go on as usual.”

More than anything, b-schools are irked with the timing of the notification since it asks for all the changes to be effective from the year 2011. The least that AICTE could have done is asked for these changes to be effective from next year so that the intervening months months could have been spent in discussion and analysing the notification. In the present context, if one were to take the notification at face value, this year’s XAT exam is not valid and the ongoing GDPIs of various other AICTE-affiliated schools stand null and void.

Business Standard , Ahmedabad

The Post-Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) by the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, has been ranked 13th in a list of 100 top B-schools in the world, says a business school ranking from the Financial Times of London.

According to the Global MBA Rankings 2011, released today, the Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) delivered by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) was placed 11th. This is the first time IIM-A has been included in the ranking.

ISB maintained a place in the top 20 list for the fourth year. In 2008, when the institute entered the global rankings, it was rated 20th, followed by 15th in 2009, and 12th last year. This year, ISB also recorded the highest percentage increase in salaries among all the 100 schools.

“ISB entered the global rankings in 2008. The consistent ranking reflects our commitment to provide a world-class experience to all stakeholders,” ISB Dean Ajit Rangnekar said.

Chairman Rajat Gupta said ISB was committed to grooming leadership and had established new paradigms for management education in India.

ISB, has been in existence for 10 years and pioneered the one-year management programme format in India, targeted at experienced professionals. The class strength grew from 126 in 2001 to 570 in 2011. In 2008, it became the youngest institution globally and the first Indian institution to be ranked among the top 20 global MBA programmes in the world. It is also the largest provider of executive education in India.

For IIM-A, an important component of being eligible for this ranking is that three batches of students should have passed out of a B-school to qualify for this particular ranking.

Shailesh Gandhi, professor and chairperson of the PGPX programme of IIM-A, said: “This ranking proves we are moving into the international league. ISB always had the advantage of a substantial international faculty component, which IIM-A has not had. Another important feature for the ranking is the substantial work experience of the students and this speaks highly of our batch profile. Most of the students of this batch are about 32-33 years and have an average work experience of 11 years. This comparative advantage that was garnered by the institute will simply add on the strength of its students work profile before they joined the PGPX programme.”

In September 2010, IIM-A had been ranked eighth for its two-year postgraduate programme in management (PGP) in the Financial Times Masters in Management 2010 ranking from among 71 programmes.

TNN , AHMEDABAD:

More foreign universities are flocking to the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to explore opportunities for academic collaboration in various areas. Most are looking for unprecedented deeper linkages with the business school.

Delegates from about 15 foreign universities like The University of Munster (Germany), Maastricht University (Netherlands), Queen's University ( Canada), Solvay Business School ( Belgium) are on campus at present. "There is a lot of interest from foreign universities this year and it is in more than one area. This is a new phenomenon as most are proposing a deeper association in terms of dual degrees, joint programm-es, faculty exchange, case writing and teaching besides the usual student exchange programmes. Dialogues have been initiated with first-time universities while there are some foreign universities that want to renew academic co-operation and strengthen ties this year," says Ishita Solanki, manager, global partnerships and corporate affairs, IIM-A.

In the 90s, IIM-A had collaborations with four foreign universities, which have grown to nearly 60 foreign university affiliations at present. IIM-A explored its first foreign collaboration with Harvard Business School, which allowed the institute to replace the traditional business school method of theory and practice with Harvard's case methodology.

"Not all foreign universities will have enough cash to set up campuses in India and IIM-A will be the first choice for those that want to enter the country through collaboration. The institute's positioning globally along with its education policies and the emerging economy of India has led to growing interest in foreign universities to associate with India," adds Solanki. IIM-A was the first Indian business school to be accredited by the European Quality Improvement System(Equis), an international accreditation body.

Hindustan Times, New Delhi

The Central Board of Secondary Education is ending its dependence on the Indian Institutes of Management to conduct its training programmes for school teachers and Principals, unhappy with a "lack of interest" shown by the IIMs. In a rare vote of no confidence in the country's premier B-schools, the CBSE has decided to turn to the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and the Management Development Institute (MDI) for future programmes.

Top government sources confirmed to HT that the move by the CBSE came after the country's largest school education Board concluded that the IIMs were not giving adequate priority to programmes for schools teachers and Principals.)

Officially, the move will be described – at least initially – as aimed at reducing the burden on the IIMs and a result of a massive demand from Principals and teachers, sources said. But CBSE sources confirmed that the Board is "very dissatisfied" with the IIMs.

"There was a palpable lack of interest and because of that, our candidates for the programmes were not benefiting the way they should have," a senior official said.

The IIFT, like the IIMs is a public institution and is based in Delhi. The MDI, in Gurgaon, is however a private B-school. The IIFT is organizing its first teacher training conference for the CBSE in Calcutta, sources said. The MDI conducted its first programme for the CBSE in October 2010 and just completed its second session earlier this month.

An IIM Director conceded that a CBSE move away from the IIMs could be embarrassing but argued that there was no lack of interest on their part. "Any such perception is possibly the result of some miscommunication," the Director said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We will discuss the matter with the CBSE," he added.

The CBSE has for the past three years sent batches of teachers and Principals to the IIMs for training ands leadership skills. The programmes – called 'Strategic Management and Leadership' programmes – are aimed at preparing school leaders for challenges they are likely to face in coming years.

TNN , LUCKNOW:

Management students from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow will now be able to walk away with dual management degrees from IIM-L and ESCP Europe, a European business school. A co-operation agreement, to this effect, was inked between the two business schools on January 12, 2011.

The dual degree programme will also debut at IIM Kolkata campus, with effect from the academic year 2011-13. Director, IIM-L, Devi Singh, said, "The dual degree programme has been available to students of IIM-L since 2003. The aim was to expose our students to the European business markets and job conditions. We have decided to extend this facility and alter a few clauses for everyone's benefit."

As part of the dual degree agreement, an exchange of students and faculty members from IIM-L and ESCP Europe in programmes at both academic institutions will also be undertaken.



The new edition of the dual degree programme, which will be offered to students from the academic session starting June 2011, will only be open to students of post graduate programme (PGP) in business management at IIM-L. For enrolling for the programme, students will be selected by an in-house panel of the two institutes. In addition, IIM-L and ESCP, Europe will also set up a joint interview panel, including at least one representative from each institution, who will award a mark to each applicant for an oral interview. Selected students will, however, not have to pay any additional fee for pursuing the dual degree.

Singh said, "About 4 or 5 students will be selected for the dual degree programme from IIM-L. We will be hosting the same number from ESCP Europe." Students, who meet the requirements set out for both the programmes will be awarded the IIM Lucknow PGP in Management degree and the ESCP Europe Master degree.

According to the prescribed curriculum of the dual degree programme, students who enrol will need to complete Semester I, from June to December 2011, at IIM-L. The period between January and May, 2012 will be spent at ESCP Europe, Paris campus, while students will have to attend internship programmes between June and August 2012. In the second year of the PGP programme, from September to December 2012, IIM-L students will continue their study at ESCP Europe, and return in the last semester, from January to March 2013, toIIM-L.

During their stints at ESCP Europe, management students will be assessed by the host institute "using the same measures as for regular local students." Performances of students enrolled in the dual degree programme will be monitored by a supervisory committee comprising permanent faculty from both institutes.

Apart from monitoring students accepted into the programme, the committee will also be responsible for pre-selecting students for participation in the programme and putting together the assessment panel for the Master's thesis.

The IIM-L and ESCP Europe dual degree programme agreement has been signed for a duration of 5 years.

New Delhi:

The first time that the Common Admission Test (CAT) went online, almost everything that could go wrong did. Those seeking admission to India’s top management schools had computers crashing on them, leaving them unable to complete the test and forcing the organisers to offer examinees another go at answering the paper.

But that inauspicious beginning in 2009 marked a watershed of sorts. From being a pencil-and-paper affair, testing in India is giving way to the computerized, online variety. By the time CAT 2010 rolled around, the experience was virtually glitch-free, proving it was an idea whose time had come as the gateway to the Indian tertiary education sector.

At least 100,000 students will give computer-based exams to seek a berth in leading engineering colleges in the coming academic session. That’s in addition to the more than 200,000 who apply for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) through CAT.

Others with online tests include Mumbai’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and a common one for law schools. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to take the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) online for about 100,000 aspirants, or a tenth of the total, with the rest giving their test offline. The exam, key to securing a berth in leading architecture and engineering schools such as the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), will eventually be fully computerized.

Geetam University of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat Technology University also have online admission tests. The Management Aptitude Test (MAT) conducted by the All Indian Management Association for entry into nearly 500 private business schools is available in both traditional and online versions.

Online tests offer a window during which they can be written—for instance, 20 days for CAT 2010 and three months for NMAT, the Narsee Monjee exam. This makes them less daunting for examinees.

“The computer adaptive exams are reducing stress and becoming a matter of convenience for applicants. Paper-pencil tests are generally one-day affairs. They don’t have the flexibility of you choosing the day, whereas online exams give you that advantage,” said Mohit Kataria, a young engineer in Pune, who wants to study management at one of the leading B-schools.

“The online exams are generally spread over (several) weeks and give you the freedom of choosing a convenient date during that window,” said Kataria, who has appeared for both CAT formats. “This helps in showing your true potential on your best day. Instead of aspirants reaching out to exams, it’s like exams are reaching out to aspirants.”

He also cites the convenience of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) as the exam can be given more than once in a year.

Computerization has also made the application process easier, said Sambit Mahapatra, a second-year student at International Management Institute (IMI), a private business school based in Greater Noida, near New Delhi.

“You can just download the form, fill it up and upload it rather than moving around from one place to another and standing in long queues,” he said. “I have read in newspapers that the IIMs are planning to allow students (to appear for CAT) more than once a year. If that happens it would be a great advantage,” said the student who got admission based on his CAT score in 2009.

The traditional testing method is on its way out, said Anand Sudershan, chief executive officer of Manipal Education Group, which selects students for the university it runs through computer-based exams.

G. Raghurama, director at BITS Pilani, agrees. “Eventually, the paper-pencil test will be redundant as the computer-based test is more transparent, hassle-free and scalable,” he said.

The increased penetration of computers and Internet access will speed up the acceptance of online testing, said Smarajit Dey, president, strategic initiatives, NIIT, which provided ground support for CAT 2009, conducted by Prometric Inc.—a US-headquartered firm that conducts tests.

While computer penetration in India is less than 10%, a study published by Intel Corp. and IMRB International in August 2010 said PC penetration in urban India has doubled in the last three years from 19% to 38%. According to official statistics, there are nearly 80 million Internet users.

Before the IIMs took CAT online, two leading institutes tried their hand at computer-based entrance exams—XLRI Jamshedpur and BITS Pilani—in 2002.

BITS first made the switch for some of their masters courses and a few years later, all admissions became computer-based. “As a technology institute we wanted to do something different and went for computer-based entrance from 2005,” said Raghurama. “There were 57,000 applicants and we conducted the exam in partnership with Eduquity Career Technologies Pvt. Ltd, an Indian test-assessment company headquartered in Bangalore. There were some apprehensions but we managed it well across 14 cities.”

Last year, more than 130,000 applied for BITS campuses in Rajasthan, Goa and Andhra Pradesh.

“In 2011, we expect to get more applicants, hence we’re taking it to 27 cities, six more than last year… over a 30-day window,” Raghurama added.

XLRI, a leading management institute, decided to take its entrance exam online across 20 cities to begin with, but the experience was not trouble-free.

“We suspended it midway as we faced some problems in a few centres,” said M. Shukla, the professor in charge of external relations at XLRI. “Since then we are back to our pen-paper test.”

The process involved sending CDs to each centre in order to synchronize the machines there with the central server.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack in the US, “some of our CDs containing exam materials were stuck in airports due to security issues and we decided to scrap it”, Shukla said. “The pen-paper test is going well with us but if you ask me whether we will shift to the new format, the answer will be yes.”

“Computer-based testing is the need of the hour and we will” switch back to it, he said. “Due to the convenience and the scalable model, it will outperform the traditional method.”

There were some genuine infrastructure issues at the start but “we have overcome this”, said R. Dhirendra, chief executive officer of Eduquity Careers.

The online method has to contend with three key challenges in India—paper leakage, impersonation and logistics, according to Sanjiv Kataria, an education consultant in Delhi. Once these are overcome, teaching staff can focus on their primary duties. “Instead of professors taking leave from teaching for administrative work, now they can hand over these tasks and non-teaching hassles to someone else,” Kataria said.

Two of the world’s biggest testing companies, Pearson Plc. and Prometric, are active in India with dedicated local branches. Pearson conducts NMAT and CLAT, the common law entrance exam.

Local firms include NIIT’s online test division, Merit Track, Everonne, Eduquity and AtTest, a unit of Aptech Ltd.

Dey of NIIT estimates the business to be worth not less than Rs800 crore and expected to double in the next three years.

Madan Padaki, co-founder and chief executive officer of Merit Track, said the company started operations in 2000 to capture the information technology (IT) boom in India.

“A report in 2000 said that the IT industry will employ one million people by 2010 and we thought there will be need for professional test conductors for at least 10 million applicants,” he said. Having established themselves in the IT recruitment process market, it entered the higher education space in 2007.

“Currently, 35% of our tests are online tests and we believe in three years it will be around 70%,” said Padaki. Merit Track, which has tested one crore people both in the online and offline formats, was also a partner of Prometric in CAT 2010. The company also conducts Gujarat Technological University’s common entrance test.

Aptech Ltd is carrying out half a million online tests every year for a number of distance education universities, said Ninad Karpe, chief executive officer.

“The higher education sector has understood that to scale up an exam without causing hassles either to students or to the faculties, they need to switch over to computer-based exams,” he said.

The IIMs, meanwhile, are thinking about setting up a company to conduct the online CAT as reported by Mint on 26 November. “We have formed a committee on this direction. This will take CAT to the international standard,” said Devi Singh, director IIM-Lucknow, who supervised CAT 2010 for the IIMs.

There are, however, infrastructure issues that need to be resolved. “To make online exams pervasive, we need to have high-speed Internet connections and larger computer penetration in smaller cities. Power backup is another area that needs to be taken care of,” said R. Dhirendra of Eduquity Career Technologies.

A survey carried out in March 2010 by Merit Track in association with some consultants said at least 75% of vice-chancellors believe that online exams are the future in tertiary education. “At least 50% of the universities surveyed felt that they will shift to a computer-based selection process within 12-36 months,” said the report, which surveyed 75 varsities and institutes in the country.

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kozhikode  has sprung a huge surprise in its admissions process for the 2011-2013 Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM) batch. Deviating from the past, this year the b-school has initiated a lengthier three-tier admission process. Of which the first stage has just concluded, in which the  b-school has sent call emails to everyone with an overall CAT 2010 percentile of just 75 in the general category and a minimum of 55 percentile each of the three sections — Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Data Interpretation. About 30,000 candidates — or over 14 percent of those who registered for CAT 2010 — have received this email so far. The cut-off for the OBC category is 65 percentile.

Candidates have been asked to register online in the first stage and fill in additional particulars about themselves, down to the details of their marks in every year of their graduation and post-graduation. The last day to register is January 21, 2011.

This email however comes with a disclaimer that “The registration at this stage does not guarantee an interview call”.

When asked, an official from the admissions department at IIM Kozhikode told PaGaLGuY that this was only the first stage and by the time the second shortlist was out, the number will be ten times lower. “The first stage is only the data collection stage. We initiated this process since the last year quite a few students told us that they had not filled in their academic scores with Prometric, which is why we could not contact them in the initial stage. After we collect this data, we will then decide the calls for the next stage,” said the official.

The official said that the changed admission process would continue to use merit as its basis.

However, the official added that there was a move to admit a ‘diverse’ batch. But the process will not favour a particular group (engineers, women, etc) over others. “We have a transparent process and like to admit on merit and not because anybody falls in a particular group,” he said.

This year, past academics, primarily class X and XII scores will also be given additional weightage. “If we are stressing on something, it is academics,” said the official.

During the second stage, an index score will be computed with 50% weight for the overall CAT score, 20% weight for academic performance in class X, 20% weight for class XII and 10% to graduation scores. The academic performance of secondary school as well as higher secondary school will be taken as the percentage of marks reported by the candidates and will be standardised across various boards of education and streams (arts, commerce, science) using the data available with IIM Kozhikode for four years including the current year. In each category, the top ranking candidates based on this index score will be called for the personal interview process. Those shortlisted will have to register once again.

The third stage of the process will be based on a composite score of various elements. About 30% weightage will be given to the index score arrived at on stage 2. For the extempore essay, the weightage will be 20% while the personal interview will carry 35%. 15% will be accorded for the profile of the candidate.

From an outer perspective, the move to call in 75 percentilers from CAT 2010 seems to have pacified thousands of CAT-takers who feel that they have lost out because of normalisation and psychometrics, the two closed-door processes used by IIMs while marking students. Candidates hope this move will take them at least a level closer to their dream of making it to an IIM.

DNA , Mumbai.

B schools have literally sprouted all over India in recent years and the options available have multiplied exponentially.

However, what management aspirants need to realise is that the bookish knowledge that is typically imparted can only take a management career so far.

In fact, chances are that it may not even get aspirants a basic campus recruitment interview.

With the post recession recovery process in full swing, corporates are in fast forward mode and no longer have the time to groom management interns the way they used to earlier.

They are clearly seeking people who understand the industry mindset, have a good grasp of the deliverables expected and can contribute right from day one itself.

This is why Mumbai’s leading B schools score over most of their counterparts across the country when it comes to providing a strong foundation for fast track management careers.

They facilitate the transformation from college studies to the corporate world and provide management aspirants with an edge.

Multiple benefits
Faculty members having vast industry experience ensure that the knowledge imparted is not just theoretical in nature, but also relevant and in tune with the current corporate scenario.

Their excellent infrastructure in terms of comfortable classrooms, libraries well stocked with reference materials, updated curriculum with real case studies, personality growth and soft skills development plus above all prime placements, make for a winning combination.

Flexible options
Similarly, while typical distance learning programs in India comprise a set of thick books delivered by mail, the lack of interaction and resulting inconvenience forces a substantial number of students either drop out of the course or give exams half-heartedly.

In comparison, Mumbai has B schools, which offer a variety of programs under the distance learning mode, using technology to make the process more student-friendly.

Even working management aspirants can get a comprehensive management education by attending weekend lectures either in person or virtually. Since the study topics and themes are in sync with the working environment, the scope for fresh entrants as well as existing employees is vast.

Corporate city
Dr Debashis Sanyal, Dean, NMIMS, points out that the first advantage of having a business school in Mumbai is that being a corporate city, there are plenty of industries and companies in and around it.

“We take our students for industrial visits so that they can have a good experience of the corporate world. Our B-School provides among the best faculty. We also invite experienced people from various industries at the CEO level for guest lectures to our management students. Being in Mumbai, they also get to see a lot of live projects.

"We also provide mentors from various industries in some of the courses. A number of NGOs are working for social development; our students also work and interact with them. Mumbai provides a wide range of facilities and it is a cosmopolitan city. In addition to our existing MBA and weekend Diploma programmes on Saturday, we also have management courses for family business. We have also introduced an innovative programme in 2011,” he shares.

Easy access
Prof. P L Arya, Director, N. L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies concurs.

“Mumbai is said to be one of the most corporate cities so management aspirants have greater access to a wide number of industries here. We provide regular industrial visits to our students so that they can gain a better experience, observation and actual feel of the corporate world. We also have courses for working executives who have started their career after graduation without completing MBA. Most of the B schools in Mumbai provide part time MBA programmes, which are based on industry requirements. Mumbai is a city where everything required for a management career is easily accessible,” he emphasises.

Natural anchor
Ranjan Sarkar, Head Corporate HR, CEAT Ltd., underlines that Mumbai, being the biggest business hub of the country, is a natural anchor to management education.

“However, for bigger infrastructure needs, today campuses are shifting to suburbs, satellite towns or B-class towns around Mumbai. Traditionally, we at CEAT have been recruiting from top tier colleges like IIMs, XLRI, MDI, etc., irrespective of the day status at the campus. But we also experienced that top 20% from tier 2 management schools, are also great talent. After all, management is not just about IQ but also EQ,” he says.

Entrepreneurial hub
Mumbai offers an environment that is conducive to entrepreneurial efforts. This has enabled many people to develop and grow their business, which in turns, opens up additional jobs and scope for aspirants.

Rishi Jain, Managing Director, Rajesh Metal Industries, explains, “Our business has moved from the traditional B2B approach to branding, product management, retail, merchandising, etc. This has necessitated recruiting management graduates. Mumbai B schools have provided an ideal platform for us to recruit because the students’ exposure and adaptability as well as go-to-market potential are much better.”

So be it fresh management graduates or existing managers looking to upgrade their skills, Mumbai is an established centre for education of the highest calibre. Its leading B schools adhere to enviable quality standards, benchmarking themselves on par with the best globally.

Business education , FT.com

What do William Hague, Hank Paulson and P. Chidambaram have in common?

Answer: they are all MBA graduates who have reached high public office (respectively British foreign secretary, former US treasury secretary and Indian home affairs minister).

There are plenty of management graduates in politics these days.

In Europe, the current Dutch finance minister, Jan Kees de Jager, is an MBA from Nyenrode (which also produced former prime minister Wim Kok). Jean-Louis Borloo, French minister for ecology and energy until last November and higher education minister Valérie Pécresse are graduates of HEC Paris. In the UK William Hague has an MBA from Insead and Cabinet office minister Oliver Letwin and former shadow home secretary David Davis both studied at London Business School. Harriett Baldwin, Tory MP for West Worcestershire, holds an MBA from McGill, in Canada.

The US has also seen several MBA politicians in recent years, including Mr Paulson, (Harvard Business School) former president George W Bush, (HBS) and former secretary of commerce Donald Evans, who has an MBA from McCombs.

 Elsewhere, others include the deputy prime minister of Singapore, Wong Kan Seng, (LBS) and the vice-president of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla, (Insead).

There are several competing explanations for the prominence of such politicians: from the need for greater professionalism in government, to the simple fact there are more business school graduates in circulation these days.

Not surprisingly, however, opinion is divided about their effectiveness in office. Depending on the point of view, MBA politicians either offer technocratic common sense, or are symptomatic of a creeping managerialism.

Rajeev Gowda, chair of the Centre for Public Policy at IIM-Bangalore, is in no doubt. He says India needs the skills and perspectives MBAs can offer. “As democracies mature, you need different types of people. You go from wanting people who can lead political agitations and write constitutions, to people who can manage a budget and improve the efficiency of programmes. That’s where an MBA training comes in useful.”

India’s raft of MBA politicians include Mr Chidambaram (HBS), the minister of social justice Mukul Wasnik (Nagpur), defence minister Mallipudi Raju Pallam Mangapati (Temple University, Philadelphia), commerce and industry minister Jyotiraditya Scindia (Stanford) and energy minister Jitin Prasada (IMI, Delhi). Sachin Pilot, a 31-year-old minister for communications and technology, studied for an MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Prof Gowda says Mr Prasada, Mr Scindia and Mr Pilot, represent a new guard in public life. “They are less ideological than previous leaders – the ideology today is growth and economic success. The question is how you move from a big government to a government that facilitates, where it is private enterprise that makes the big difference.”

Prof Gowda, a Wharton MBA politician, argues that modern governments need officials who are comfortable interacting with the business community – both to spur economic growth and to deliver social services that the government cannot provide on its own.

This is a theme echoed elsewhere by Kakha Shengelia, president of Caucasus University, Georgia, where several management graduates are in government. Vladimer Gurgenidze, former prime minister of Georgia for example, has an MBA from Gouizueta Business School, Emory University.

“In the old days, we were a Soviet Republic and there was no business education. It was all sciences and mathematics. Now, if you want to be president you need some business education.”

Mr Shengelia, a former deputy mayor of Tbilisi and an MBA from Hartford, credits business school-trained politicians for recent improvements in Georgia’s “business environment”, and in its railway services, for example.

Similarly, last year the Economist praised Mr Hague for bringing an “MBA’s wariness of passions and world views” to the Foreign Office, claiming he had imported a calm professionalism.

Not everyone is convinced that management graduates are as effective as advertised, however.

James Pfiffner, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, who studied George Bush’s performance as the US’s “First MBA President”, says the public tends to over-estimate the abilities of the private sector.

“Voters like to think that business people are efficient and that they can bring good practices to government. But they only think about the best run companies and the worst run agencies. They forget about the thousands of start-ups that go broke every year.”

And, there is no guarantee that management graduates will govern as their training might suggest. Prof Pfiffner argues that an MBA has limited usefulness for aspiring politicians.

“Analytical skills and being able to think clearly are important for politics. But things like accounting, marketing or finance are not going to be directly relevant. The types of things that politicians do need might be better gotten with things like history or even philosophy.”

. . .

But Maurits van Rooijen, rector at Nyenrode, says this misses the point about business school. An MBA is not simply standardised knowledge about various corporate functions he says, but – at its best – is a programme that encourages self-development and fosters leadership skills. It is therefore potentially useful for lots of occupations.

“What we don’t want is the classic MBA who is just capable at analysing data, and making decisions. We are trying to teach contextual intelligence. It’s not always precise data and facts that lead you to a certain solution. You have to develop a sensitivity which goes beyond facts and figures. That’s what you need in business as well as in politics,” he says.

Assessing politicians is subjective. But Prof van Rooijen says whether a politician is effective ultimately depends on the individual, rather than his or her training. “You can do an MBA by sitting behind a computer, acquiring knowledge. Or you can have an MBA that’s beyond the knowledge, where it’s about leadership. That’s what we try to be about.”

MBA Universe,

The CAT 2010 results are now out and the MBA aspirants now readying themselves for the next round of the admissions process. The next round, which is the GD, PI and Essay Writing, is going to be the most crucial as it will make or break your chances of gaining entry into a top B-school.

To help you prepare perfectly for these rounds MBAUniverse.com brings to you advice from Prof. Ajay Singh, Chairman MDP & Corporate Interaction Committee of IIM Lucknow (Noida Campus). Prof. Singh shared with MBAUniverse.com the ways for cracking the GD, PI round and what exactly do the IIMs look for in a candidate.

“First I want to tell you that we do not reject or accept a candidate during the interview round and the GD round. We just give marks, which are all added in the final marks for the candidate,” said Prof. Singh.

Talking specifically about the interview round Prof. Singh said, “During the interview we don’t give much attention to the subject knowledge. We mainly try to judge your personality. The overall personality is more important for us as after two years of your course we have to provide you placements at a good company. We have to give good candidates to the invited companies.”

“For the interview round you can never guess what will the faculty ask, so you should be well prepared for the interview. You should brush up your subject knowledge and read newspapers. You should be prepared to answer questions on your college books,” added Prof. Singh.

Stressing on the importance of body language he said, “During the interview your body language is important. You should not be too submissive or too aggressive. While describing about yourself you should describe your strengths.”

Prof. Singh also shared with MBAUniverse.com some important DOs and Don’ts for the GD round. “See, normally candidates think that if they talk too much they will look smart, but you will look negative after a certain point of time,” suggested Prof. Singh.

Some other important points to be followed during the GD round are as follows:

-- You should take care of the following positive points during the GD round: exhibit proper thinking, show that you are group person, give chance to others, don’t shout, don’t be aggressive, be polite.

-- If you feel nervousness, then you should not worry. IIMs don’t cut any marks for nervousness!

-- You might be very good in speaking English, but that will not count. The GD panel will look for your wisdom and your ability to think out of the box.

-- Another important point is that you should look perfectly natural. Your coaching institute may have taught you certain way of talking, but you should try to be natural.

Business Standard , Mumbai ,

Rating agency Crisil has launched its pioneering service, grading of educational institutions, beginning with the business school segment. Under this service, Crisil will provide an independent, robust and all round assessment of the ability of an institute to impart quality education and achieve desired student outcomes through the graded programmes. At the launch event, Crisil released grades for 24 management programmes, covering 20 institutes from Bhubaneshwar (1), Chennai (1), Coimbatore (1), Delhi (3), Gurgaon (1), Guwahati (1), Hyderabad (1), Mumbai and Navi Mumbai (5), Noida (1) and Pune (5).

"Greater transparency and availability of benchmarks in the education sector are key pillars in the agenda of human capital development in India. We spent a year in developing and testing our criteria and methodology for business school evaluation. Our process uses quantitative as well as qualitative assessment parameters. We are delighted that so far, 30 business schools across India have come forward to get their programmes evaluated," Roopa Kudva, managing director and CEO, Crisil.

Starting with the grading of programmes offered by business schools, Crisil will, over time, cover other categories of educational institutions. The grading is not a ranking exercise for management education programmes. It is an in-depth and interactive evaluation exercise which will classify management education programmes on an eight-point scale: from ‘A......’ to ‘B’.

"The rigorous assessment process followed by Crisil was an enriching experience. The assessment process was very comprehensive covering every aspect such as vision, mission, pedagogy, industry alignment, admission, assessments, industry interface, placement, extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. Many of Crisil’s observations have been factored in our development plans," added Prof Praveen Puri, director, Skyline Business School.

A comprehensive report on each graded programme with insights into student profile, faculty profile, curriculum, and best practices adopted by the institute, will be available free of charge online. This sharing of best practices and the benchmarking on a relative scale, will contribute, over time, to an improvement of overall quality standards in the sector.

The gradings will benefit several stakeholders. Students and parents can make better informed choices about business schools. Recruiters will be able to obtain a wealth of information on business school programmes which will enable their recruitment efforts to be more focused and better aligned with corporate objectives. The evaluation process will provide the institutes themselves with valuable feedback from an independent agency; they can use this feedback to set for themselves a quality improvement agenda.

India has a large number of business schools (almost 2,500). Crisil has, therefore, incorporated a unique feature - each programme is graded on a national scale (relative to other such programmes across India) and a state scale (relative to other such programmes in the same state). This is designed to provide practical decision making inputs to both students and recruiters, who may wish to study in or recruit from specific geographic areas, respectively.

TNN , LUCKNOW ,

If increasing numbers of female students at IIM Lucknow are anything to go by, women are all set to breach boardroom boundaries. In 2009-2011 batch, a total of 54 women enrolled for the two-year postgraduate diploma courses offered by the institute. In the current batch of 2010-12, the number has risen to 59.

Interestingly, the female students who joined IIM-L have also made some more unconventional choices; 14 of the 54 who joined the institute in 2009 opted for the two-year postgraduate programme in agri-business management (PGP-ABM). According to data made available by IIM-L, in the batch of 2009, 374 students enrolled into the two PG programmes. Of these, 345 students chose the postgraduate programme in business management (PGP-BM), while 29 signed up for the PGP-ABM programme. Fourteen of these 29 students are women.

If management programmes are considered as extensions of a graduation degree in commerce, students at IIM-L are calling this belief in question. In the two batches that enrolled in the prestigious institute in 2009 and 2010, a total of 329 and 350 students respectively, have engineering backgrounds; a whopping 87.96% and 84.54% of the total student intake. "Lopsided numbers are a reflection of the state of affairs in the graduate degree programmes. Engineering degrees offer a very focussed approach to cracking the Combined Aptitude Test that is often lacking in other graduation programmes. As a result, students from engineering college find it easier to make the cut in CAT as well. The gender imbalance prevalent in engineering colleges, similarly, reflects itself in the way IIM-L or any other premium business school is populated,'' said Bharat Bhasker, professor of Information Technology and Systems at IIM Lucknow.

The trend of engineering students topping the charts at IIM-L has, in fact, remained consistent over the years. According to the available admission data, while 32 students in the batch of 2009 were from the science stream, five were commerce students and eight from other academic streams. In 2010, the trend was repeated, with 52 enrolments of science students, nine from commerce and only three from other backgrounds. Public Relations and Media Relations Officer, Anuradha Manjul, said: "The entry of students into the PGP programmes depends entirely on the percentile of marks obtained. The institute has no preferences. Those who perform better in CAT, make the cut.''

The agri-business management programme, however, has a much higher percentage of women students. Though many believe the programme is "easier'' to get into because of lower cut-off marks in comparison to PGP-BM, a senior faculty at the institute said a student's intake also depends upon the previous degree she had acquired before taking the CAT. "Though these figures have not been analysed, a student of economics would easily take to an agri-business management course. However, there is no reason why women will take to it more than men,'' he said.

Press Trust Of India / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad,

Premier B-school Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) today said it has initiated the process of setting up a fund which shall provide support to research on emerging economies.

"We are planning to set up a research fund that will provide support not only to the IIM-A faculty but to faculty from anywhere who is working on emerging economy," Director IIM-A Dr Samir Barua said.

He was speaking at the 4th binneial IIM-A Conference on 'Marketing in Emerging Economies', which has emerged as a global platform over the last six years to disseminate research pertaining to marketing.

"Although, the fund size is not known, but it will be a substantially large fund as its objective is to provide support to research on emerging economies from all over the world," Piyush Kumar Sinha, a member of IIM-A conference co-ordination committee said.

"Faculty of any business school working on emerging economies can send their proposal to IIM-A and seek funding from institution once the fund is launched," he said.

"There is no fixed timeline for the launch of this fund, but we are expecting that it should be up and running very soon," Sinha said.

Every time I meet a batch of freshly minted management trainees, I am reminded of the two trainees who worked with me and who are my benchmarks for the best and worst I have come across.

One was a smart, confident, top-rated student from one of the Indian Institutes of Management whom we had wooed aggressively by offering among other things an attractive dollar-based package. The other was an arts graduate from a small town in India who had nothing to recommend him except a hunger to succeed and a willingness to learn and landed up in the department as a part of an internal rotation.

Within less than six months, the winner was evident. Young Mr. Nobody turned out to have lots of smart ideas which, coupled with his diligence and execution skills, made him a winner. Project leaders would fight to have him on their teams, citing a long list of reasons why they deserved or needed to have him. At the end of the year, his name was unanimously put up for promotion ahead of all the other more-qualified people around.

Conversely, Mr. MBA, with his have-arrived-in-life mindset, lacked the drive to succeed, looked for quick rather than effective solutions and whined a lot. To make matters worse, his know-it-all attitude rubbed people the wrong way and six months down the line, I was forced to call him in for a get-serious-and-pull-up-your-socks chat!

This is not an attempt to put down MBAs or any of the management schools. I think very highly of the IIMs (full disclosure: I graduated from IIM-Ahmedabad) and have worked with some wonderful managers they have produced. Their own vetting process means that during recruitment you are bound to find some really smart people. But that’s where it ends. Once recruited, management trainees irrespective of their educational pedigree are all at par. How you perform on the job is what determines your progress.

So MBAs from blue-blood colleges read on and make sure you don’t screw up the golden opportunity given to you by your alma mater. And to the others, even if you are not from a blue-blood college, read on to figure how you can make your mark and carve out a successful career.

1.   Have the right attitude.  Remember skills can be taught but attitude can’t. Despite everything that may have been crammed into you at business school, remember nobody expects you to be an expert at your job. So it’s OK if you don’t know how to calculate the value of an option using the Black-Scholes model or have forgotten the significance of Section 81 of the Companies Act. But what people do expect is that you approach a given task with sincerity, enthusiasm and passion. Show initiative, be resourceful and focus on finding a solution rather than giving up at the first sign of a problem.   People who are enthusiastic, raring to go and have a can-do attitude tend to win the confidence of their teams and are appreciated long after the task is done and forgotten.

2.   Be hungry to learn and use every opportunity you can to improve your knowledge not just about theoretical concepts but about practical applications and corporate life. Read, talk to your team mates and observe. Observe how people approach a project, deal with difficult questions, handle a tough client, manage teams and egos – there’s so much one can learn by just observing. Many people look for that one, big project which will make or break their careers but lose sight of the fact that small tasks and everyday work gives multiple opportunities to learn, to acquire new skills, and to gain something.

3.   Aim to excel in whatever you produce, even if it is a simple memo or a thank you note to a client. Do the tasks given to you diligently and never forget to review your work thoroughly before you submit it. I am amazed at the number of times I see memos which are not proof read and are full of silly mistakes, an unpardonable crime in today’s times of Microsoft Word and spell check. Remember, every task whether small or big is a reflection on you. However brilliant you may be, you are not helping yourself by leaving a bad impression. A simple rule to adopt is to imagine that work you are producing carries your name and will be read aloud by the chairman of the firm at the next town hall meeting. Harvard Business School Professor Emeritus Theodore Levitt, a monumental and iconoclastic figure in the field of marketing and former editor of the Harvard Business Review, was reported as preparing anywhere between 22 to 25 drafts every article he wrote before being published. Something for this generation to learn from.

In the end, it all boils down to choosing a career over a job. Sadly, most people go through their working life not realizing there is a world of difference between the two. Jobs are what you do to earn a living whereas a career is a long-term ambition or calling which helps you meet your goals. People doing a job will do the minimum required to do the task at hand (and avoid making the boss angry) while those focused on building a career go the extra mile to achieve the objective.

Many years back, we had this enthusiastic and highly competent trainee on our team. Unfortunately, he got on the wrong side of one of the team leaders and was let go in a round of downsizing. However, people he had worked with across the organization valued him highly and went out of their way to recommend him, which helped him get a better job within a few months.

In today’s fast-changing world nothing is a given – not the year-end bonus or the promotion or the job. But if you spend your time building your tangible and intangible resume, it will help drive your career and hold you in good stead in bad times.

DC , Chennai ,

Jan. 3: The Union HRD Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, will participate in the ceremony of laying the foundation stone for the setting up of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Tiruchy on Tuesday, January 4.

The premier business school is being established in the city under the auspices of the ministry of human resources development and as per the new policy decision of the government to establish premier institutes such as IIMs and IITs in tier 2 cities.

Around 200 acres of land within the Bharathidasan University campus in Mathur have already been earmarked for creating the necessary infrastructure for the upcoming IIM. An administrative office for the newly established IIM will also start functioning at the National Institute of Technology campus on a temporary basis and the studentintake for the IIM Tiruchy will commence from the ensuing academic year.

MBA Universe.Com

It is a fact that it is much easier for MBA aspirants who have work experience to gain entry into top B-schools. The admission figures of top B-schools  also indicates the same. The major pie of the MBA seats are taken by ‘with-work experience’ students.

The following are some examples: In the entering batch of 2009 at IIMA the students with work experience were 58%; at IIM Calcutta the entering batch had 62% students with work experience; at IIM Indore the students with work experience were double than the students with no experience.

The question arises if the work experience has assumed so much importance then why is it not made mandatory for MBA admissions by B-schools. To take the views on this from the members of India’s MBA education community, MBAUniverse.com raised the question: ‘Should work experience be made compulsory for gaining admission to Top 20 MBA programmes?’ in its Have Your Say section from Dec 15 to Dec 31, 2010.

The poll witnessed a huge response with 345 respondents participating, and the results are now out. A very high percentage, 59%, of the respondents to the poll are in favour of making work experience mandatory for MBA admissions, as they think that it will provide a level playing field to all the MBA aspirants. 41% of the respondents are not in favour.

“If the work experience is made mandatory all the MBA students will be treated on par by admission committee members and as well as recruiters, and there will be no divisions of ‘fresher’ and ‘experienced’ in the B-school campuses. Also if the work experience is made mandatory then the MBA aspirants will benefit in another way. They will save some earnings which they can spend while pursuing their MBA,” commented Ashwin Jain, a respondent.

Talking about the other side of the coin another respondent Ankita Singh has commented, “If the B-schools make work experience compulsory then there would be a lack of diversity in the classroom.”

This Week’s Poll
This week MBAUniverse.com raises the important question: “The recent AICTE guidelines for B-schools are in the interest of the MBA education community.” (Yes/No)

In a bid to rein in all B-schools under its umbrella and provide them with level playing field in the upcoming new academic year, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has released a set of ‘provisions’. The key provisions include: PGDM courses of not less than 2 years, admission to courses shall not start before 31 March of the academic year, and academic session shall normally be from June 1 to May 31 of succeeding year. The complete list of provisions touch upon the A to Z of a B-school’s functioning system, such as process for admissions, starting and ending time of academic session, duration of courses, fees, syllabus.

TNN , AHMEDABAD,

The Indian institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on Tuesday began an elective course in hospital management. With this, the premier business school in the city becomes the first among the nine IIMs in the country to offer an elective course in this special subject.

Talking about the course, IIM-A faculty KV Ramani, who is the instructor of the elective course, said, "As hospitals consume large amount of resources and depend on modern technology, they have become complex organisations. With the increasing cost of medical care, aging population and potentially declining levels of services, all of which threaten the quality of service delivered, hospital management has become very important. A poor quality of service not only wastes resources but it is also dangerous to the health and welfare of the patients and community at large. Hospitals administrators and managers, therefore, need certain amount of professional management inputs so as to manage hospitals effectively and efficientlyand community."

Talking about IIM-A's focus and experience in the area of health, Ramani said, "At IIM-A, we have been offering Management Development Programmes (MDPs) in the area of health since the last ten years."

CNBC-TV18,

IIM Ahmedabad, India's most sought-after B-school is turning 50 and the focus is now on going global, reports CNBC-TV18’s Sweta Sriram.

Over the past few days, 8,000-odd alumni who carry the IIM Ahmedabad stamp have been celebrating in different ways. Established in 1961, this is the second of the IIMs and while there are 10 institutes with that name today, and two more on the way, IIM Ahmedabad continues to enjoy the reputation of being the favourite of students and recruiters. So what's the secret?

Hasit Joshipura, MD, GSK Pharma, Alumnus and Board Member, IIM – A said, “They were able to get a quality of students which were very carefully screened and selected coupled with the pedagogy differentiated the output. Then the fact that these people have done well subsequently has cemented the equity of the institution.”

Even as it strives to maintain this brand equity in India, it is also looking to compete at an international level. Having made it to global lists of top B-schools issued by the Financial Times and the Economist, it is now pursuing international accreditations, and actively running foreign exchange programmes. Also on the agenda is an increased focus on research.

Samir Barua, Director, IIM-A said,  “We are choosing certain areas for the focus of writing and case writing efforts that we are going to put in. one area is going to be entrepreneurship we also have a centre for incubation innovation and entrepreneurship, and this is one area where we are going to focus our energies on.”

Rama Bijapurkar, Management Consultant Alumnus and Board Member, IIM-A added, “The next big step is to position the institution for a new world, a world that will have much greater competition. It is in helping to make sure that we don’t forget that we are a broad based institute of management not a narrow casted business school that we are about serving sections of society and not churning out polytechnic MBAs.  To ensure the heart of strategy is to focus on the customer and not the competitor.”

But the going will not be easy. IIM-A is fighting a shortage of faculty, and a shortage of funds and these are issues it is taking up with alumni.

Press Trust of India, New Delhi

More than half of fresh MBAs graduating from India's leading management schools in 2011 would like to work in the FMCG sector as it offers attractive growth prospects, according to a latest study by the Nielsen Company.

According to the Nielsen Campus Track–B School Survey, Google become the employer with the strongest image among the students ahead of Tata Administrative Services, Hindustan Unilever and Procter & Gamble. Last year's topper, McKinsey has moved to the fifth place this year.

The survey also said the students are also expecting better salaries up to an average of Rs. 16 lakh annually, which is higher by Rs. one lakh from last year.

The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is the choice for 54 per cent of 860 students graduating in 2011 from 30 of India's leading management institutes, including the various IIMs, the report said.

According to the survey the other areas that the students preferred after FMCG are management consulting, investment banks, oil and energy and foreign banks.

Oil and energy, diversified conglomerates and the automobile sector have entered the top ten, edging out financial institutions, entertainment and media and Indian banks which were previously on the top 10 list, it said.

The survey gauges students' perceptions of companies and their considerations as they evaluate prospective employers.

"A diversification of sectoral preference, coupled with a resurgence of sectors like management consulting and investment banking companies is symptomatic of greater optimism within the prospective talent pool," The Nielsen Company, Executive Director, Surekha Poddar said.

On the remuneration front, the survey said the average salary expected by students from their 'dream company' has increased by Rs. one lakh, to Rs. 16 lakh this year. The average salary expectation for overseas placements is Rs. 29 lakh.

"This year, the proportion of students expecting an offer of less than Rs. 10 lakh has seen a significant decline indicating stronger confidence in the economy and a more buoyant job market," Poddar said.

In terms of companies with the strongest image as an employer, the survey said "Google has moved up from the second position last year to emerge as the employer with the strongest image."

The IT giant is followed by Tata Administrative Services, Hindustan Unilever and Procter & Gamble. Last year's topper, McKinsey has moved to fifth place this year.

Factors like growth prospects, the degree of independence take marginal precedence over the salary offered while making a choice, the survey said.

Job content, market standing of the company and the perceived opportunity to learn from top talent are also critical dimensions for students evaluating future employers. It could be worrying for prospective employees, the survey said more than two third students plan to move out of their first job within four years.

Better career options, better position, and higher pay are the main reasons for moving out of the first job, the survey said.

The Economic Times , Hyderabad:

The Indian School of Business is expanding its network across the country’s booming entrepreneurial landscape.

The B-School will collaborate with other research institutes such as Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology , International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics and IIT’s to help commercialise their technology and innovations.

ISB will offer incubation facilities to off-campus entrepreneurs at its in-house incubation centre — Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development.

“These scientists are developing stacks of products and new IPs for years, but only 15%-20% of them see the light of day while the rest of the innovations are hidden diamonds,” said Dr Krishna Tanuku, executive director WCED, ISB.

The new initiative aims to translate more R&D ideas available in the pipeline for future entrepreneurial ventures. Besides providing a business model and supporting its ecosystem, the initiative will offer mentoring and connectivity for viable ventures.

“We have a vision to create an ecosystem like in the Silicon Valley in the US. Initially, the incubation facility was limited to only ISB graduates, but now we are moving up the value chain and going to offer these facilities to upcoming entrepreneurs outside the campus,” added Tanuku.

This is a trend first established at other premier business schools such as the IIMs at Ahmedabad and Bangalore.

The ISB has already helped its students to partner with international funding providers — the Soros Economic Development Fund, the Omidyar Network and Google — to create a fund called Song to finance small companies that have a positive socio-economic impact.

Sequoia Capital and Song Advisors recently invested $15million in K12 Techno Services, a school management company focused on providing affordable schooling in south India. Song’s other major investment has been in Eye Q Vision, a chain of low-cost eyecare hospitals in north India.

“We have produced over 200 entrepreneurs in the past nine years”, said Aruna Reddy, assistant director at WECD, ISB.

Last week, ISB conducted Propero, that provided a platform for alumni and students who have either started a venture or have ideated one to interact with investors for prospective fund raising. Around 20 investors reviewed the business plans of some 60 alumni who have turned entrepreneurs.

“We got our idea validated from investors who had come here,” said Sriram Krishnamoorthy, a former TCS employee who along with his ISB classmate Shruti Narayan incubated Wizda Solutions, which makes simulation games for

B-Schools and corporates.

“There is a need for more such initiatives at other B-schools and research institutes, as the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India is at a very nascent stage. More than financial support, there is a need for support from large companies to leverage the capabilities of the startups”, says Prof. S Bhagavatula of NSRCEL incubation cell at IIM-Bangalore.

Other firms incubated at ISB ranging from pre-schools to high-technology ventures have started bagging various projects. For instance Nurturing Nest a pre-school venture catering to all the developmental needs of a child. MoveInSync’s vision is to reduce the cost of transportation. Its products enable web and mobile service for ‘Sharing a Cab’ with a trusted co-passenger of your choice. It has over 500 registered users who are actively using the service to save money and fuel to commute.

Ventures such as Green India Building Systems and Services offers energy solutions to help buildings reduce costs, has received a few pilot orders from leading five star hotels in Mumbai. Another venture, Dhruvstar Infra Solutions, which provides tools to bring efficiency in the construction industry has bagged projects from a premier Andhra Pradesh Government Agency.

Mumbai,

In a first, publishing arm wants 15 case studies from two management institutes.

Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, will, for the first time, take 15 case studies from two Indian B-schools.

HBP publishes management content for academics, students, and professionals.

“For the first time HBP would be accepting Indian case studies and adding them to its existing collection of 8,500 cases. We will market these case and make them available in other parts of the world. Many are interested to know and learn what's happening in India,” Ray Carvey, Executive Vice President, Corporate Learning, told Business Standard.

While Carvey did not reveal which B-schools HBP is in talks with, sources said one of the B-schools is the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Management (IIM-B).

Confirming the development IIM Bangalore Director, Pankaj Chandra said, “This arrangement would allow us to disseminate our case studies to global B-schools. This reflects the quality of work happening in India.”

IIM-B would be signing an agreement with HBP in the next three months. HBP has reviewed around eight case studies done by IIM-B faculty members so far with few more to be reviewed shorlty.

IIM-B has been working with HBP for over past six months on refining the case studies done by its faculty members. “HBP’s editorial board suggested some changes in the case study which we have made in a few with few more to go,” said an IIM-B faculty member.

IIM Bangalore has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada-based Richard Ivey School of Business to co-brand its case studies.

HBP distributes these case studies to various B-schools it has academic relationships with. B-schools on the other hand are paid royalty on the published cases.

Case studies are widely used across B-schools to teach students how to assess business situations to facilitate decision making. During the course of any two-year management programme, students may use as many as 800 case studies.

A case study is a detailed account of any company, industry, or project over a given period of time. The content may include information ranging from company objectives, strategies, challenges, results, legal frameworks, recommendations, etc. Case studies may be brief or extensive, ranging from four pages to 30 pages or more.

HBP is also looking at strengthening its corporate learning programme in India.

HBP’s corporate learning programmes, Leadership Direct — virtual classroom and Harvard Managementor — online learning, are already in India with a growing customers base.

At present India contributes around 4 per cent to HBP’s total revenue and the company sees this growing up to 6 per cent in the next three years. Europe represents around 14-15 per cent of its revenues.

HBP says it is looking at developing more resources in the Indian subsidiary.

“India is an important opportunity for us and we value the leadership and management development opportunities here. We think we can have a real economic and intellectual impact in the countries we serve,” added Carvey.

HBP has more than doubled its corporate learning client base in the last one year. “Over all our business has grown 20 per cent and we can grow much faster but our emphasis is on quality than quantity. At present HBP serves around 30 companies,” said Carvey.

IIM Ahmedabad has become the first IIM in the country to launch its own Business Books series. The book launch ceremony was held on December 11, 2010 at the B-school campus as part of the inaugural day events of the IIMA Golden Jubilee Celebrations.

The books, published in association with Random House India, are written by IIMA faculty and cater to general Indian readers in the Indian business context. The books are based on facts, research and examples that are powerfully positioned with a clear Indian focus.

The four business books are: ‘Managers Who Make a Difference’ by T.V. Rao, ‘Business and Intellectual Property’ by Anurag K. Agarwal, ‘Strategies for Growth’ by Atanu Ghosh, and ‘The Persuasive Manager’ by M.M. Monippally.

With anecdotes and experiences of well-known managers in the industry, ‘Managers Who Make a Difference’ discusses the essential facets of management. It delves into how people skills can be developed and how competences in others can be identified and nurtured. It provides useful tips on how to create an effective team that adheres to existing systems.
 
‘Business and Intellectual Property’ explores the future of intellectual property in the era of a rapidly changing business environment. It explores contemporary business affairs and strategies in the context of national laws and trade agreements as well as patents, copyrights and trademarks. It discusses how some of the world’s biggest brands like Coke, MGM and 20th Century Fox manage disputes and protect themselves in this context.
 
‘Strategies for Growth’ offers interesting insights into how the avenues of growth can be explored in the Indian context. It draws in on the experiences and expansion strategies that are devised and applied by companies like Bharti Airtel, Amul and Infosys.
 
‘The Persuasive Manager’ argues compellingly that strategic communication lies at the core of business leadership. Using interesting examples from real life, the book helps managers to understand what lies at the crux of persuasion and how they can adapt their managerial strategy around this key theme to inspire trust and deliver excellence.
 
The IIM Ahmedabad Business Books endeavor to disseminate knowledge to executives and general readers across the different fields of management. With a wealth of information and contemporary Indian backdrop, the books from the faculty of IIM Ahmedabad are essential for students, professionals, managers and educators.
 

India Infoline News Service,

With a significant move upwards, TAS, the talent pipeline of the Tata group of companies, has emerged as the ‘Most Preferred Recruiter’ in the latest Nielsen Campus Track B-School Survey for class of 2011. Ranked 6th last year, this year, TAS, occupies the top position in the preference list of management graduates graduating in 2011 across the leading business schools of the country.

Adding to the achievement, the survey results ranked TAS among the top 2 in the list of companies ‘Considered for Application’ with 3 in every 5 students considering applying to TAS and ranked TAS among top 3 in the list of ‘Dream Recruiters’ with 1 in every 5 students considering TAS as their ‘Dream Recruiter’. The brand image of TAS was the strongest in, one of the most premier institute of the country, IIM-Ahmedabad, followed by FMS Delhi and IMT Ghaziabad.

TAS emerged ‘Best in Class’ amongst students basis employment dimensions like good growth prospects, cross functional mobility,  open and transparent culture, strong values, participative management, training/career development courses, opportunities to work with/learn from top talent and work life balance.

According to Satish Pradhan, Chief, Group Human Resources, Tata Sons, “We are extremely delighted with this achievement and aim to continue achieving new milestones year on year. TAS program is not only an entry programme into the Group’s talent pool but it also seeks to provide early opportunities to young managers to learn and develop. It underlines the commitment of Tata group towards promoting, encouraging and training future leaders of our country.”

The Nielsen Campus Track B-School Survey is an annual syndicated study conducted by The Nielsen Company, which collects and interprets information about perceptions regarding recruiters and preference for them, amongst final year graduating management students from the top management institutes in India.

The findings also provide companies an overall Image Ranking based on key parameters, the importance of these parameters and an Image Strength Character analysis. These inputs form the basis for arriving at the ‘goodwill’ enjoyed by individual companies. The Campus Track B-School Survey was conducted between October-November 2010 and interviewed over 500 students.

Team Edex , Chennai,

The first-ever survey on B-schools in South India is out and IIM-Kozhikode tops it. The edex-Centre for Management Education and Rese­arch (GHRDC) survey decided to go regional and ranked the top 50 management institutes in the South and the top 10 in Odisha.

The survey has reinforced the fact that IIM is the citadel of management education in the South, if not all-India, but it faces some tough competition from other government-run B-schools like Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Tiruchy (ranked # 2), and Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai (ranked # 5). BIM, in fact, has fared better than Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai, one of the most sought-after institutes for management aspirants.

Xavier Institute of Management and Business, Bhubaneswar, leads the pack in Odisha.

Around 200 B-schools were short-listed and invited to participate in the survey out of which 74 (62 in south India and 12 in Odisha) responded. The B-schools were rated on parameters like infrastructure, pedagogy quality, qualifications of teachers, research facilities, industry interface, publications, admission process, course curriculum, placement record, involvement in social projects, collaboration with the national and foreign universities etc.

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times,

Proposing business models to provide education to the underprivileged in the country is not what we would expect from management students. But, on Saturday, students from IIM, XLRI and FMS did exactly that at the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University. More than 45 teams from 15
colleges entered the annual competition, Uththaan 2010 that aims to address social issues and suggest pragmatic solutions to them.

This year, the competition was based on the movie, I Am Kalam, by the Smile Foundation.

"Students were shown the trailer of the movie and were asked to identify issues and suggest models to solve those problems," said Samia Naqvi, member, Vihaan, the college's Social Service Cell.

The model presented by XLRI School of Business and Human Relations, Jamshedpur, was adjudged the best.

DNA , Ahmedabad,

The good news is that two B-schools from India - IIM-B and IIMA — have made it to the list of top 100 business schools in the world.

The bad news, however, for IIMA is that IIM-Bangalore has obtained 24th rank in the list, far ahead of the Ahmedabad institute’s 52nd rank.

This is according to a survey conducted by French consulting firm, SMBG. This was a worldwide survey of ‘Universal Business Schools with major international influence’, known as ‘Eduniversal Worldwide Business Schools Ranking 2010’.

Both the IIMs have been awarded ‘5 Palms’, the highest recognition accorded to ‘Universal Business Schools with major international influence’.

The Eduniversal Palms indicate the level of international reputation an academic institution has. Both the institutes have been in the top 100 list for the past three years.

The ranking uses a comprehensive methodology that takes into account all the aspects of a business school’s influence on three different levels — international recognition through accreditations; memberships; international, regional and local rankings; international awareness through votes of the 1,000 deans, and suggestions from members of the international scientific committee appointed by Eduniversal.

IIMA is the first B-school to have been ranked eighth for its two-year post-graduate programme (PGP) among the top 10 on the list in the survey conducted by Financial Times Master in Management 2010 ranking from among 71 programmes which participated in the ranking process.

Press Trust of India, Bangalore,

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B) has been ranked 24th while IIM-Ahmedabad ranked 55th in a worldwide survey of 'Universal Business Schools with major international influence'.

The results of the annual survey 'Eduniversal Worldwide Business Schools Ranking 2010' conducted by French consulting firm SMBG amongst deans of 1000 business schools were officially announced in Prague at the third Eduniversal world convention, IIM-B said in a statement.

"This is the third consecutive annual recognition of IIM-B as the number one business school in India," it said.

The institute has been awarded '5 Palmes', given to the top 100 business schools. The ranking positions IIM-B in the top 25 amongst 100 best business schools worldwide. Notably, only two Indian B-Schools feature in the Top 100.

"The ranking by Eduniversal positions IIM-B in the first quartile of the 100 best business schools worldwide. This acknowledgment from an independent international firm consolidates our status as a leading international management school," Professor Pankaj Chandra, Director (IIM-B) said.

"Over the past year we have made significant enhancements to faculties, curriculum and infrastructure. We have obtained EQUIS accreditation and are taking steps to further diversify our courses so that we continue to remain the business school preferred by post-graduate and doctoral students throughout the Asian region," he said.

The ranking uses a comprehensive methodology that takes into account all the aspects of a business schools' influence on three different levels: international recognition through accreditations, memberships and international, regional and local rankings; international awareness through votes of the 1,000 deans and suggestions from members of the international scientific committee appointed by Eduniversal.

CHANDREYEE CHATTERJEE ,

Ambition took Arunavaa D. Bajpayi to Harvard. His father’s dream has brought him back to a small town in Burdwan, leaving behind a lucrative career in New York.

“My father wanted me to do something for the people of my village in Kalna. So here I am,” said 38-year-old Arunavaa, who gave up a high-paying strategy consultant’s job to tread the path paved by his role model in micro finance — Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh.

His first home project? A micro private equity company based in Calcutta. His first client? Handloom Cluster, a Kalna-based co-operative that employs over 1,500 people.

“My immediate goal is to help Handloom Cluster go global and also create a marketing strategy for vegetable-colour products,” Arunavaa told Metro.

Arunavaa’s decision to return to Kalna had as much to do with Yunus winning the peace Nobel in 2006 as with the dream nurtured by his schoolteacher father Dhirendranath Bajpayi. “Yunus first caught my attention when he won the Nobel. Then I saw his interview on television and I instantly knew what I wanted to do in future,” he recalled.

Since returning to Kalna, Arunavaa has been busy giving shape to the company he jointly owns with friends Harpreet Singh and Robert Rubinstein. The friends have so far raised $28 million from North American investors, most of it to be spent on buying undervalued companies.

But is it possible to set up such a cutting-edge business by being based in Kalna rather than Kentucky?

“We will operate from Calcutta (Ballygunge New Market) and offices in Mumbai and Noida, which we plan to open next year along with branches in Manhattan and Toronto,” said Arunavaa, who moves around town on a motorbike borrowed from one of the members of the Kalna Chamber of Commerce.

Corpdyne Consulting Services LLP will deal primarily with companies that cannot afford top consultants.

“This part of our operations will help organisations develop strategies, innovate and achieve optimum organisational efficiency. Most private equity companies work with businesses valued at Rs 200-Rs 400 crore. Our company is going to deal with businesses valued between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 crore,” explained Arunavaa.

Corpdyne will also offer primary and secondary market research for domestic and North American companies wanting to invest in India as well as Indian businesses wanting to invest in North America. The company’s third objective is to buy undervalued companies.

The team of consultants includes Chandril Ray, a graduate from IIM Ahmedabad, and two recruits from IIM Calcutta. Arunavaa also intends hiring two analysts and a full-time associate. Some of his professors from Harvard University would be on the advisory board, he said.

So does he have a Plan B just in case something goes wrong? “With the experience I have, I can always go back to working. But I do want to succeed on my own and also fulfil my father’s dream,” said Arunavaa, who studied at Ambika MM High School in Kalna and graduated in rural technology and management from Burdwan University before relocating to Toronto to start Eton Technologies with friend Louis Brum.

The Hindu Business Line, Hyderabad,

The Indian School of Business (ISB) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University, US, to support the setting up of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the upcoming ISB campus in Mohali, Punjab.

The MoU was signed by Ajit Rangnekar, Dean, ISB and Stephen W. Bosworth, Dean, The Fletcher School in the presence of Mr Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal – Vice-Chairman & MD, Bharti Enterprises, and Ms Savita Mahajan, Chief Executive, Mohali Campus and Deputy Dean, ISB.

Areas of collaboration

The collaboration between the two schools is envisaged to cover the following areas: Faculty exchange opportunities, curriculum development, research and teaching support in areas such as trade policy, energy & natural resource policy, environment and security policy;

Joint research projects, and development of educational material relevant to India.

The foundation stone for the ISB campus in Mohali was laid on August 11, 2010. The first academic session for the Post-Graduate Programme in Management in Mohali is scheduled to commence in April 2012, with an initial intake of 210 students, according to a press release from the ISB.

Business Analytics,

With information being transmitted across organisations in split seconds,the need for business analytics has become imperative to make crucial business decisions. Radhika Ramaswamy finds out more about this emerging field

We live in an era of information. Today, every organisation across the world thrives on its single-most crucial asset called 'data' . What is intriguing is that a huge volume of data is collected across organisations from various sources in zillion different forms, at just the blink of an eye. The ability to mine this data, and use the right set of statistical and quantitative tools to analyse it, is imperative for the success of any business . It is here that business analytics comes into focus.

Business analytics refers to the investigation and analysis of past business performances in order to gain insights and devise business plans for the growth of a company.

Origin and growth

Ramesh Kumar, senior vice-president , Symphony Services, an international company (with its branches in Bangalore, Pune, etc) that specialises in business analytics, points out that though the term business intelligence came into existence in the early 90's , the science of
it has been in existence from the days of mathematics. He says, "Business intelligence involves collecting data, researching and summarising it to derive meaningful information to make decisions. The advancement of this science by using mathematical models and simulations, given different conditions and changes, was the next step, which came to be called 'analytics' , a term that was coined in the 90s."

Prahalad Venkateshan, a professor from the production and quantitative methods department, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad (IIMA), informs that business analytics encompasses the effective usage of quantitative tools, techniques and personnel in order to reduce cost, gain market share, improve production, etc. "It is a structured method adopted by organisations to make more profit," says Venkateshan.

Industry relevance

The key consumer of analytics is the business user, a person whose job is not directly related to analytics per-se (eg a merchandiser, marketer, salesperson), but who typically must use analytical tools to improve the results of a business process.

Business analytics can be applied to all key areas of a business including financial management , customer relationship management, consumer behaviour, supply chain, marketing, etc. Kamlesh Sajnani, managing director, IMS Learning Resources Private Ltd, an MBA coaching centre, says, "Business analytics makes extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive modelling and fact-based management to drive decision-making . Analytics can answer key questions like why is this happening, what if
these trends continue, what will happen next (predict), what is the best that can happen (optimise)."

Analytical applications

In large organisations, analytics has replaced intuition as the best way to answer questions about what markets to pursue, how to project price offerings and how to identify areas wherein operations can be made more efficient in response to cost and environmental constraints. "To do this, companies are using effective toolsets, governance and management practices. They are setting up centres of competence where their best and brightest analytics teams constantly innovate around a single view of the business," elaborates Sajnani. Kumar adds, "In finance, we see people look at past and present performance of stocks to decide on how and where to invest.

In telecom, companies are finding out consumers' usage patterns to decide the most attractive tariffs. In retail, the purchase patterns among various income groups are being analysed to be able to target products better, among other things." Depending on the field of choice and nature of analysis, a business analyst can be paid anywhere between Rs 3 lakhs and Rs 10 lakhs per annum. Nitin Godawat, chief operating officer, DeciDyn Systems, a Bangalore based business analytics company , believes that the field is still at its nascent stage in Indian corporations and most analytics companies in India offer services for several USbased companies. "However, large corporates like ICICI, HDFC, Vodafone, Reliance Retail, among others, have now set up in-house analytics team and several other organisations are realising the need to have analysts in the company," he says.

As of now, there are over 5,000 professionals in this field in India. With the country supplying business analytics capabilities to huge MNCs, the scope for a professional in this field is phenomenal.

Course watch

A degree in statistics and mathematics followed by an MBA is an ideal qualification for aspiring business analysts. Although there are no fulltime programmes in business analytics, it is being integrated into the MBA curriculum across several B-schools . At the Indian Institute of Managements (IIM) and several other Bschools , business data analysis and business intelligence is interspersed in the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) curriculum. IIM Ahmedabad has statistics, decision making and operations management as part of its PGPM course. That apart, advanced statistics and data analysis are part of its management development programme.

IIM Kozhikode offers a certificate programme. Asim K Pal, professor, management information system, IIM Calcutta says, "Data collection, data mining and data warehousing are important business functions. Analysing this data through several business intelligence softwares to
find out the patterns in data is another vital task. Keeping this in mind, we have introduced subjects like business intelligence tools and techniques and business data mining and marketing data analysis for our postgraduate diploma programmes. We also have a course in data analysis and intelligent business for our executive management programme." Many B-schools train their students in SAS and SPSS (leading softwares in statistics and analytics) as part of their curriculum. The MBA programme in NIT Trichy has eight electives in business analytics.

Byju Ravindran, a CAT trainer says, "Since business analytics is integral to every industry, it cannot be taught in isolation. Few institutions such as International Institute of Business Analysis and International Institute of Learning, both in the US, provide certificate programmes in business analytics for both freshers and working professionals."

Skills speak

A good analytical and logical mindset, high level of quantitative and statistical knowledge and an understanding of business processes and outcomes are the key skill sets required in this field. Being a technology dependent field, knowledge of softwares like SAS, VBA and SPSS and proficiency in programming languages is helpful. A good mathematical foundation is imperative in this field.

Director IIM-A Prof Samir Barua, Chairperson placement Prof Saral Mukherjee, along with students apprised the recruiters about various initiatives taken by the institute in the past to streamline the placement process.

"Through this effort, we intend to make IIM-Ahmedabad and its students known to recruiters in Singapore, so that some of them could meet their talent needs at the institute," Recruitment Secretary at IIM-A Movin Jain said.

"We are pleased to listen to the recruiters at this international stage, and shall ensure that their feedback and suggestions are incorporated into our processes," Jain said. Given the increasing interest in emerging economies and the vibrancy of Singapore economy, it is a destination of top choice amongst the IIM Ahmedabad students.

"Singapore has clocked an impressive 18.1 per cent GDP growth in the first half of 2010, outperforming the likes of Brazil, India and China, and therefore is a big hit amongst the B-school students," an IIM-A official said.

"IIM-A has continuously been innovating and reforming its practices, and through this global platform of engagement, we aim to take that process to a new height," Jain said.The institute has taken slew of initiatives to streamline placement process here including adoption of the cohort based system rather than day system.

It has introduced a alumni section of the institute’s placement portal, talent Bouquet, which provide recruiters’ access to not only current students at the institute, but also to alumni.

The conclave held in Singapore was attended by several global companies such as DBS, Nomura, Temasek and Olam International, a statement by IIM-A said.

Average international salary offered to graduates of IIM-A in the last recruitment held in March this year was USD 1,10,750, up from USD 83,000 the year before.

By Staff Reporter,      

he Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) has been awarded '5 Palmes', the highest recognition under the evaluation, accorded to "Universal Business Schools with major international influence", in the Eduniversal Worldwide Business Schools Ranking 2010, carried out by the French consulting firm SMBG. IIMB has been recognized as the # 1 Business School in India for the third consecutive year.
 
The award of 5 Palmes is given to the top 100 business schools. The ranking positions IIMB amongst the top 25 amongst the 100 best business schools worldwide. Notably, the Deans of the 1000 Best Business Schools from 153 countries have voted for IIMB with a recommendation rate of 451 per thousand (395 in year 2009), followed in the India country ranking by IIM Ahmedabad at 377 (345 in year 2009).
 
From December 2009 to March 2010, each Dean or Director of the 1,000 best academic institutions was asked to participate in the survey - The 2010 Deans' Vote, concerning the Business Schools of the Eduniversal Official Selection in 153 countries. Country by country, Deans were asked a simple question: "Which business school(s) would you recommend to anyone wishing to study in this country?" The results of the annual survey conducted with 1000 Deans of the Business Schools from Eduniversal Official Selection were officially announced in Prague, Czech Republic on October 28, 2010 at the 3rd Eduniversal World Convention.
 
"The ranking by Eduniversal positions IIMB amongst the first quartile of the 100 best business schools worldwide. This acknowledgement from an independent international firm consolidates our status as a leading international management school," says Professor Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIMB. "Over the past year we have made significant enhancements to faculties, curriculum and infrastructure. We have obtained EQUIS accreditation and are taking steps to further diversify our courses and offerings so that we continue to remain the business school preferred by post-graduate and doctoral students throughout the Asian region."
 
The Eduniversal ranking uses a comprehensive methodology that takes into account all the aspects of a business schools' influence on three different levels: International recognition through accreditations, memberships and international, regional and local rankings. International awareness through the votes of the 1,000 deans The suggestions from the members of the International Scientific Committee appointed by Eduniversal. The process of the Eduniversal Official Selection involves a global mapping system meeting the criteria of universality and the international reputation of each academic institution. The purpose of the 'Palmes' is to compare objectively a school of a given country or continent to another one.
 
Eduniversal's mission is to create the first online orientation and recruitment tool dedicated to students, HR departments and the representatives of the academic spheres. The process helps to promote students' mobility all over the world and give better visibility to the best Business Schools from more than 153 countries, inhabited by more than 97% of the world's population.

ET Bureau , Ahmedabad,

AHMEDABAD: Call it image-building or a hard-core marketing strategy. For the first time in its history, the country's top B-school, the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad ( IIM-A ), has decided to step out of the campus and go overseas for wooing recruiters. The B-school which is celebrating its golden jubilee later this month will be orgainising a recruiters' conclave in Singapore on December 6.

After becoming the first B-School in the country to change the placement system from day-based to a Cohort-based process giving prominence to roles over salaries, experts say, the latest move by IIM-A is an attempt to take placements to the next level in a globalised world.

The conclave aims to bring together over 60 global firms who either have headquarters in the state-city or have operations there. Through the event, the institute in not only trying to hard-sell its talent pool to global recruiters but is also aiming at lucrative opportunities for its students.

The island-state that has clocked an impressive 18.1% GDP growth in the first half of 2010, outperforming the likes of China, India and Brazil is thus a big draw. That's not all. This year, Singapore's currency has already gained about 8% against the US dollar and the International Monetary Fund estimates that the island's 15% forecast growth rate this year would be the fastest in the world after Qatar.

No wonder top B-schools like IIM-A are going all out to lure recruiters from the world's hottest economy. "Till now, recruiters have always discovered IIM-A. We have never projected ourselves to recruiters. However, now we want to change this scenario," says Professor Saral Mukherjee, chairperson of IIM-A placement committee that handles students' placements at the institute.

"Many recruiters like DBS, Temasek and Olam International have ocassionally hired students from IIM-A. Through this conclave, we want to make some of them regular visitors at our campus. We also be looking at other potential firms who could visit our campus," Mr Mukherjee told ET.

"Secondly , through this conclave we also want to understand their needs and listen to their concerns about hiring from India, if they have any," said MrMukherjee adding that a number of finance, marketing, logistic and supply chain firms and logistic companies having their headquarters or regional offices in Singapore will be participating in the event.

"We expect more than 60 companies in the conclave. Many of them will be potential recruiters, who have never come to IIM-A or even India for recruitment . We will be projecting India, IIMs and IIM-A," Mr Mukherjee added.

IIM-A already has a strong presence in Singapore. Thanks to a deal with French B-School Essec about five years ago, IIM-A conducts management and research programmes in Singapore. IIM-A also has a strong alumni-base in Singapore and a day before the conclave, it will be organising an alumni meet as well.

India Education Diary, Bangalore:

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) has been awarded '5 Palmes', the highest recognition under the evaluation, accorded to "Universal Business Schools with major international influence", in the Eduniversal Worldwide Business Schools Ranking 2010, carried out by the French consulting firm SMBG. IIMB has been recognized as the # 1 Business School in India for the third consecutive year.
 
The award of 5 Palmes is given to the top 100 business schools. The ranking positions IIMB amongst the top 25 amongst the 100 best business schools worldwide.
 
Notably, the Deans of the 1000 Best Business Schools from 153 countries have voted for IIMB with a recommendation rate of 451 per thousand (395 in year 2009), followed in the India country ranking by IIM Ahmedabad at 377 (345 in year 2009).
 
From December 2009 to March 2010, each Dean or Director of the 1,000 best academic institutions was asked to participate in the survey - The 2010 Deans' Vote, concerning the Business Schools of the Eduniversal Official Selection in 153 countries. Country by country, Deans were asked a simple question: "Which business school(s) would you recommend to anyone wishing to study in this country?"
 
The results of the annual survey conducted with 1000 Deans of the Business Schools from Eduniversal Official Selection were officially announced in Prague, Czech Republic on October 28, 2010 at the 3rd Eduniversal World Convention.
 
"The ranking by Eduniversal positions IIMB amongst the first quartile of the 100 best business schools worldwide. This acknowledgement from an independent international firm consolidates our status as a leading international management school," says Professor Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIMB. "Over the past year we have made significant enhancements to faculties, curriculum and infrastructure. We have obtained EQUIS accreditation and are taking steps to further diversify our courses and offerings so that we continue to remain the business school preferred by post-graduate and doctoral students throughout the Asian region."
 
The Eduniversal ranking uses a comprehensive methodology that takes into account all the aspects of a business schools' influence on three different levels:
International recognition through accreditations, memberships and international, regional and local rankings
International awareness through the votes of the 1,000 deans
The suggestions from the members of the International Scientific Committee appointed by Eduniversal
 
The process of the Eduniversal Official Selection involves a global mapping system meeting the criteria of universality and the international reputation of each academic institution. The purpose of the 'Palmes' is to compare objectively a school of a given country or continent to another one.
 
Eduniversal's mission is to create the first online orientation and recruitment tool dedicated to students, HR departments and the representatives of the academic spheres. The process helps to promote students' mobility all over the world and give better visibility to the best Business Schools from more than 153 countries, inhabited by more than 97% of the world's population.

Indian Institute of Management,

Kozhikode has taken a unique initiative of setting up a museum on ‘Indian Business History’. This museum will accommodate business related historical artifacts, objects, sculptures, models, photographs, documents, illustrations, etc.

IIM-K has requested around 100 CEOs and leaders of major business houses including Tata, Ambani, Birla, for their contribution to this museum. Most of them are expected to contribute to the museum.

The B-school has planned to acquire an original letter written by Late JRD Tata that had a significant impact on India’s business history to feature for the museum. IIM-K will showcase such artifacts with professional expertise in their world class library premises.

The sole objective behind the museum is to inspire the aspiring business entrepreneurs in the country and show them the path to success through innovative ideas, diligence and perseverance.

Speaking on the initiative, Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM-K said,  “It is our endeavor to consolidate and conserve the rare treasures of India’s invaluable wealth, the memorabilia of Indian business history for our prosperity."

The B-school will formally open the museum on its Foundation Day in 2011.

The summer placement process of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta ended on November 15, securing summer internships for 353 students from a batch of 362. In the five-day long process spread across three slots, there were 125 companies that participated. 215 students were placed in Slot 0 itself.

 The batch of 2010-12 has 68% students with prior work experience, compared to 63% last year. The average work experience of the batch is 20 months. The batch has a total of 91% engineers.

* The institute was asked to provide this information, but the placement committee maintained that it did not keep a record of the number of offers.


Finance

A $6 billion hedge fund visited campus. The institute claims that this is the second time that a hedge fund has visited an Indian b-school. JP Morgan has offered one student an internship at the Chief Investment Officer’s desk.

RBS, which was one of the companies of Slot 0, made the maximum number of offers (15). UBS made 12 offers. Other major recruiters included Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Nomura, Bank of America, Merril Lynch, Morgan Stanley, JPMC, HSBC (Global), Citigroup and French investment bank BNP Paribas. First time recruiters included Macquarie Securities.

Investment banks Elara Capital and Equirus Capital, private equity firms Jacob Ballas Capital, M-cap fund advisers Clearwater Capital and Walden International also hired from the campus on the first day. Houlihan Smith, a specialized investment bank, recruited exclusively from IIM Calcutta, said the institute.

Consulting

20% of the batch has been placed in consulting firms. McKinsey & Co, Bain & Co and AT Kearney were among the top recruiters. Accenture was the highest recruiter (8 offers), with Feedback Ventures, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Frost & Sullivan also hiring students for consulting profiles.

Marketing & General Management

28% of the batch has been placed in marketing firms and 8% in general management profiles. Regular FMCG recruiters — Hindustan Unilever, P&G, Nokia, Diageo and ITC were back on campus. ITC made 8 offers becoming the largest FMCG recruiter followed by P&G that made 6 offers. Other major FMCG recruiters who participated in the process are Coke, Pepsi, Airtel, Kraft, GSK and Marico. Tata Administrative Services (TAS), Aditya Birla Group, Mahindra & Mahindra and RPG group offered general management roles.

International Offers

Over 75 students will be interning in international locations, an increase of 20% over the last year. Internship locations offered include New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Dubai, Vietnam and South Africa.

Law firm L&S hired students to work on strategy. This was the first time such a profile was offered at IIM Calcutta. CRY recruited for the social sector.

Slot-based process vs IIM Ahmedabad’s Cohort-based process

IIM Calcutta, though is in close contact with IIM Ahmedabad and watching how the Cohort-based placement system is working for the latter, continues with the slot-based placement system.

The placement committee chairperson of IIM Calcutta, professor Amit Dhiman told PaGaLGuY, “Both the systems have their advantages and disadvantages. Though we know how the Cohort-based system works, IIM Calcutta for now does not have plans of adopting it. We are reviewing our process, but for the upcoming final placement season we will continue with the regular process.”

Sharing some of the comments that recruiters have made to him, Prof Dhiman said, “Where the cohort-based process gives a lot of time to the students and recruiters to make their choice, it might also lead to job losses. In the long term, the companies might reduce the number of offers they give. Some recruiters have also shared their confusion about how the cohorts and clusters are formed.”

He adds, “I personally feel, the process become time-consuming and students stay distracted from their academic routine for a long time. The pressure on one hand in said to reduce on the students, but I feel, it might also add to the anxiety of the students, if they have to wait till the last cohort.”

IndianExpress, Ahmedabad:

With their futures secured by the 'mere' dint of bagging admission into a top Indian B-school, some IIM-Ahmedabad students are turning into caped crusaders.

OK, the part about 'caped' is exaggerated, but they are certainly serious about making this avowedly 'honest' country practice what it preaches.

An honest day's work, creating good money from the sweat of their brows, is what these IIM-Ahmedabad students crave, but what riles them is the fact that innumerable people in the highest echelons of power, politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen, conspire to generate black money through corrupt deals, which in turn deprives millions of honest Indian citizens of what is rightfully theirs.

While the likes of Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata (chief of Rs 320,000 crore salt-to-software group) and others corporate wizards may spout inanities about corruption depriving them of business opportunities, these students, with a total turnover (assumption: broke) of a few quid, presumably borrowed, have actually started working on creating a system that would nip such evil eventualities right in the bud.

Livemint:,

Some years ago I was at an event when a young man, looking a bit starry eyed, came up to me. He might have been about 20 and since I had been doing a bit of cricket on television for a few years, I thought he wanted to ask me something about cricket. Instead, he inspected me a bit and asked, “You from IIM-A?” I
smiled at him, the kind of smile that says yes, and with the same intense gaze he said “Wow!” and walked away. My professional work meant nothing to him, I wasn’t a cricket 50 years of IIM-A host, just someone who had passed through “wow”!

Now, like many of my batchmates, my institute turns 50 too. Like many of them, and maybe even more so than them, it is robust and successful and hugely aspirational. Sometimes great brands can show signs of age, can become irrelevant to generations that care little for reputations, but IIM Ahmedabad is still the place to be for the best young men and women of this country. It is a solid brand, one of India’s strongest and most resilient; a “wow” brand.

It is a brand that many like me wear with pride and emotion. IIM-A changed my life, it put me into a peer group I didn’t think I could have belonged to, a group I could claim for life. It gave me my Test cap, something I have often felt the need to turn to at various times in my career. To aspire for something and to be accepted is a very special feeling. And I know I am not the only one who thinks this way. That is crucial to understanding the aura of an institution.

Indeed IIM-A shares a wonderful symbiotic relationship with its students. It is not the bricks, but the minds in it that make a place and every year, the institute admits some extraordinary minds. As they become successful they build the aura of the place they come from and in doing so draw more extraordinary minds to it. It is an upward spiral. The best students need the IIM-A stamp to be seen as special and the institute needs the best students to retain its standing.

And yet, the institute needs to add value, for otherwise, it could become a best-in-best-out train. Late last year, when we were there for our reunion, it was an issue that was debated strongly. Unfortunately, it is not something I can have a strong point of view on since my life has taken me in a different direction but it is an issue worthy of discussion. Do employers—and let’s face it, they often determine the standing of an institution—regard admission to IIM-A as a quality sifting process or do they believe that it makes men out of boys?

And so, while I cannot speak for others, it did change me as a person. I came from a soft engineering course where I was able to end up as a rank holder without really doing too much. I had no idea of the rigour that success demands and I was lost in my first few months in Ahmedabad. I thought getting in was difficult, I discovered that getting out would be even more so. That I eventually did count among my prouder accomplishments. I have often been asked how IIM-A helped me in my life as a broadcaster. It taught me the importance of rigour.

My professors there were vastly superior to those where I came from, they were far more committed (I can never get over Prof. Abhinandan Jain, one of the stalwarts of IIM-A, visiting our dorms late one evening to return our assignments since we needed to work on them for our next submission) and they set standards that you were mighty proud to meet. If you got a “B” in Prof. Mote’s course you knew a thing or two, if you, perchance, got an “A”, you were a superior being; as you were if you cracked a quiz set by Prof. Jaikumar or by Prof. Barua. Not everyone was in that league, but then not everyone can be!

IIM-A made me tougher; partly due to the academic standards (a third D and you were back home) but even more so by being part of an extraordinary collection of talents. By nature, the human species is competitive, maybe there is a survival gene in us somewhere, and while there were many who pretended to be unconcerned by such petty matters, deep down, they knew they had to deliver. In my engineering college, if you felt the need to deliver, you delivered. Here, it was nowhere near as simple as that.

But academic rigour is but one factor; a critical factor but only one. The success of its students in diverse fields adds to the aura. As a young kid you can wander through the Louis Kahn Plaza and imagine you are doing what many corporate stars had once done. You can sit there and dream or reflect, as I still do
every time I revisit the campus. This feeling that you have the opportunity to become part of a bigger success story is another reason for coming to IIM-A. Many other institutes, and there are many fine colleges around, offer that opportunity but not always the chance to be part of a club.

Naturally then, these alumni return to pick the best cherries from the next crop. It is a cycle all Bschools hope to establish and one that, through longevity and pedigree, IIM-A has accomplished. But now, as always, many challenges line up on the horizon. It is critical that IIM-A has teachers students can be in awe of. I was only one of two that didn’t sign up for Prof. Nitin Patel’s course on MIS but I saw my friends looking up to him. As the pillars of the institute retire, are others stepping up? It is something only more recent alumni can answer but it is imperative that the answer is “yes”.

And many great universities from around the world will come knocking at India’s doors. They will bring global appeal. The Federers and Woods and Messis of the world of education will be here but IIM-A needs to be the Tendulkar; the local global colossus.

Fifty years is a landmark, but one that is much smaller in the life of an institution than it is in the lives of its many distinguished alumni. And yet it is a great moment for one of India’s greatest brands. There will be many who will applaud; a tiny part of its heritage will offer thanks.

DNA, Bangalore,

Now, B-school aspirants can sit for Common Admission Test (CAT) throughout the year. After successful completion of the second online edition of CAT 2010 on Wednesday, organisers are planning to make CAT a round-the-year affair from 2012, for the convenience of B-school aspirants.

Organisers of the exam, Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) and their US-based partner, Prometric India, took the decision after the successful completion of CAT 2010.

Sources at Prometric said that linear-on-the fly testing method, (as the round-the-year exam pattern is called) would be implemented by 2012.

In order to conduct exams during any period of the year, organisers need to have sufficient psychometrically tested questions.

Both IIMs and Prometric hope to prepare the required amount of questions by 2012.

The celebratory mood was quite palpable, as organisers of CAT 2010 came together to celebrate the successful completion of the exam in New Delhi on Thursday.

“We are happy that this year’s administration met, or even exceeded global standards,” said Soumitra Roy, managing director, Prometric.

“To test so many candidates, across such diverse geography and physical environments within a set period, is something that we are proud of. What is most satisfying is, overcoming the infrastructural challenges and delivering on our commitment of smooth and fair testing for all eligible candidates. All registered candidates who showed up with proper documentation and on time, have successfully completed their tests. This would not have been possible without support from IIMs and our delivery partners,” he said.

The IIMs declared that the results will be announced on January 12, 2011 and candidates can log in to view their results on the CAT website www.catiim.in.“This has been a defining CAT testing process. It goes to prove that thorough preparation and professional expertise goes a long way in delivering highest
value. IIMs are extremely happy and proud that we are paving the way for computer-based test (CBT)in India, which would have positive wider implications for the future, both for candidates and organisations”, said Prof Himanshu Rai, convener, CAT 2010.

Sidin Vadukut ,

Since its establishment in 1961, IIM-A has rapidly developed both a reputation for excellence in education and a unique cultural tradition of its own. Important elements of this tradition include the signature architecture, campus rituals and rites and a long list of alumni and faculty that have included people famous for pursuits both management-oriented and otherwise. This is a quick snapshot of the people, places and traditions that make IIM-A unique:

The people

Renowned physicist and Ahmedabad native Vikram Sarabhai played a significant role in getting the institute situated in Ahmedabad. The first batch comprised 42 students picked from 4,000 applicants. They included C.K. Prahalad who would later go on to become a world-renowned management thinker. Legend has it that at one point in their academic year some of the older students went on strike for a day. They were protesting against the bad food. Sarabhai consoled them personally. The food remained the same.

Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy’s first job after graduating with a master’s from IIT Kanpur was at IIM-A’s computer centre. He worked as a chief systems programmer and was hired at a salary of Rs800 a month in 1969. Dancer Mallika Sarabhai, Vikram Sarabhai’s daughter, is also an alumni of the institute. She graduated in 1974 and then completed a doctorate in organizational behaviour from Gujarat University.

Also Read | 50 years of IIM-A

Best-selling authors Chetan Bhagat and Rashmi Bansal, and sports commentator Harsha Bhogle are some alumni who have gone on to do things not exactly in the syllabus. The institute has produced several business thinkers and managers. In a survey conducted in 2009, it was estimated that over 60% of all chief executives produced by the IIM system in India were graduates of IIM-A.

The geography

For the first one year of the institute’s history, the offices and skeleton staff operated out of Sarabhai’s house “The Retreat”, located in the Shahibaug area of the city. “The Retreat” would also house the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, while it was being established. Today the building houses part of the famous The Calico Museum of Textiles.

The main campus as seen today was built from 1962 and was designed by American architect Louis Kahn. Kahn’s work has been called monumental and monolithic in style. Kahn’s campus for IIMA was entirely constructed in bare red brick without any structural adornments, save long sweeping arches, high corridors and brutal play with light and shadows.

In memory of the architect, the central square of the campus, used for functions and the annual convocation ceremony, is called the Louis Kahn Plaza, or LKP for short. The campus is frequently visited by local and international students of design and architecture seeking to learn Kahn’s work. His other popular building is the National Assembly Building in Dhaka.

Across a road, the old campus is connected to a new campus that began to be occupied in 2003. The new campus, modelled out of bare concrete and some brickwork, comprises classrooms, offices and several dormitories. The two campuses are connected by an undergound tunnel that also serves as a makeshift gallery. Both old and new campuses also have tall service towers that are visible from some distance. The towers contain piping and water tanks.

The traditions

In the initial years, IIM-A worked in partnership with the Harvard Business School. This explains the institute’s dependence on the case method of teaching. But in addition to pedagogy this has also led to several traditions such as the Harvard Dinner every Friday night that is, theoretically, supposed to be a more elaborate affair than usual.

Each year the incoming batch participates in a series of talent competitions over several evenings that is called, however, Talent Night. This might be inspired by a similar event at Harvard.

First-year students are also subject to the WAC run. Written Analysis and Communication, or WAC, is a subject in which reports need to be submitted to a strict deadline, usually on weekend afternoons. Normally students can be seen running to submit printouts of reports in the classrooms. En route they have to battle obstructing seniors and the occasional bucket of water flung down from dorm room balconies.

This flinging of water, or dunking, is a constant event. And can often happen unexpectedly. Some leniency is shown towards people carrying paper documents or electronic devices. But not always.

Gujarat is a state that prohibits alcohol consumption. Yet the campus hosts frequent all-night dance parties that are, ostensibly, fuelled with non-alcoholic beverages.

CoolAvenues,

Prometric has successfully conducted the test over 20 days in 78 locations across 33 cities using 246 labs. The total number of candidates who had registered for CAT 2010 were 2,04,267.

Out of 2,04,267 candidates 74 per cent were male and rest 26 per cent were females.

This year, Prometric made various improvements in the preparation, registration and delivery areas in order to enhance the overall testing experience of candidates. Their delivery partners MeritTrac Services Pvt. Ltd, Everonn Education Ltd and CMS played an important role in the administrative work of CAT 2010 and have been integral to their success.

IIMs also declared that the results will be announced on 12 Jan 2011 and candidates will be able to log in to view their results on the CAT website.

Prometric delivers more than nine million exams a year through a network of over 10,000 testing locations in 163 countries, and a large percentage of this is computer-based. Being the recognized global leader in technology-enabled testing and assessment services, Prometric is trusted by over 450 organizations to provide reliable, secure and thorough testing services such as test development, test delivery and data management.

The Economic Times, Mumbai,

Insead, the business school headquartered in Fontainebleau, Paris , is the latest one to jump into the growing executive education bandwagon in the country. It will soon offer a dedicated, 12-month programme in business management for mid-to-senior-level Indian executives, with about 10-15 years of work experience.

Candidates opting for the Insead Leadership Programme for Senior Indian Executives will have to shell out Rs 16.5 lakh for the programme which will begin from August 2011. “We expect about 75 participants from India,” said Antoine Ting, partner, development of executive education, at Insead. The classes will be held for a week every month in India, and three weeks in Singapore and Paris.

The course will focus on building up functional knowledge of participants in conjunction with offering skills in general management. The mainstay of the programme is learning through peers in areas such as negotiations, persuasion, communication and coaching. Courses on accounting, finance, marketing and strategy will also be a part of the programme.

The Insead team has spoken to some 30 companies, from both the public and private sector, to develop course content. “There’s a pressing need to build the next generation of leaders, gain global perspective and develop expertise across the functional aspects of management,” said Paddy Padmanabhan, co-programme director and professor of marketing at Insead.

With increased corporate earnings and Indian firms going global, executive education is on the rise here. Corporate spend on education is up, said Abhinav Mital, project manager, Parthenon Group , the strategic advisory firm that specialises in education.

“At least 2,000 professionals opt for executive programmes in India every year.”

live-PR.com,

Over the years, we Indians have always been under the impression that management courses in the UK and US have far more credibility, as compared to those in India. Brace yourself, because the latest survey carried out by the Graduate Management Admission Council which conducts the GMAT, a B-School entrance examination, has thrown light on a pleasantly surprising fact –

 India has been ranked 4th on the list of the Top 10 preferred B-Schools internationally. As per the survey, United States and United Kingdom have been ranked first and second respectively as the most preferred destinations for B-schools.

Canada has bagged the 3rd place on the list while India securing the 4th position has surprised quite a few, amiably though.India’s entry to the top list of B-Schools is no surprise to some. According to experts, India has been growing at a fast pace, especially over the last two decades. The developments that have been made to the country’s infrastructure have been commendable. The country has been coming up with some of the most prestigious and premier B-Schools in India, whose standards are at par with international B-Schools.

Aspirants today analyze the return on their investment after an MBA from any B-School and evaluate whether or not it is worth investing the moolah on international MBAs. Apart from return on investment, another factor that has to be given great thought to, before taking the plunge, is the investment that has to be made. It is a well known fact that investment in India for any management course is way lesser than what would be the case with an international MBA from United States or United Kingdom.

Colleges like the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad has been ranked Number 12 globally in the Financial Times, London Global MBA rankings earlier this year. Emergence of institutions of this stature is bound to attract a lot of aspirants from all across the world. The cost of education, cost of living, and hence the overall investment is comparatively low in India, as compared to the costs involved in getting an MBA from the likes of Australia, Canada, US and UK on the whole.

Hence, India is becoming one of the most preferred destinations for seeking management education globally. Management education aspirants have now become very mature and are evaluating the benefits of every opportunity cost involved.We have also seen the increase in the number of IIMs in India in the past couple of years, thus making it a more viable option for most of the aspirants who want to opt for (imt.edu/)management education in India.

Apart from the CAT scores, IIMs also consider the GMAT scores for admissions into the IIMs. However, there is an irony to this situation. While there is news on India Shining on the global Top 4 much-desired B-School destinations across the world, another fact that cannot be ignored is the great ‘Indian dream’ of Indian students to make it to American B-Schools.

The world was going through a recession in 2008-09 and only in the beginning of 2010 things started reaching the new normal. However, the testing year 2010 saw Indian applicants making a beeline to seek admissions to the Business schools in Canada. About 78% of the foreign applications received for seeking an MBA abroad in Canada were from Indians. Hence, all Canadian management programs that recruited foreigners targeted India, and so did 44% of the European programs that undertook special recruitment efforts to attract overseas candidates.

Some of the futuristic experts predict that India is gradually and progressively going in the direction of emerging as one of the most preferred management studies hub, especially because it is known to provide some of the best academics. But that is not the only distinguishing factor. India, apart from providing the best scholastic experience, is also one of the only countries which provide state-of-the-art amenities with marginal cost structure as compared to the Western countries. Management colleges in India sure have undergone a drastic change since the last five decades, when the first management institutes were started in the 1950s.

Institute of Management Technology (IMT) is one such premier management institute in India. It is one of the top, with its presence in Dubai, Ghaziabad, Nagpur, and lately, in Hyderabad too. IMT Dubai is the first business school internationally to have got the accreditation by the Commission for Academic Accreditation, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, UAE in September 2007. IMT Dubai was also granted membership with the Brussels based EFMD, which is the umbrella organization for leading European B-schools in charge of EQUIS accreditation.

Institute of Management Technology (IMT) is one of the best business school for doing full time MBA courses managed by one of the top leaders including Dr. Sherry. Our top class MBA courses can be availed from different regions as we have our institute at different locations such as IMT Ghaziabad, (imtpage.blogspot.com/)IMT Dubai, IMT Nagpur and IMT Hyderabad. Enroll yourself for bright career.

Asian News International, Pune,

The Europe Asia Business School played host to the Pune leg of National Business Olympiad, a flagship event of IIM-Ahmedabad Confluence, 2010.

The Pune leg, which was held on November 20 and 21 at the EABS campus, had 29 teams with three members in each team.

There was over 60 per cent corporate participation and the rest 40 per cent was from top Pune B-schools.

Competing in an ever evolving virtual marketplace, the teams were required to take tactical and strategic decisions across sales, marketing, finance and operations.

The winners were decided on the basis of stock price of their virtual company at the end of five rounds.

The SIBM Pune team emerged as deserving winners after a strategy which saw them move up sharply from a lowly Rank 21 in Round 1!

The first among corporate teams and the second overall was Tech Mahindra, which had an equally dramatic rise from the bottom of the table in Round 1.

The third position went to Reflexis Systems.

All teams now move on to the Grand Finale rounds at IIM-A and also take home scholarships worth Rs 4.5 Lakhs from Europe Asia Business School.

2010 is the golden jubilee year of IIM-A and Confluence; their annual Management Summit, is slated to be its largest ever. he National Business Olympiad is a management simulation game played online where participants in teams of three functions as CXOs of a virtual company and compete against other teams in a virtual marketplace. It is a massive scale event with more than 500 teams from 350 corporates and institutions competing across 20 cities in India.

The winner of the Grand Finale will get Rs.one lakh as prize money.

Speaking about the success of the event, Varun Narayan, Head of Executive Education, Europe Asia Business School said: "We, Europe Asia Business School are lucky to get a chance to host the Pune round of the National Business Olympiad. Very rarely do young managers or b-school students get the opportunity to take decisions which can swing the fortunes of a company."

"This was one tough competition for sure and the simulation method is in line with the school's philosophy of giving students and participants the most realistic management training. We are thankful to our partners, Smartsims who played a role of our Technical Partner and Radio Mirchi, the Pune Radio Partner for making this mega event successful," he added.

The event was privileged to have three prominent industry personalities as chief guests-Pradeep Bhargava, CEO of Cummins Generators and alumni of IIM Ahmedabad; Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, CEO Zensar Technologies and alumni of Harvard Business School and Satish Duryodhan, CTO of Global Talent Track and alumni of IIM Ahmedabad.xecutive programmes in India every year.”

The Economic Times, Mumbai,

That the US and the UK are the most popular destinations for management studies is not big news. But the findings of a survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which conducts GMAT, a B-school entrance test used globally, have thrown up some surprises.

Number 4 on the list of the Top 10 preferred destinations for B-school aspirants is India, with Canada at No 3. Israel and Spain are the other surprise entrants.

According to experts, India's foray into the elite league has a lot to do with the emergence of institutions such as the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, which was ranked No. 12 globally in the Financial Times ( London) Global MBA rankings earlier this year. The IIMs, which use GMAT as an entrance test for their executive MBA programmes, are also responsible for India's popularity.

''B-school aspirants are looking at a return on their investment, and with the investment being lower for management education in India when compared to the US and the UK, the returns are higher,'' said an expert. Many feel that India can soon emerge as a hub for management studies amongst Asian countries such as Singapore and the Philippines as the country will be a far less expensive destination than western giants.

Although making it to the US has, for long, been the great Indian dream, it is not the only North American country that's attracting desi students. Many are now making a beeline for Canada, which not only has a robust economy and liberal visa policies but also promises good job prospects. ''In testing year 2010, India was the top foreign country that sent score reports to Canadian graduate management programmes,'' reveals GMAC's survey.

According to the report, 78% of full-time MBA programmes in Canada received the largest number of foreign applications from Indians. Not surprisingly, all Canadian management programmes that recruited foreigners targeted India, as did 44% of European programmes that undertook special recruitment efforts to attract overseas candidates.

CoolAvenues Newswire,

IIM Calcutta’s summer placement process for the batch of 2010-2012 kicked off on November 10, 2010 and concluded on November 15 with placements being suspended for a day in between (in lieu of the Golden Jubilee celebrations) on November 14. The process lasted for a total of five days at the end of which all students who were a part of the placement process accepted offers. The process was conducted in slots with each slot lasting for two days. Slot-0 took place on the 10th and 11th of November, Slot-1 on the 12th and 13th, and Slot-2 began on the 15th after a break on November 14. The process came to an end in slot-2, with all 353 students who sat for the placement process receiving offers by the fifth day. A total of 125 recruiters participated in the process across the 5 days.

Slot Zero

Slot zero saw a total of 215 students accepting offers for their internships, an unprecedented number of offers in Slot-0 so far. This is also the highest number of slot-0 offers made across any IIM this year. It is an exceptional response from the industry and 62% of the batch was placed in Slot-0.

The slot-zero summer placement process for the batch of 2010-2012 of IIM Calcutta took place over two days, 10th and 11th November. The first day saw international investment banks, private equity firms and global consulting firms picking students, while the second day of slot-0 had firms like Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Tata Administrative Services (TAS), Diageo, Aditya Birla Group and Edelweiss offering marketing, general management and finance profiles.

 International Offers

Over 75 students will be interning in international locations, an increase of 20% over the last year. Internship locations offered include New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Dubai and even Vietnam and South Africa.

Sector-wise Information

In keeping with the institute’s reputation as the finance-campus of the country, 37% of the students in the batch of 2010-12 have opted for internships in finance. 20% of the students will be interning in consulting firms, 28% of the students in marketing roles and 8% in general management.

The Hindu Business Line, Kolkata,

The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) will soon have its foreign counterpart with an “IIFT type institute” coming up in one of the “less developed nations” in Africa, Mr K.T. Chacko, Director, IIFT, said here on Wednesday.

The announcement regarding the location of the institute and other details will be made by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, within the coming months, he added.

Mr Chacko was speaking on the sidelines of the National Trade and Logistics Symposium organised by the IIFT here on Wednesday.

Refusing to call it the IIFT's African campus, the director said that according to the prior commitments made by the Prime Minister an “IIFT type institute” will come up in Africa. The African institute will help in developing the managerial capabilities and knowledge base in the continent.

The decision has been taken keeping in mind Africa's immense growth potential and trade benefits in the coming years.

Initially the Indian government will take an active part in setting up the institute and providing infrastructure facilities such as hostel and library. Faculty will also be provided by the IIFT.

“After the initial years, say around five to 10 years, we will hand over the management and running of the institute to the respective government in the country,” Mr Chacko said.

student intake

Mr Chacko added that the IIFT was planning to take in around 200 students for its Kolkata campus. This will be more than the 180 seats that it has in its Delhi one.

At present, IIFT's Kolkata campus has a capacity of 60 students and operates from rented premises in Sector V in Salt Lake, in North 24 Parganas. The institute has been allotted a 10 acre plot of land, seven acres initially and three later, off Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in Kolkata in 2006. Documentation and obtaining clearances had delayed the setting up of the new campus.

The institute expects to start construction work on its Rs 100-crore second campus within the next month. Ramky Infrastructure will carry out construction work on behalf of the institute.

Sify News, Rohtak(Haryana),


P. Rameshan, from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode, Tuesday took over as director of the newly established IIM-Rohtak in Haryana.

A Ph.D. in Economics from IIT, Kharagpur, Rameshan was coordinating the activities of the Centre for Strategic WTO (World Trade Organisation) Research at IIM-Kozhikode. He had earlier served at IIM-Lucknow.

Interacting with faculty members after taking over, Rameshan expressed his commitment to develop the newly established business school into a world class management institution. Rohtak is some 70 km from Delhi.

IIM-Rohtak commenced operation in July this year, with a batch of 50 students. Since its own campus is yet to be established, classes are held at the Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU) campus in Rohtak.

CoolAvenues,

Looks like the Indian Institutes of Management are ready to shake their class profile. India’s premier management schools, who were know for a biased class profile with majority of engineering background male candidates is planning to recuperate the admission process.

The Indian Institutes of Management are looking forward at more girl student intake and those with non-engineering background to get a more diversified variety on their rolls this Monday.

Directors of India’s five premier management institutes held a conference and felt the need to have a diverse academic background. They considered the need to change the quantitative bias in the Common Admission Test (CAT) to draw in more students with diversified academic background.

According to the latest statistical data, only 9.18 per cent of IIM students are females.




The class-profile data of the five IIMs clearly indicates the majority of engineer concentration in the IIMs. Among the last graduating batch of 289 students at IIM Ahmedabad 94 per cent were engineers. However, IIM Bangalore, IIM Indore and IIM Kozhikode had 88 per cent, 86 per cent and 87 per cent engineers respectively in the last graduating batch.

 


Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta director Sekhar Chowdhury concluded the discussion saying that the issues would be dealt with seriously though it was not yet certain that the changes could take place from next year's CAT.

"In many cases, despite efforts to get in students from other backgrounds, the number of engineering students has increased. The blame is on our admission process. We need to change how we admit students and how CAT is organised," said IIM-Lucknow director Devi Singh.

Singh said though a large section of the faculty would not have been favorably disposed to the idea of having a greater diversity in students, "now the realisation has dawned on them and in the next few years we may see a change in the system".

IIM-Bangalore director Pankaj Chandra felt girl students found the CAT examination with its stress on mathematics a deterrent. "That's the reason many girl students do not sit for the entrance test".

Statistics show that about 2 lakh students take the annual CAT examination for admission to 2,000 seats in the country's ten IIMs. Of them, the percentage of engineers gaining entry into the premier B-Schools is over 90 per cent, while the percentage of female students is only 10-15 percent taking all the IIMs together.

Chowdhury said while the world has a nearly 50:50 ratio of men and women, "why cannot we have a similar or more or less equal representation in the classroom? After all, the class should represent life."

He said on the contrary, private management institutes had 40-45 percent girl students.

Indian Express, Kolkata:

Fifty years after the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMS) came into being, the premier B Schools now need to focus on the country-specific management solutions, feel academicians and political executives.

“It is believed that management schools in India teach theories and practices that are relevant to the developed economies of the West and may not be applicable in India,” said D Purandeswari, the MoS for Human Resource and Development, at the inauguration of the golden jubilee celebrations of IIM-Calcutta (IIM-C). “The syllabi of management institutions needs to respond to the managerial challenges faced by Indian Companies.”

As the premier business school brand which completed 50 years —IIM-C was set up on November 14, 1961 ¿ critics say the institute should gear up to provide a holistic management education which will help to turn academicians, social workers experts in public policy and managers suited to challenges of the Indian corporate and public sector.

Hindustan Times, New Delhi:

In a first of its kind initiative, Random House India is launching the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad’s (IIM-A’s) business book series — the official publishing programme of the country’s top business school. The IIM-A Book series will be written by the faculty of the institute, for the general reader using a clear, accessible style and putting things in an Indian context.

The venture will be the first time a major  educational institute is creating its own publishing programme in India.

“The series is to disseminate knowledge to executives in a manner that brings them up to date knowledge to executives in a manner that brings them upto date in different fields of management,” said Samir KBarua, director IIM-A.

The first four titles of the series — Strategies for Growth by Atanu Ghosh, The Persuasive Manager by M M Monippally, Business and Intellectual Property by Anurag K Agarwal and Managers Who Make a Difference by T V Rao —will be launched later this week.

“We have tried to write in as simple manner as I can. The book has been aimed for non MBAs. It has been de-jargonised a lot,” said Ghosh.

“It is not a boring class room note book. It is a compilation of various thoughts, case studies, and references. It will definitely help if people will follow,

understand and implement the ideas. The books will at least get you the right thought process,” Ghosh said.

The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C), the first institute in the IIM System, will enter the 50th year of its journey on November 14, 2010. What started as a small institution in late 1961 has today blossomed into one of the leading management schools in South Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

With IIM Calcutta, being the first institution in the IIM System, November 14, 2010 will also mark as the Golden Jubilee of the IIM System.
 
“It is a very important landmark in the modern history of our country. We plan to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Institute and IIM System over a period of two years during November 14, 2010-November 14, 2012,” said a senior official of IIM Calcutta.
 
The celebration of the Golden Jubilee at IIM-C will begin with a 3 day event during November 14-16, 2010. There will be a two-day convention on Management Education in India during November 14 to 15 where directors from all the IIMs and renowned management schools in India and the world, some noted academicians and industry leaders, IIM-C professors and alumni would deliberate on significant issues and challenges facing the management schools in India and the way forward.
 
On the third day the faculty, staff, alumni and students of IIM-C will reminisce about the Institute in a session on IIMC@50: The Past, Present and Future”. It will be followed by planting of saplings by different stakeholders. The three-day event will end by honouring retired faculty members, past directors, current faculty and staff who have served the Institute for a long period of time and contributed significantly to build IIM-C into an iconic institution in management education.
 
Smt. D. Purandeshwari, Minister of State, Human Resource Development, Government of India will be the Chief Guest at the Inaugural function on 14th November, 2010. Mr. M.K. Narayanan, Governor of West Bengal will be the Chief Guest for the concluding session of the two day convention on 15th November, 2010. Legendary Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia will grace the occasion with his Flute Recital in the evening of November 14, 2010.
 
Several international conferences, workshops and seminars are being organized as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebration – International Marketing Conference during December 27-29, 2010, International Finance Conference during January 9-12, 2011, IIMC-Strategic Management Society Paper Development Workshop during February 26-28, 2011; and several others.
 
To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of IIM Calcutta, the Calcutta Chapter of the Alumni Association is organizing GuruSpeak2010 with famous Marketing Guru Prof. Dipak C Jain, the Dean of Kellogg School of Management, North Western University, USA  and Dean Designate of INSEAD on December  19, 2010 at Taj Bengal, Kolkata.
 
Reminiscence, the Silver Jubilee Reunion of PGP 1986 (20th) batch, will be held on 23-25, December 2010. A grand alumni reunion of all batches will be held in 2011 which will see many senior alumni coming back to the campus along with the ones who have passed out recently.
 
Several publications such as a commemorative volume outlining the history of IIM-C and its contributions to management education in India, compilation of case studies, memoirs by different stake holders, collection of speeches, and a book on "50 Golden Years of IIMC", profiling the prominent / distinguished alumni will be published sometime during this two year period.
 
A number of students-led events such as Intaglio, the prestigious international business school meet to be held during January 7-9, 2011, and Carpe Diem, a unique cultural fest to be held during January 28-30, 2011, will be taken to a new height as part of the Golden Jubilee celebration.

Hectic placement activity on B-school campuses may still be far away, but the institutions are closing in on the peak summer placement numbers of 2007. More companies, more offers and better stipends are some of the benefits that are on offer for business school students.

"It has been easier to invite companies this year. We have also seen new firms and fresh profiles being offered to students which, at a summer internship level, are quite challenging. What’s more, we could place all the 120 students in four days," said Saurabh Bansal, placement committee member at Mumbai-based Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS).

JBIMS has witnessed several first timers on its campus for the summer internships, including Reliance Industries and Schlumberger, apart from the regular investment banks.

The highest domestic stipend at JBIMS stood at Rs 1.50 lakh against Rs 1.10 lakh in 2009 — an increase of 36 per cent.

Out of the total 114 students who opted for final placements, 30 students have been offered pre-placement offers. About 50 per cent of these students have already converted their offers and the remaining are being interviewed, the institute said in a press statement.

At Jamshedpur-based Xavier Labour Relations Institute, the present batch of 240 students have got 307 offers. The number of recruiters who participated in the process increased by 27 per cent. The average stipend for the internship period this year was Rs 1.12 lakh — an increase of 26 per cent over last year. Aditya Birla Group and Goldman Sachs were the largest summer recruiters with 10 offers each.

The highest international offer was made by an investment bank for its trading desk in Singapore that stood in excess of Rs 5 lakh.

"This year not only saw the participation of new companies but also the emergence of new sectors. We are very optimistic going forward, and these are definitely positive upwards signals for the coming few quarters as well. The improvement in the general economy is well reflected in the way the recruitment has happened over the past week," said Rajiv Misra, chairperson, placements, at XLRI Jamshedpur.

In terms of profiles, students are being offered positions in treasury management, structure finance, and mergers and acquisitions, to name a few. Stipends have also seen a rise this year for the summer internships.

At the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, (IIM-L) 417 placement offers were made by 151 firms — up by 75 per cent over the previous year, when close to 240 offers were made. Out of these, 123 offers were made in the coveted slot zero.

Key recruiters on the campus include McKinsey & Co, The Boston Consulting Group, Tata Administrative Services, Hindustan Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Aditya Birla Group and Cadbury- Kraft, among others.

The buoyancy in summer placements also reflects IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A)’s preparations. The premier B-school is replicating its cohort-based system, which was introduced during final placements last year, for its upcoming summer placements process from November 12.

"Summer placements are important because such hiring helps firms to build a pipeline for the future, which is reflected in pre-placement offers (PPOs). The cohort-based system is being introduced to allow companies to check their relationship with the students. And because summer internships are not final placements, the risk is low. We are expecting a buoyant summer placements process because we are in a different situation than what we were two years ago," says Saral Mukherjee, chairperson, placements, IIM-A.

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore begins its process for summer placements on November 8.

The Hindu Business Line, Hyderabad:

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), a premium management education provider with centres in Mumbai, Shirpur and Bangalore, has begun operations from a new facility in Hyderabad and plans to set up an integrated campus with an outlay of Rs 100 crore at Jedcherla near here.

“Initially, the institute will begin by offering management executive programmes at the new facility set up with an investment of Rs 12 crore and offer two-year post graduate courses in management. This will be later ramped up with a wide range of courses once the campus is ready, including engineering studies and undergraduate programmes,” Dr Rajan Saxena, Vice Chancellor, NMIMS, and former Director of IIM-Indore, said.

Future plans

Addressing a press conference here today along with Dr N. Jayasankaran, Professor Emeritus, Dr Saxena said “NMIMS has been invited by the Andhra Pradesh Government and the Punjab Governments to set up campuses. The Jadcherla campus will be developed over a five-year period in the 90 acres of land allotted by the AP Government. We will take up work on the campus in Chandigarh shortly.”

In fact, he said “NMIMS has drawn up major plans for expansion which will see total investment of about Rs.1,000 crore over the next five years. This investment, which will be a combination of debt and internal accruals, will entail setting up of new campuses in Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Mumbai and expansion at Shirpur on Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border and Bangalore.”

Dr Saxena said that NMIMS will launch activities at Hyderabad by offering a weekend management programme for executives with a view to prepare managers to assume higher level responsibilities to think holistically and develop integrated strategic perspective. The NMIMS, deemed to be university has over 6,000 students and 30 plus faculty members.

Over two lakh candidates have registered for the online Common Admission Test (CAT)-2010 starting Wednesday for admissions in 10 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other business schools, an official said Tuesday.

The responsibility of organising the test is with IIM, Kolkata, and IIM, Lucknow.

"A total of 204,267 candidates have registered for CAT-2010, which will be organised in two slots from Oct 27 to Nov 24. As no test will be conducted on festivals and other occasions, CAT-2010 will be a 20-day affair," convener CAT-2010 and IIM, Lucknow, professor Himanshu Rai said.

CAT-2010 will be conducted in 33 cities of the country.

"With around 30,000 registrations, Maharashtra has the highest number of candidates, followed by Uttar Pradesh with around 26,000 candidates," said Rai.

Uttar Pradesh is followed by Delhi (19,000 candidates).

Forty different sets of question papers have been prepared. The results of CAT-2010 will be declared Jan 12.

AHMEDABAD:

The Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad on Wednesday signed its third double degree programme. The premier institute, which has been having a double degree programme with the Essec business school in Paris and Bacconi University in Italy, signed a third agreement for a double degree programme with HEC school of management in Paris.

Talking at the event, the director of the institute, Samir Barua, said that the agreement has come as an extension of the relation that IIMA was sharing with HEC though students' exchange programme.

Under the new agreement, the students of the two institutes will be able to study equal duration in the institutes to get two degrees of MBA from both the institutes.

While four students of HEC have come to IIM-A on the students exchange programme this year, a student of HEC has also already arrived to study at IIM-A to study here under the double degree programme. While no student has gone from IIM-A to HEC under the double degree programme this year, three students have gone to HEC under the students exchange programme.

Barua said, "We hope to see students from our institute also going there under the new double degree programme." The director said, "We are exploring more ways extending the relations between the two institutes in terms of alumni and faculties as well."

Mumbai:

Ratan Tata’s handsome gift of $50 million to Harvard Business School is sure to have bowled the Americans over. In the American system of higher education, private donations and endowments are the norm.

These donations help the institution create a corpus, which then enables them to provide better facilities and create intellectual capital. But even by the standards of American philanthropy, the Tata donation is significant. And he isn’t the only Indian to be pouring money into Harvard. In May this year, the family of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy decided to give US$5.2 million for creating the Murthy Classical Library of India, which will, among other things, have 100 books from Indian languages translated into English.

The Mahindra Group has donated $10 million to the Harvard Humanities Centre. The Tatas, the Murthys and the Mahindras have favoured Harvard in different ways and for different reasons, but this raises a question: why are they more favourably inclined to a Harvard than, say, an IIM. One answer is that they have been associated with these institutions in some way. But, equally, it seems that they are less sure about how useful their contributions to Indian institutions would be.

The Harvards of the world emphasise excellence over every other ideal. The same cannot be said for our babu-controlled institutions.The problem is clear. In India, most of the higher education institutions are state-funded, and hence, to that extent, compromised. Not only are these institutions not autonomous, they are also subject to undue interference and political pressures. Academic excellence is not their raison d’etre.

In such circumstances, it is quite understandable why a Tata or a Murthy is more interested in funding a Harvard than an IIM - though they have done that, too. This is the tragedy of Indian academe. If things are to change, there is only one solution: government needs to move away from running our best institutions and instead induct independent professional and private philanthropists to enter the picture with a broader vision. If this happens, maybe Tata would be happy to finance more institutions than before.

AHMEDABAD:

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad's (IIM-A) annual international business school summit called 'Confluence' will be a platform to showcase ideas and innovations this year.

Until date, Confluence has been focusing on themes relevant to existing business scenarios of the particular year. This year, Confluence - scheduled to be held between November 26 and 28 - will reflect a scenario which is recovering from the economic recession and adopt the theme 'Inspiring Innovations, Expanding Horizons'.

Along with events focused on innovation, the official website of 'Confluence 2010' will also have a section on innovation called 'innovation corner'.

Talking about the theme of 'Confluence 2010', a student of second year post-graduate programme in management (PGP-2) at IIM-A, Gurveen Bedi, who is the spokesperson of event, said, "Our economy has just come out of recession and at this juncture, innovation is an important aspect. So we have chosen innovation to be the theme of this year's Confluence."

The event will be addressing social and policy issues by hosting new events such as 'campaign for a cause'.

'Campaign for a cause' will receive online submissions from teams of various colleges, summaries of policy issues and details like how to investigate that problem, what kind of evidence is there and how can it be collected and so on.

After screening, the best 15 teams will create 10-minute videos out of which the best five will be selected and invited to Confluence 2010 to give presentations and screen their films.

Bedi said, "'Campaign for a cause' is an attempt to raise social consciousness among students and engage them into the agenda creation process in public policy."

The website of Confluence 2010 itself will act as a melting pot of innovative ideas as a section called 'innovation corner' has been introduced. The section will allow students to present their ideas to the world.

This year, the popular agri-business event of IIM-A, Amaethon, will also be held as a part of Confluence. The event will also introduce other new events like 'national business olympiad', which will be held across 20 cities and will finally culminate in a grand finale at the IIM-A campus.

B-school grads have patted the concept of getting corporate sponsorship for any event they conduct to an art form.

But, in a first of sorts, students enrolled for the one-year Executive Post-Graduate Program at IIM-B pooled in money from their own pockets for their social responsibility initiative ‘Prayaas’. The 65 students want to fit at least 40 people with the Jaipur Foot and have collected close to Rs 1 lakh for the purpose.

“We did seek sponsors, but nothing worked out,” says Pankaj Jain who came up with the idea to do something different from the usual blood donation camps. But the students were determined to go ahead with the initiative and decided to raise the money from among themselves.

“Each procedure costs about Rs 1,800. So, we needed just over Rs 70,000. It is not a very large sum for 65 students and we decided to contribute from our pockets,” says Saurab Agarwal, another student.

A six-member team worked round-the-clock for three weeks to organise the logistics. The beneficiaries were identified with the help of NGOs and hospitals. They arranged the necessary equipment from Victoria hospital. Pankaj persuaded D R Mehta, who is the chief patron of the Jaipur Foot initiative, to participate in the program, which will take place on Saturday in the IIM-B campus.

Agarwal said, “This is the first time a medical procedure will be conducted in the IIM-B campus. D R Mehta will personally fit the artificial limbs on beneficiaries in the central pergola.”

Prashant Devadiga, another student who is engaged in organising the event, said, “The camp will be from 10 am to 6 pm. If more people turn up, we have made arrangements to have them treated in Victoria hospital.”

MUMBAI:

The brutally competitive Common  Admission Test is all set for a cross-over. The Indian Institutes of Management, which conduct the entrance exam, have been approached by business schools in Sri Lanka to do a CAT  for their candidates as well, a plan that will take off next year. "We refused to conduct the CAT for them this year, but will do so in 2011," confirmed Himanshu Rai, convener of CAT-2010.

Although the Indian market is shrinking, the IIMs feel the CAT is likely to get fatter as it flies out. "Apart from Lanka, B-schools in several countries in South-East Asia have shown interest in admitting students through the exam," Rai said.

Indeed, Rai had hinted at such a development last month in an article he wrote for a financial daily. "CAT ought to be taken across the frontiers since that would make it more viable while bringing in the best global practices," he had written. "The road is steep but the IIMs have always had the will and the capability. They have led others to global standards and they will continue to do so."

In 2009, after 33 years of a paper-pencil format, the test graduated to a computer-based one. The CAT in foreign lands, too, will follow the existing Indian model. The IIMs will hire an agency to conduct the exam; questions, however, will be designed by them, for which the IIMs have been thinking of setting up a company under Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956. "Setting up a separate entity will ensure that a handful of IIM faculty members are de-linked temporarily from teaching and are involved only in conducting the exam. Few realise it, but it is a mammoth task," said an IIM faculty.

Currently, the IIMs have signed a five-year-long contract with an American-based testing firm, Prometric, to conduct the computer-based test. While the US company is paid a fixed fee, the IIMs make their bucks through the money that flows in from applicants' registrations and from the fees they charge other B-schools for using the CAT scores to admit their candidates.

This year, apart from the IIMs, 157 B-schools across the country will use the CAT marks to select their students from a pool of 2.06 lakh Indians who will sit for the test.

Ahmedabad:

The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad on Tuesday unveiled the logo for its golden jubilee celebrations, and its year-long celebration plans.

Mrinalini Sarabhai, the wife of late scientist Vikram Sarabhai — one of the founders of the premier B-School has been invited to be the chief guest at the inaugural function on December 11, 2010.

The same day, a documentary on IIM-A, directed and produced by Kandaswamy Bharathan, an alumni and chief of the south Indian cinema firm Kavithalaya, who also teaches the “Contemporary Film Industry — a Business Perspective” elective at IIM-A, will be released.

At least five national and international conferences —with topics ranging from education to marketing —will be hosted as part of the celebrations. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the chief guest at the convocation on March 26, 2011.

Bangalore:

Training in table manners, a class on how to write a resume and workshops on how to face an interview panel. These soft skill training methods are not just restricted to any conventional college in the city before the campus placements. Even the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore ( IIM-B) has introduced them to its students, who enter the institute after cracking the toughest B-school entrance test.

These services have been provided ever since the placement cell relaunched itself as Career Development Services last year. At least four workshops are held every year but it's not mandatory for students to attend all of them. Last year, there was resume writing, etiquette training, job and interview skills' workshops.

Conducted by consultants, the workshops cover various facets. For instance, the business etiquette training includes lessons on how to communicate, how to be receptive to people from different cultures and formal dressing. Last year, they even sat down for lunch, where they were taught how to use fork, spoon and knife.

"It's usually half-a-day workshop and students go through it just once. More than 50% of the class turns up for the workshops. Some of those who have work experience also attend to freshen up their skills," said Sapna Agarwal, head, Career Development Services. The present batch has 23% of freshers.

Industry interaction is a crucial aspect in IIMs. This is an extension of that activity. "However, with the tight academic schedule, it's difficult to find time for these workshops," she said. Business communication, however, is a part of the curriculum.

The ePGP students who take part in lateral placements are provided counselling. "They usually sport many years of work experience and might be looking for a career switch after MBA. The counselling will help them find out what they are good at and what best will suit them. It's a longer process when compared to these workshops for PGPs," she explained.

Jyothsni Reddy, a II year PGP student who attended the business etiquette training, remembered how useful it had been when she attended her summer placements later. "There were many minute details that we did not know. The tips on formal dressing came handy as I had to face interview panels soon," she said. The summer placements interviews for this year will start on November 8.

The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh inaugurated on Monday, 11 October the country's 10th Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the state capital Raipur by inducting the first batch of 71 students in the elite business school. The B-school will operate from the engineering college at Sejbahar till the time it gets it permanent campus. A huge campus will come up on 200 hectares allotted for the institute.

According to officials from IIM Indore, the mentor institute of IIM Raipur, the new B-school has seven per cent non-engineering students as against average four per cent in other institutes.

IIM Raipur is the third newly established IIM after IIM Ranchi and IIM Rohtak. The classes of IIM Ranchi are being held in Soochna Bhawan, Ranchi. The orientation of the B-School took place on July 8 with 44 students. The classes of IIM Rohtak are being held in Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak. IIM Rohtak has admitted 50 students for the first year.

The foundation stone for the permanent campus of IIM Rohtak was recently laid by Union HRD Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal. IIM Ranchi has also been allotted land for its permanent campus.

The fourth IIM that will be joining the elite IIM club will be IIM Trichy.

70 students of the premium B-school have opted for a course on functioning of social organisations

Elena Makarovoksia, a second-year student of Copenhagen Business School, at present is involved in a project on creating awareness about a Kolkata-based NGO Sasha which works with artisans from various rural areas and tries to market their products.

Elena with her four batchmates from Denmark's business school are involved in doing a project for various NGOs at Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C), developing stategies for these organisations to work more effectively. The students from business schools from across the world on a student exchange programme to IIM-C and even from Kolkata business school are flocking to take a course of "Entreprenuership in NGOs" where the students in fifth term have to do a project on an NGO as an academic exercise.

Thousands of MBA aspirants have applied for taking the CAT 2010 and other major MBA entrance tests to gain admission to their dream B-schools.  The articles talk about campus life, infrastructure facilities, faculty, events, etc and everything else that matters to the MBA aspirant.

Established in 1996, the Indian Institute of Management Indore (IIM Indore) is chronologically the sixth in the prestigious IIM family of management schools.

IIM Indore which came into existence in 1998, was established after IIM Kozhikode (1996). The other IIMs were established as follows: IIM Calcutta (1961), IIM Ahmedabad (1963), IIM Bangalore (1972), IIM Lucknow (1984), IIM Shillong (2008). This year IIM Ranchi and IIM Rohtak have joined the elite IIM club. Two more IIMs are soon going to be launched. These are IIM Raipur and IIM Trichy. In all there are currently 9 functional IIMs.

The foundation stone of the IIM Indore campus was laid by Reliance Group Chairman Mr. Mukesh Ambani. The institute was chosen to be set up in Indore to give an impetus to management education in central India and has ever since been acting as the pioneer in the field of management, interfacing with the industry, government sectors and PSUs. The campus is located at Prabandh Shikhar, on Rau-Pithampur Road, off Agra-Bombay Highway. The campus is about 19 km away from Indore railway station.

IIM Indore has gradually been increasing the annual intake of students for its two year Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) course from around 50 in 1998 to 450 in 2010. On November 27, 2008 Prof. N. Ravichandran joined as the director of the institute for a period of 5 years.

Situated atop a scenic hillock, the beautiful 193 acre campus provides an ideal backdrop for some of the brightest minds in the country to work their best to become the best they can be.

The geographical proximity to the fastest growing industrial belt in India and the presence of Special Economic Zones around Indore provide the right environment for both giving hands-on experience to the students and in enabling the industry to make use of the wealth of management expertise available in the institute.

IIM Indore has a solid infrastructure ranging from a very beautiful campus and hostels to a strong IT backbone and the latest in teaching aids.

“The classrooms at IIM Indore do not just create an atmosphere that is conducive to learning but in a sense nurture the quest for knowledge that the students possess. The original classrooms all seat 60 students. Anticipating capacity constraints, new classrooms were added in 2008 with the capacity to seat upto 120 students. In contrast to the PGP classrooms, which offer a linear seating arrangement, the MDP classrooms provide more flexibility with round tables that can be arranged in an ad-hoc fashion to facilitate more interaction among the participants,” said an official of the B-school.

All classrooms are air-conditioned and equipped with all modern teaching aids. These include electronic media such as multimedia notebooks, LCD & O/H projectors, motorized screens, infrared pointers, cordless microphones and speakers, etc. Audio-visual aids such as television and video players are also regularly used. There are also separate Seminar rooms, Audio-Visual rooms and seminar halls equipped with state-of-the-art videoconferencing facilities.

Single-seated accommodation facilities are available for all PGP participants in the campus premises, with separate blocks for men and women. MDP participants have a separate MDP hostel block while a housing block is available for FPM participants. Aesthetically designed, the hostel blocks are spread around the canteen, on the sides of the hillock. The hostels are interconnected, mostly in blocks of three.

A large part of the campus still remains unused as the institute is relatively young. Expansion plans include building more hostels to accommodate the growing number of post graduate and executive students, a state of the art sports complex and residential quarters for doctoral students.

IIM Indore boasts of an eminent faculty team from the academic and professional fields. Consisting entirely of PhDs, the faculty is a unique blend of the young and the experienced. Apart from full-time faculty, visiting faculty from many prestigious management institutes all over the country as well as from the industry visit the institute and impart knowledge to the participants.

One of the major events of IIM Indore is Ahvan. It is the annual management festival of IIM Indore, first held in 2000. Participation, both from students and corporate India, has been on the rise each year.

The admissions to IIM Indore PGP take place through the Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the IIMs and for the EPGP through the Graduate Management Admission Test(GMAT) conducted by Graduate Management Admission Council, USA. The GMAT helps IIM Indore select candidates for the 42 seats in the One Year Full Time MBA (EPGP). Coupled with an average GMAT score of around 700 at IIM Indore which is comparable to that required by the Top 10 schools in the world, it makes admission to the One Year MBA programme one of the toughest across the globe.

The Programs offered by the institute are as follows:
-- Post Graduate Programme (full-time residential programme)
-- One Year Executive Post-Graduate Programme (EPGP) (full-time residential programme)
-- Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) (full-time residential programme)
-- Management Development Programme (MDP)
-- Post-Graduate Certificate Program in Management

Mumbai:

THE IIMs, private B schools and blue-chip recruiters on Fridaytoyed with uniform placement standards, a proposed system that would calculate salary figures as per a common formula and announce placement results in a pre-decided format.

"Indian Placement Reporting Standards", the new system put forth by the IIM-A at a recruiters conclave in Mumbai, sought consensus from other IIMs and B-schools as well as recruiters for adopting the new uniform system, which aims at achieving goals similar to those envisaged in the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The new pan-India standards presented in the conclave also aimed at a 'fair' comparison between B-schools on parameters like salary figures and number of grads picked up by top recruiters. The standards aim at bringing in more clarity on say, what actually constitutes a crore-plus salary package.

According to IIM-A director Samir Barua, there was a need for uniformity in deciding salary packages of the students. This will include the salary structure, the amount of CTC (Cost-to-company), bonuses, relocation expenses, other cash expenses and even the non-cash part of the salary offered to the students.

In their rush to establish supremacy, B-Schools sometimes tweak salary components to arrive at higher figures.

"We have always been trendsetters. Once we are convinced, we need to change something, we just go ahead and bring about that chan ," Mr Barua said soon after the conference that was attended by over 50 recruiters. The prominent names included GE, , , P&G, Wipro, , Bank of India , and Monitor Group.

While IIM-Bangalore was conspicuous by its absence, other IIMs including IIM-Calcutta, Indore, Lucknow and Shillong participated along with private B-schools like , SP Jain and Institute of Management Techonology-Gaziabad.

The IIM-A would come up with a detailed draft which will be circulated among other IIMs and private B-schools for their feedback.

This year, the IIM-A took a landmark decision of revamping its placement process by introduced a cohort-based placement system for both summers as well as final placements.

The cohort-based system replacing the traditional Day Zero process was adopted to facilitate a smooth placement for increasing number of students, who have risen from 220 in 2003 to 431 in 2010, and to ensure the right fit between the company and students. As per the new system, recruiters are grouped together as per their sectors, and not as per salaries offered. The new process typically happens over weekends without disrupting the academics and allows recruiters more time with a student during the interview.

Recuriters at IIM-A have largely welcomed the new cohort-based system, and the premier B School hoped to tell its success story to other institutes through the recruiters.

IIM-A placement chairperson Saral Mukherjee, who designed the cohort system, said there were inaccuracies in the way salary packages were reported. "We hit upon an idea to tackle this problem. Through these standards we are looking at figures that are more robust and reliable," Mr Mukherjee said referring to the blatant misuse of student's salary figures by some B-schools in promoting their brand.

"No matter how long it takes, we will be striving for a consensus on this issue. It is the endeavour of IIM-A to involve all B-schools and stakeholders in developing this standard. Even if we fail to bring others on board, IIM-A will go ahead and implement the standards for the placement season in February-March 2011," said.

IIMs have uploaded practice tests for CAT 2010.

Goto www.catiim.in/CATPracticeTest/index.html

Ahmedabad:

Day zero could soon become history and the hype around eye-popping salary figures contained, if stakeholders in the country’s management education — B Schools and recruiters — agree to standardise the placement process. The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), that introduced a cohort-based placement system for both summers as well as final placements, is now looking for a consensus among top B-schools in the country that will help introduce some standards in the placements process. A consensus is expected to benefit both the students and the recruiters, and would put an end to the race for supremacy among B-schools on the basis of top salary figures.

In order to bring all the concerned stakeholders under one roof and bring about a consensus, IIM-A will organise a 'Recruiters’ Conclave' in Mumbai on October 1 wherein recruiters and representatives of all IIMs and top private B-schools will discuss issues surrounding the placement process. This is perhaps the first attempt made by a B-school to initiate talks on the sensitive issue of placements. Till now, there has been no forum, even among the IIMs, to discuss issues plaguing recruiters, students and the fraternity.

For the conclave, IIM-A has invited recruiters who have been regular at the institute's campus as well as the placement chairpersons of all the operational IIMs and those of private B-schools like SP Jain, MDI, IMT, ISB and XLRI. Student representatives from these B-schools are expected to attend the conference.

Currently, each B School has its own way of announcing the success of the placement process. While some IIMs give out average salaries offered to their grads, a few B Schools capitalise on the highest salaries. Students say, salary figures are debatable as there is a varying proportion of variable pay.

IIM-A is scheduled to make a brief presentation on the strengths of the cohort system which it has adopted in place of the traditional Day-based system. In the cohort-based system, recruiters, classified as per their sectors, get much more time per candidate, thus ensuring that the final choice for both (students and recruiters) comes after taking into account factors such as role and challenge. The new process typically happens over weekends, thus not disrupting the academics.

"We are not trying to propagate or push the cohort system. We are not in any way dictating policies. Each institute implements a placements process that fits them. Though we ourselves have done away with the day system, we still continue to have rolling placements for the course for executives and lateral placements for the post-graduate students. So, through this open forum, we will only be sharing our learnings and in turn, listen to the concerns of recruiters and students. Problems can be solved only through discussions. If there is no forum (as the conclave) no solution will come up," says Professor Saral Mukherjee, chairperson, placements, at IIM-A.

Recuriters at IIM-A who have largely welcomed the new cohort-based system are also expected to share their views during the conclave. "It is a much more matured and rationale system that IIM-A has evolved. There is less pressure on both, students as well as recruiters. It is progressive move. However, I won’t prescribe the system to other institutes. We as recruiters are not looking at standardisation among B-schools. Individual institutes should follow placement systems that suit them and we are willing to adapt," says Mr Shaleen Madan, VP, Human Resource, Lodha Developers, a Mumbai-based real-estate firm which earlier this year had recruited six graduates from both IIM-A and other IIM campuses.

IIM-A had implemented the new placement system during the final placements in March 2010 and later took to the summer placement that willl happen in November. It has so far, remained the sole institute to follow this system. "We had discussed the system informally with the recruiters for about a year and then later went ahead and implemented it. Now, we are going to discuss it officially. We believe that it is our duty to share our learnings with other B-schools," Mr Mukherjee added.

Reacting to IIM-A's attempt to bring together the country's top B-schools, Professor Amit Dhiman, chairperson placements, IIM-C. says, "It is a good forum to talk with the industry. The cohort-system is an experimental initiative taken by IIM-A. This could evolve as an alternative to the existing day-system. However, it is upon the individual B-schools to adopt a system that suits their way of functioning. While changing any system, we need to look at the response from all the stakeholders, including those from the industry and students. Issues of logistics (for the recruiters) also need to be explored."

All but 70 kms stop IIM Rohtak from being called IIM Delhi. For advocates of building new IITs and IIMs near large industrialised metropolitan cities, the newest IIM at Rohtak would sound like a prayer answered in disguise, considering that it is just two-hours away from the country’s capital. And the travel
time would be lesser, if the National Highway 7 — which transports you from New Delhi
right to the doorstep of IIM Rohtak’s temporary campus — were widened and made less bumpy.

You can always travel to IIM Rohtak in an air-conditioned cab, but if you are looking for a sneak preview of the local milieu that the b-school’s students will spend two years in, I’d recommend a Haryana Roadways bus. The two-hour journey took me through typical Haryana scenery — vast paddy fields interrupted the occasional factory complex. The audio system played loud animated dialogues from 70′s movies spoken in the local dialect, diverting my attention away (mostly) from the several bumpy stretches on the monsoon-beaten highway.


The sprawling Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU) campus, the temporary home of IIM Rohtak lies right at the entrance of Rohtak city and the bus dropped me barely a few hundred meters from the gate, where a large blue board pointed in the direction of the set of buildings allocated to the IIM.

Like all previous IIMs, IIM Rohtak too has its beginnings in exile. It will only be until the third or fourth batch joins the b-school that its own 200-acre permanent campus — 20 kms away in the neighbouring village of Garnauthi — will be ready for use.

As I entered the hostel block, the accounting term exam had just ended and the batch was enjoying a game of cricket.

“We have another exam tomorrow but we’ll get down to studying only as evening approaches,” said Ankush Garg, a student of the first ever batch of IIM Rohtak as he showed me around the campus.

Two entire buildings of MDU have been given to IIM Rohtak. The hostel has single rooms for each student. The academic block has two classrooms, each with a capacity of 50 students and loaded with projectors and pull-down screens. The rest of the academic block is a sequence of rooms for the faculty and administration, most of which are vacant and waiting for its new occupants. The faculty is in the process of being recruited by IIM Lucknow, the mentor institution responsible for setting up IIM Rohtak. The students have access to all of MDU’s library, auditorium and sports facilities.

“We are happy with the temporary campus. We were apprehensive about what we might get, especially after we heard stories about some of the earlier IIMs being started out of single rooms of engineering colleges. But after we saw pictures of this campus posted on discussion forums, we were satisfied with the infrastructure we will get,” says 23-year old Shivank Sharma, who spent an year with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited before joining IIM Rohtak’s first batch.

The school runs completely on the back of faculty members from and curriculum formulated by IIM Lucknow, both from the main and the Noida campuses. To that extent, IIM Rohtak functions almost like a satellite campus of IIM Lucknow. But that will begin to change when the school gets its own Director (a senior professor from IIM Kozhikode has been named) on October 1 and also starts to replace the IIM Lucknow faculty by its own over the next year.

For now, faculty from IIM Lucknow and its Noida campus does to-and-fro to IIM rohtak only for classes and occasionally stays overnight in the campus. Without a resident faculty, the academic block carries a vacant air.

MUMBAI:

The Common Admission Test, the route to IIMs, has probably hit a rough patch. The unquestioned king of B-school entrance tests — used to gauge the popularity of business education in the country — has for the first time extended its registration deadline by a week, probably to convince more candidates into queuing up for the test.

"The number of people applying to take CAT has been falling. When the IIMs conducted the paper-pencil test themselves, they looked at restricting the number of takers. But, now that it has been outsourced, the revenue from CAT is suddenly important," said an IIM faculty. For years, the entrance test has been the IIM's golden goose; in 2007-'08, India's blue-chip B-schools raked in Rs 2.98 crore just by conducting CAT.

But in 2009, after 33 years, the test graduated from being a paper-pencil one and that, experts said, left out a large number of aspirants from smaller corners of the country who were not comfortable taking the computer-based test. This year again, the number of cities where test centres have been set up, too, has fallen.

Has that affected the number of those interested in taking the test? Prometric, the American company conducting the computer-based test for the IIMs, said in a press note, "The decision to extend the registration period was undertaken in order to provide candidates with additional opportunity to register and at the request of some candidates who required a longer registration period."

So the last day of registration, which was to end on September 30, has now been pushed to October 7. CAT convener Himanshu Rai said extension of the registration period had nothing to do with the falling registration numbers. "I don't have the data on how many students have registered for CAT-2010 but those wanting to take CAT would have done so by now. Also, if someone has decided not to take the test, they wouldn't."

However, Promteric, which earns its money on the number of candidates who register, is probably looking at converting fence-sitters to rushed last-minute registrations. "What otherwise would explain the reason for extending the dates to sell vouchers too?". There could be no logical reason to extend registration but the falling numbers of CAT takers that had prompted Prometric to keep counters open for longer.

The CAT 2010 registration, which was supposed to end this week, has been postponed. The Voucher Sale will now end on Thursday, September 30, 2010 instead of Monday, September 27, 2010. And the registration for CAT 2010, the last date of which was Thursday, September 30, 2010, has been extended by a week to Thursday, October 7, 2010.

However, till now there has been no change in the CAT 2010 schedule, which will be held from Wednesday, October 27, 2010 to Wednesday, November 24, 2010. The result will be declared on Wednesday, January 12, 2010.

According to Prometric, the reason to extend the dates of Voucher sale and registration was to provide the candidates an additional opportunity to the candidates for registration. The decision was taken on the basis of the requests of CAT 2010 candidates who required a longer registration period. So now many candidates would be heaving sighs of relief who are yet to register and their requests have been granted by IIMs and Prometric.

In five months, the MBA will lose its status as a universally accepted credential for management jobs. In India, at least, b-school grads who want those jobs will also have to take a test.

On Feb. 20, the All-India Management Association (AIMA) will roll out the Management Aptitude Skill Test (MAST), a screening test designed to determine whether business school graduates in India are qualified for jobs, according to several published reports.

The details are a little sketchy, and my efforts to reach someone at the AIMA were unsuccessful. But AIMA President Sanjiv Goenka, told the Financial Chronicle that the test was designed to help students. “The idea is to give aspiring management graduates a level playing field. It is not always possible for companies to reach out to all the IIMs and other B-schools while hiring. In the process, talented students are left out.”

Here’s what I know about the new test. It’s computer based and 150-minutes long, and it will test the candidate’s “management aptitude, domain knowledge in areas of specialisation like finance, marketing, HR, international business, operations & IT and assess their personality traits such as leadership, handling stress, decision-making skills, stability and teamwork abilities,” according to the Economic Times.

The Times is reporting that a number of big employers are already on board, including the India-based operations of Deloitte, MetLife, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nokia, Lenovo, and TATA Communications. But the Financial Chronicle quotes an AIMA director general, Rekha Seth, as saying the number of companies planning to use the test goes well beyond that. “There has been overwhelming response from both companies and b-schools,” Sethi told the publication. “We are looking at 200 corporate endorsements and have already got 100 so far.”

It's unclear to me if the test will be required by these companies, as part of the application process perhaps, or if it will be optional. It's also unclear if the scores will be publicly available (so employers can mine the database for high-scorers) or if the candidates themselves can direct the scores to specific employers (similar to the GMAT and other standardized tests). Other unknowns include whether candidates with degrees from schools outside of India will need to take the test for Indian jobs, and if the test will be required for jobs in India only or for any position for which a graduate of an Indian b-school is being considered.

Throughout most of the world, standardized testing is something that business school applicants are accustomed to. But the notion of a post-graduation test that qualifies an MBA graduate for employment (the way the bar exam qualifies lawyers or the licensing exam qualifies doctors) is new.

I think most employers, even if they sometimes complain about MBA grads who need to be retrained after they're hired, still assume that business schools, whatever their flaws, do impart the basic knowledge and skills needed to thrive in a corporate setting. (If they didn't believe that they wouldn't pay them six-figure starting salaries.) So I'm left wondering whether something like this, while it might make sense in a country where the quality of business school education is uneven, would be necessary or useful in the U.S. and Europe, where programs are more established.

I think an argument can be made that it is. Think about it: with few exceptions, grade inflation is as big a problem in b-school as it is anywhere else, and many top U.S. b-schools won't even disclose grades to recruiters. The programs themselves, or the portion of them given over to academics, are getting shorter and shorter--in Europe you can get an MBA in less than a year. For recruiters that's a little like buying a car without opening the hood. A test like the one AIMA has planned would allow them to look under the hood.

In a perfect world (perfect from an employer's perspective) all candidates would have internships before a hiring decision is made, giving the employer a few months to put them through their paces. But it's an imperfect world. A test is an admittedly poor substitute for an internship, but is it better than nothing at all? Is it better than "Trust me, he'll do a great job"?

BETA, IIM Ahmedabad’s Finance and Investments club, is all set to host the inaugural edition of EXCHEQUER  – a national level financial services competition. Through EXCHEQUER, BETA aims to open up a platform, in which teams comprising the brightest students from India’s best B-Schools compete to emerge as the Best B-School in Finance in India. The first of its kind event in the B-school landscape , Exchequer is being held over two stages – with 25 teams participating in the online rounds, from which 8 teams survived for the Grand Finale.

Over the last one month, nominated teams from the top 25 Indian B-Schools were invited to participate in Stage I of Exchequer which was hosted by BETA, the Finance and Investments Club of IIMA in association with UBS. The event tested the teams across the four major verticals of finance. The four sub-events, namely, Arbitrage (Capital Markets), DealMaker (Investment Banking), Leverage (PE/VC) and White Knight (Retail Banking) presented problems tempered with real world constraints to the competing teams such that their knowledge and skills were tested to the extreme.

Teams had to go through a grueling set of problems in all the four event verticals and their submissions were judged by eminent personalitites from the banking industry as well as academicians. Finally, 8 teams have emerged from the intense competitions as most worthy of making it to the finals. Although, the list throws up some expected names, it also surprises on a few counts with several notable exceptions. The list of eight that will battle it out in the finals are IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, XLRI Jamshedpur, ISB Hyderabad and Institute of Management, Nirma University.

The event organizers are proud to have 3i, Axis Bank and UBS as its partners for the event. UBS, the principal partner for this event, is a global financial services firm with presence in 50 countries and employing more than 64,000 people. Private equity firm 3i and domestic retail banking giant Axis Bank are the knowledge partners for Leverage and White Knight respectively.

The Grand Finale is slated to be held over the 25th and 26th of September at the IIMA campus and shall comprise the final rounds based on the above four verticals. Eminent personalities from within the banking industry, academicians and industry persons will now descend on the IIMA campus as judges and guests for the event wherein all the 8 selected teams will now compete against each other. Going by the closely fought nature of the preliminary rounds, the final rounds at IIMA now are set for a tense and tight battle to decide “The Best B-School in India in the Financial Services Domain”.

Kolkata:

The All India Management Association (Aima)—the country's apex management body—is formulating a new employability ranking for business school graduates. AIMA president Sanjeev Goenka on Tuesday said there would be a uniform employability benchmark through a management aptitude skill test (MAST), replacing the Management Aptitude Test, the online entrance test, for all fresh management graduates.

Aima currently has 30,000 individual and 3,000 institutional members and 60 local management across India and overseas. It undertakes a host of management related activities and initiatives such as distance management education, management development programmes, special conferences, research and publications and testing services and competitions.

Goenka said MAST has been designed 'in a concerted effort with IMRB and it would also be a ranking oriented online test. The first MAST would be held on February 20, 2011, he added.

“The whole idea is to give aspiring managers and fresh management graduates from across IIMs and other B-Schools a level playing field while kicking off their professional career,” Roopen Roy, managing director of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India and also a Aima board member, said.

Acording to Roy, it is not always possible for companies to reach out to all the IIMs and other B-Schools while hiring. For this reason, some good and highly employable students from some smaller IIMs like IIM-Shillong or lesser known B-Schools are left out.

Rekha Sethi, Aima director general said, there has been overwhelming response from both companies and B-Schools across the country to the idea of MAST.

Aima was looking at 200 corporate endorsements, to start with, and have already got as many as 100 corporate endorsements till date.

Kozhikode:

In a corporate-academia collaboration initiative, the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIMK), has entered into a tie-up with leading brokerage firm, JRG Securities Ltd, in the area of equity research. The tie-up between IIMK and “Inditrade,” promoted by JRG Securities, is claimed to be the first of its kind among all the IIMs in the country. According to the agreement, the Finance Interest Group of the students, “Financially Yours,” will assign 40 students to perform equity research for the company. A few of these analysts will also be provided with an opportunity to do trading at the bourses for the company. The tie-up is aimed at enhancing the students' understanding about the financial performance of various companies across sectors and provide hands-on experience to them on “share trading for brokerage firms,” according to the Media Cell of the institute.

In 1961, India began to establish its network of prestigious state-run business schools – the respected Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) – with the aim of creating an elite cadre of managers, versed in the latest management thinking, to help run its socialist-orientated economy.

But with the economy then still dominated by state enterprises – and developing only at the so-called “Hindu rate of growth” of roughly 2 per cent a year – demand for business graduates was limited, and many IIM diploma- holders ended up going abroad to seek job opportunities that were unavailable at home.

Today, with India growing at a blistering 8 per cent a year, companies are hungering for business school graduates who can help them manage fast-expanding operations in sectors ranging from banking and retail to real estate. Young Indians, too see business education as a passport to opportunity, and are clamouring to enter business schools.

But India’s state business schools have failed to keep pace with the rapid growth in demand. Although the IIM system has expanded from four campuses in the mid-1980s to nine fully fledged campuses today, demand from potential students still far outstrips the available places. In 2009, a total of 242,000 applicants across India vied for just 1,800 admission slots into the system.

Into this gap has stepped a wide array of private players – some spurred by the drive to create high-quality management talent and foster cutting-edge research, to propel India’s economy forward. Others are attracted by the money-making opportunities in a business education market now estimated at Rs30bn ($645m), and growing at roughly 12-13 per cent a year.

Annually, these institutes churn out around 100,000 graduates, whose knowledge and qualifications range from world class to so poor that they can’t distinguish between gross or net profits, or read a profit and loss statement.

“If you look at the business management school scenario, 80-90 per cent of education is through private schools. Of that, just 5-10 per cent are delivering quality education,” says Shobha Mishra Ghosh, director of the higher education department at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), a leading business group. “The bulk of these institutions are not actually matching up to quality requirements.”

Anjan Das, an expert in higher education at the Ficci, agrees: “The number of people coming out of business education is certainly high, but the question is whether we are producing enough high-quality people.”

Part of the problem is that India’s business education sector is so highly regulated – in theory – that it has become almost totally unregulated in practice. The syllabus for a state-recognised MBA course is dictated in micro scopic detail by the official All India Council for Technical Education. This body also prescribes that state-recognised programmes must charge “bargain basement” fees, and must set aside a number of places for students from India’s lower-caste groups.

As a result, many serious business schools have opted not to seek government accreditation, as this would restrict their ability to teach the latest curriculum and pedagogic methods, undercut their financial viability, and prevent them from making purely merit-based admission decisions. Instead, these institutions offer diplomas or certificates that are seen as MBA equivalents.

“If the industry recognises that the students being trained in your institutions are good, you can probably do without a certification,” says Ghosh.

At the pinnacle of India’s high-quality private institutions schools is the Indian School of Business (ISB). It was set up in the southern city of Hyderabad in 2001 by top Indian corporate and academic minds, among them Rajat Gupta, former managing director of McKinsey & Company (worldwide), who had lived and worked in the west, but felt strongly that India needed to have its own world-class business school.

The ISB’s curriculum was developed with Wharton and the Kellogg School of Business. Both institutions, along with the London Business School, regularly send faculty members to India, and collaborate with the ISB on research. The school, now building a second campus on a 70-acre site in the northern state of Punjab, was ranked 12th in the 2010 Financial Times list of global MBAs – the only Indian institution to appear.

Many well-respected private Indian universities have also set up solid business schools. Mumbai’s SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (eighth in Business India magazine’s 2009 ranking of business education) grew out of Bombay University, but disaffiliated itself to ensure its own academic freedom. Others, such as the Manipal Institute of Management in Karnataka, or Symbiosis in Pune, offer government-recognised MBAs.

At the same time, another class of business school – including those that are little more than profit-orientated degree factories – is exploiting India’s regulatory ambiguity to set up institutes offering diplomas, or other certificates, while not doing much to prepare students for high-level jobs. The state has little leverage over these businesses, which usually meet basic physical criteria for operating vocational training, but do not even purport to offer recognised degree courses.

Often, students do not realise the poor quality of their chosen programme until far too late. “Demand is so high for management degrees that most of these institutions are full,” says Ghosh. “Most of the graduates passing out of these places take up jobs that are low paying, and for which you don’t need a management graduate.”

India has no independent accreditation agency for its business schools either, though it has two government-affiliated accreditation bodies. But accreditation is not mandatory for business education programmes, and business groups say the accreditation organisations are so overstretched, and the accreditation process so bureaucratic, that many institutions do not bother.

India’s government is now considering legislation that would make accreditation mandatory for business programmes and establish a professional body to carry out the evaluations.

“To date, the approval process has been very input focused – you need so many classes and so many computers, but the outcome was never challenged,” says Ghosh. “What we are saying is: you give them the outcomes. If an institution is not performing, give it a time period to rectify that. If the institution still fails to perform, close it down.”

Meanwhile, many foreign universities are also interested in entering India’s business education market, but are currently barred under Indian law. While the country is debating whether to allow foreign universities to set up and operate degree courses, many top global business schools are focusing on executive education, offering non-degree courses to experienced executives.

Harvard Business School, for example, set up its India Research Center in Mumbai four years ago to develop Indian case studies and offer several executive education programmes, including its five-day course called Building a Global Enterprise in India (which carries a price tag of Rs218,300).

In the meantime, as India struggles to regulate for its burgeoning private sector business education, New Delhi is gradually expanding the country’s IIM network. This year, two more campuses have opened, and there are plans for several more in the next few years.

That should add to the pool of trained talent, or so industry groups hope. “It is a great move to expand the number of schools, but we need to worry about how better faculties can be introduced to these institutions, so they can churn out better human resources,” said Das, of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. “We also need to look at how other institutions have set their basic minimum standards, to ensure quality.”

Widely hailed across India as the best graduate business school in the country, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (IIMA) has much to boast about.

“One-third of India’s professional chief executives start out here at the IIMA; it’s remarkable,” says Samir K. Barua, director at the school.

Already famous for its talented students and its faculty members who move in lofty academic circles, the IIMA is now aiming for new heights – in particular, internationalisation.

“We want to be the thought leaders in management,” says Barua. “We want to create new paradigms in the field, just like Harvard has done in the west. We want to be the game shapers and changers, and I want new ideas in the field to come from the IIMA.”

Autonomous, but owned and financed by the state government of India, the school was the second to be established after Kolkata in 1961. It is now one of nine institutes nationally, soon to be 12, that aim to create a pool of elite managers able to lead the economy forward.

The institute, which collaborated with Harvard Business School during its early years, uses the case-based method of teaching and sees this as a prized asset and a key to its success.

Its flagship courses are the two-year postgraduate programme (PGP), which takes in students straight after their undergraduate degree, and the one-year PGP-X, for students with roughly 5-10 years’ work experience, as is the case with most MBA courses in the west.

While the institute is well regarded in Europe and the US, it wants to build a truly global reputation. “We need to improve our image outside India and be on a level playing field with the world’s top schools,” says Barua.

Recognition worldwide would bring benefits through collaboration and synergies with other business schools, as well as the development of exchange programmes. While the IIMA is the only Indian business school to be accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (Equis), an international accreditation body, it now has its eye on the US equivalent: accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Better connections with other business schools would also mean more attention from major corporations that would look to the IIMA for project collaborations, and it would broaden placement offers for PGP graduates.

New laws approved in April make it possible for schools such as the IIMA to set up other campuses both at home and abroad. “We are currently in talks, but soon it may be possible to set up campuses in, for example, Singapore or Dubai, which is why international rankings are important,” says Barua. “But we are looking at Hyderabad at the moment, which is a base for many companies in the information technology, biotechnology and infrastructure sectors.”

However, the IIMA faces major challenges that could stall its development and threaten its status as a provider of the best management education in the country.

One of the recommendations made for the school by Equis and other accreditation agencies was that its student population needed to be more diverse – in essence, saying the IIMA needed to attract international students.

But the IIMA is already struggling to meet the demand from India alone. Last year, roughly 242,000 students sat the common admission test, the first round of assessment for a PGP place at a management institute such as the IIMA. Only 1,800 applicants, or less than 1 per cent of candidates, secure a place.

Only the very best in the top quarter percentile attain a seat at the IIMA. Of the current PGP batch of students, 94 per cent are trained engineers, with nearly half having gone to the elite Indian Institutes of Technology first.

“We will never win the numbers game in India,” says Barua. “We are turning away brilliant students each year, as we do not have the capacity to satisfy the overwhelming demand. If we start taking on international students, inevitably we will be cutting down the number of places available to home students.”

He adds: “Another problem is that the brightest students in the west will not come to India. They will go to Harvard or Wharton. So we will have to lower test-score boundaries if we are to attract them. But this will mean they still will not get into the school, unless a quota system or something is set up, as the domestic test scores will still outweigh those of the international students. How can we justify accepting lower-calibre students?”

Moving towards a diverse faculty is also on the cards. “While our programmes themselves are very diverse and constantly changing with the times, we need a diverse faculty to deliver them. We are looking to get professors from outside India who will spend a substantial amount of the semester teaching here,” he says.

But the IIMA is already facing recruitment issues. “There is a huge shortage of teachers, and my faculty is overworked. We have been trying to overcome this, and the IIMA has been successful over the past 2-3 years in attracting roughly 30-plus staff. But this shortage stretches across all management institutes,” says Barua.

New legislation in the form of the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill, which will allow foreign universities to establish campuses in India, will increase staffing pressures. B.H. Jajoo, dean of the IIMA, says: “With this bill coming into play, we are preparing to compete aggressively. Retention of our faculty is a major problem we will face. These foreign universities will have [much greater] financial backing than what we can generate, and they have no limits on remuneration of teachers.”

He adds: “They will have a far better quality of organisation and management, and levels of freedom when it comes to running their schools that we can only dream of. We are overregulated by the government, so we have to abide by quotas, audits and levels of scrutiny that these schools will not have to deal with.”

In spite of the obstacles, Barua’s optimism is undiminished: “Having been in the job for more than two and a half years, I think I have a bigger challenge than my predecessors because the global platform is bigger. It is an exciting time.”

KOLKATA:

Fellowship student V Reddy is in somewhat of a quandary. He can’t decide whether he wants to take up teaching full-time in the future, or tread the corporate path. Academics, he says, has always been his first love, but salaries are an issue he can’t discount. “I know teaching can’t possibly match corporate salaries, but still something needs to be done. Otherwise, young people like me will find it harder to make up their minds about entering academia.”

Reddy’s predicament is understandable. In an increasingly competitive market where India Inc’s salaries are scaling new heights, B-schools are more or less stuck in a groove. Pay scale revisions have done their bit to improve things, and consulting activities, executive training, satellite programmes, foreign assignments and the like help supplement faculty salaries. Though the variance at the entry level has narrowed, at the senior level, the gap remains as large as ever.

“People join academia for the passion of research and teaching” is what those in the profession have always maintained. But in today’s context, what cannot be ignored is that faculty salaries are increasingly influencing people’s decision to join a PhD programme and enter teaching.

Consider this. An AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) International 2009-10 Salary Survey Report covering 30,971 B-school faculty members states that on an average, B-school professors at publicly-accredited institutions receive $129,300 (Rs 59 lakh, approximately) annually. In comparison, in India, a professor at an IIM would get about Rs 8-10 lakh annually on an average.

Top private B-schools in India, claim education sources, are believed to pay up to $80,000 (Rs 37 lakh approx.) — that too, to professors who have spent years teaching abroad. At the other end of the spectrum, there are the small-time private management institutes which pay their professors as little as Rs 15,000-20,000 a month!

Not surprisingly, the dearth of quality faculty is a raging problem countrywide. At the top of the rung, the seven IIMs have around 400 full-time faculty members and need another 60 of them. With four new IIMs to come up in the first phase, another 250 faculty members would be required.

At present, entry-level salaries are still competitive, with assistant professors earning about Rs 6 lakh. However, it’s at the senior level, where the divergence widens immeasurably. To make up for this, some B-school professors also do what are known as ‘satellite programmes’ and even executive training where the fee per hour is between Rs 3,000-6,000. Consulting assignments are more lucrative, bringing in anything between Rs 50,000-1,50,000-plus a day, but a portion of that, in most cases, needs to be shared with the institute.

After close to 1.5 lakh applicants have already registered for the Common Admission Test (CAT), Prometric head Soumitra Roy, who was in Mumbai on Thursday, chooses to say: “CAT examinations cannot be completely glitch-free.” Prometric is the official test conducting firm for the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs).

“We have read all the problems faced by students last year and we are striving to avoid it. This year, we have mock demos and videos uploaded on the site, which will be used by students. Such is the magnitude of the process of this examination that one cannot expect it to be without a hitch; although those would be very minor,” he said. “It is an online and technical process which depends on machines. So there are chances of a perfect machine in a centre checked twice for glitches, today may not function properly tomorrow.”

On enhanced security features, Roy said, “Last year we had several cases of proxy students. The fingerprints of students who appeared for the exam were different from the ones which were taken at the IIMs during the admission process. We have tried to introduce several features in the security system to avoid proxy students this year.”

Prometric will also have a lower numbers of test centres this year, 78 as compared to last years’ 104. Even the numbers of computers used this year will be 9,000 compared to 17,000 last year. “It is easier to control fewer centres. Last year we saw that several centres had used outdated or even pirated software which led to malfunctioning. They did not even have the anti-virus software.”

Roy also said that candidates are expected to visit the test’s website, www.catiim.in, often to watch videos to familiarise themselves with the instructions. The practice test of 15 minutes with 12 questions will available on the website soon, with a tutorial explanation prior to it. Though the tutorial will be available for the candidates even on the test day, they are expected to be well-versed with it before-hand. The candidates are also asked by Prometric to take the practice test often to get the ‘test-day’ experience.

IIM Kozhikode has launched the 4th version of its national-level entrepreneurship competition “White Knight” which will be held as part of its annual international management festival Backwaters.
The competition aims to put into action the institute’s vision of shifting the B-School from the path of exclusive elitism to inclusive excellence. This event will provide a platform to enterprising and ambitious people with ideas for profitable and scalable businesses to make their dreams a reality.
 
Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM Kozhikode, during the launch of the event said, “IIM Kozhikode is changing the face of business education in India by bringing greater diversity than any other B-School in India that we know of. Our students engage in new ventures in business and newer adventures in the realm of ideas. I believe that innovation is all about liberating the learner in us so that we can chart new pathways for creating wealth. The real wealth of India rests in those intangibles: the ideas, imagination and aspiration of our people."
 
This year, White Knight has been launched on a scale bigger than ever. India Innovation network is acting as the Advisor & Mentor for the event while TiE Kerala is the Knowledge Partner. The competition will invite ideas not only from B-School students but also from working professionals by recognizing the fact that innovation happens not by people who meet the market needs but by those who create it.
 
The ideas are invited for all categories and industries. However, in line with IIM Kozhikode’s vision of creating socially sensitive managers attuned to the welfare needs of emerging India, White Knight has a special prize in the category “Best Social Venture”. Prizes may be given to other special categories like IT products, Women entrepreneurs, and Biotech subject to the quality of B-Plans submitted in these categories.
 
Interested people can submit their ideas by 25th September, 2010.
 
The entries would be evaluated by a panel of leading venture capitalists, industry leaders, and IIMK Faculty. The event has Rs. 50 million of total seed funding available in partnership with various VC firms and angel investors making it the biggest Entrepreneurship challenge in India.
 
The last edition of White Knight saw the grand prize of Rs. 1 Lakh and the White Knight rolling trophy, given by TiE Kerala, being handed over to the winning team from SPJIMR for their business plan “eSamuhanam – enhancing rural employability”. Who’s it going to be this year?
 
More details can be found on the event website www.iimkbackwaters.com/whiteknight.

IIM Ahmedabad, the much talked about B-school, needs no introduction to many of our students and working professionals. Everyone knows that it is the No.1 B-school of the country.But not many know what makes IIM Ahmedabad the foremost name in the Indian management education domain.

Responses from Directors, Deans, Students and Recruiters were collected for each of segments. The Directors and Deans were asked questions on: Quality of students enrolling, quality of faculty, physical infrastructure, placements, and international initiatives.

The Recruiters were asked questions on: Student's communication skills, analytical skills, and domain knowledge. The students were asked questions on: Quality of faculty and learning, placements, industry engagement, skills added.

Scores out of total of 100 were given to each B-school for each of the parameters. IIM Ahmedabad has been able to emerge as the number one B-school with its highest total score of the three parameters (742 out of maximum of 1000). The following are its scores in the each of the parameters:

INPUT SCORE AND INPUT RANK: IIM-A has scored 79.1 out of maximum of 100. With this high score the B-school has emerged as the No.1 in the INPUT rankings. The Overall Input Ranking is based on the 'Quality of Students' who enter into an MBA program. This is based on two parameters: Quality of Intake - Students Aptitude (58% weightage) and Quality of Intake - Students Proficiency (42% weightage).

Although in the sub-rankings of 'Quality of Intake - Students Aptitude' and 'Quality of Intake - Students Proficiency' the B-school is ranked 3 and 5 respectively, the B-school has emerged No.1 with the combined good rankings in the two sub-rankings.

PROCESS SCORE and PROCESS RANK: With an Overall Process Score of 66.9 (out of maximum of 100) the B-school is ranked at No. 2 in terms of process. The Overall Process Ranking is based on the International Initiatives (24% weightage), Physical Infrastructure (26% weightage) and Quality of Faculty (50% weightage). In the sub-rankings of International Initiatives, Physical Infrastructure, Quality of Faculty the B-school is ranked at 1, 9, 2 respectively.

OUTPUT SCORE and OUTPUT RANK: With a score of 76.2 out of 100 the overall output rank is No.1. The Overall Output Ranking is based on the results produced by MBA program. The weightages are: Recruiters Perception (12%), Students Experience (18%), Academic Excellence (27%) and Placement (43%).

In the sub-rankings of Recruiters Perception, Students Experience, Academic Excellence, Placement it has been ranked at 1, 7, 12, 2 respectively.

With the combined score of all the above three parameters IIM-Ahmedabad has emerged as the NO.1 B-school in India.

Now we will present to you the complete fact sheet of IIM Ahmedabad that will showcase why it is the best B-school in India.

With a very tough selection process the number-friendly engineers capture the maximum seats at the B-school. With their quick thinking and calculating abilities the engineers are also a top choice for the recruiters.

More than 40% of the students of the 2009-10 starting batch are without prior work experience. Work experience matters, but not much.

Placements

True to its reputation of being a change leader, IIM Ahmedabad, took a path-breaking step by introducing a Cohort-based placement process in the year 2010. Of the total 283 students of the 2008-10 batch 274 students were placed through campus. Nine students did not participate in the placement process. The Average domestic salary of students without experience was Rs. 14,94,000. The Average foreign salary of students without experience was USD 1,10,750

The Banking and Finance sector was the top choice with 28% students accepting offers. The second most-sought sector was Consultancy with 26.5% students opting for it. IT/ITES was another top flavor with 17.2%. The share of other sectors were as follows: FMCG/Marketing (12.5%); Telecom (1.8%); Retail/Real estate (2.5%); General management (10.8%); Pharma (0.7%).

Other Key Facts

-- Till now the total number of batches that have graduated since the B-school's inception: 45
.

-- Sex ratio: 85% male and 15% female (2009-10).

-- Total number of permanent faculty: 88.

-- Total number of visiting faculty: 49.

-- Teaching experience: 53 faculty members of the total of 88 have more than 15 years teaching experience.

Top business school of the country, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) will start functioning at Raipur from October 10.

"The first academic session of IIM-Raipur will begin from October 10 this year," IIM-Indore officials said today.

The first session will commence with a batch of 70 students enrolling for the two-year 'Post Graduate Programme in Management', they said.

The Central Government has made IIM-Indore as the mentor of IIM-Raipur, officials said and added preparations for the inauguration of new IIM's academic session including recruitment of faculty were at the final stages.

Initially, classes for IIM-Raipur will be held at the premises of a Government Engineering College located at Sejbahar area in Raipur, they said.

The Chhattisgarh government had already allocated land for the construction of new IIM-Raipur campus, officials said.

Under the 11th five year plan, the Centre had given green signal to the proposals for opening new IIMs in seven cities of the country including at Raipur.

In a significant structural change, the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has announced three deans for the business school. Incumbent dean professor BH Jajoo will be the dean of administrative affairs, while professors Atanu Ghosh and Ajay Pandey will be the dean of alumni and external relationships, and faculty, respectively. The tenure of each dean will be three years.

The plan to inculcate such a structural change had been in the pipeline for a few months, but the announcements were made only earlier this month following an internal selection process.

The country’s premier institute is perhaps the first in its league in India to announce three deans to look after different activities. IIM-Calcutta has always had two deans.

“As we grow bigger, we have felt the need to involve more people in the administration and management of the institute for quite some time now. It was felt that the job becomes extremely difficult for one dean, as he has to look after various functions,” IIM-A director Prof Samir Barua told DNA.

The structural change follows the recommendations of the IIM-A’s internal committee on future directions (CFD), which has suggested that external relations and alumni as well as faculty development need to be developed with total focus.

The recommendation was also to include faculty in this critical processes. “It is a common practice in western B-schools who have several deans in-charge of different activities,” Barua added.

Jajoo continues to shoulder maximum responsibilities as he will handle administration and every other activity which requires attention. It was indicated that some more deans may added in the coming months as more portfolios get bifurcated.

Ghosh, an M Tech in Textile Technology from IIT Delhi, is a senior faculty in the business policy area at the institute. He started as a management trainee at the Calico Mills in Ahmedabad and later worked as a manager at Arvind Mills in the early ‘80s. Pandewas chairman of IIM-A’s financial aid committee. He was the chair of the institute’s flagship PGP programme till last year.

MUMBAI:

The Indian Institutes of Management have revealed how they mark candidates in the competitive Common Admission Test. Not everything depends on how you perform, what also matters is the difficulty level of the paper you take.

The IIMs along with Prometric have devised a formula to equalize the scores of candidates taking the varied versions of the test. This year, the IIMs will also allow management aspirants to change the date and the venue of sitting for the exam too.

Himanshu Rai, chairman of the CAT 2010 committee, said: ‘‘ We are allowing candidates to change the test taking location and time till September 30. But a new venue and time slot will be given based on availability .’’ The IIMs have also worked out a method of ‘‘ fair assessment,’’ for the CAT will use multiple test papers.

‘‘ However the difficulty of the content may vary slightly with every paper , but will be comparable. To facilitate fair comparison, each form will contain a small number of items that will be shared with one or more other forms. These items are termed as equator blocks. By comparing responses to these equator block items across multiple forms the candidates’ ability level will be evaluated and the precise difficulty of the forms calculated,’’ stated the IIMs.

Later, equated raw scores will be placed on a common scale to ensure appropriate interpretation of the scores, a process called scaling. Officials said that raw scores will be calculated for every section based on the number of questions the candidate has correctly or incorrectly answered and also omitted.

Three points are given for each correct answer and 1 negative point for each incorrect answer. There will be no points for questions that are not answered.

A CAT paper consists of three sections and each would be evaluated and four- scaled scores will be given to each candidate. However a high score in one section would not guarantee high scores in the others.

The percentile rankings will remain constant. They will be provided for each individual section as well as for the overall exam score.

NEW DELHI:

Pre-placement offers (PPOs) for students of the country’s top notch business management institutes, IIMs, have started pouring in much ahead of schedule.

PPOs are made by companies to candidates who intern with them for around two months during the summers. Early offers indicate employers want to retain talent ahead of the final placements in January next year. Better corporate earnings over the last one year has boosted job prospects in the country as companies are looking to expand operations after going slow on recruitment with bare minimum increments till last year.

Companies across sectors are looking to hire and they would surely use PPO as a medium to lap up good talent from across IIMs as there is a sense of familiarity on both sides, said a senior human resource executive who recently moved from a pharma company to one of the country’s biggest conglomerates. “The war for talent is definitely going to be more intensive this year,” he said requesting anonymity.

Picture this: IIM Calcutta has reported 37 PPOs, more than twice compared to 15 such job offers received by its students in the same period last year. This means that nearly 10% of the batch already have a job offer, a mark they could achieve only around October last year.

“Last year nobody was sure how placements were going to shape up since companies came out with fewer PPOs. This year, early offers have given us much more confidence and placement prospects for our batch are already looking brighter,” said Paromita Chakravarty, a student from IIM-C, who recently received an offer from an FMCG giant.

This year, PPOs at IIM-C include those from consulting firms McKinsey & Co, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Co and AT Kearney besides international banks such as UBS, Nomura and Morgan Stanley. Majority of the offers from these banks are for international positions like Singapore, London and New York. Apart from MNCs, Tata Administrative Services and Hindustan Unilever have also offered jobs to students at IIM-C. About 18 students are also going through pre-placement interviews at the campus, most of which are likely to get converted into PPOs in the coming days.

IIM Lucknow has reported 22 PPOs so far, from recruiters such as McKinsey & Co, BCG, Hindustan Unilever, Aditya Birla Group, Essar Group and L&T. Although, a number of companies have give PPOs already, the real rush of PPOs would be felt only by October, said IIM-L recruitment coordinator Rahul Tom Joseph.

Both IIM-A and IIM-B did not disclose the numbers but said that PPOs have primarily come from consulting firms and a few investment banks.

At IIM-B, PPOs started coming from July and the institute says the numbers are at par with last year. “The trend looks healthy,” says IIM-B placement head Sapna Agarwal. “If we go by the sentiments during final placements for students passing out early this year and the PPOs being offered now, the scenario looks quite bright. But we need to be cautious and invite more companies, since our batch size is larger this year,” she added.

Chennai/ Hyderabad:

Drug maker Dr Reddy's Laboratories and the Indian School of Business (ISB) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to set up ‘Dr Reddy’s Cell for Employability and Skilling’ at the ISB.

DRL will provide Rs 10 crore over five years to promote research on affordable, profitable, scalable and replicable skill enhancement models. The new cell would function under the aegis of the Centre for Emerging Markets Solutions, an interdisciplinary research centre working in areas of banking, financial services, retail, healthcare and education.

The partnership would strengthen the efforts of Dr Reddy's Foundation, the CSR arm of DRL, in creating sustainable livelihoods for youth, according to GV Prasad, vice chairman and chief executive officer DRL.

ISB dean Ajit Rangnekar said more such modules would be launched.

PaGaLGuY.com:

Netaji Subhash Institute of Management Sciences, the 38th ranked among private b-schools in India, has launched some specialized and  futuristic courses in Management. This will help management aspirants get a strong foothold in corporate India right from the beginning. NIMS has arranged special tie-ups not only with the corporate sectors but also with noted personalities like Dr Aruna Broota (eminent career counselor and clinical psychologist), eminent Management Guru Mr BB Sachdev IIM Ahmedabad alumnus and education honchos like Prof Jahar Saha, Former Director IIM, Ahmedabad, Dr.LC Amarnathan, Former Vice Chancellor Sikkim Manipal University, to brush up the skills of management students.

Said Major General (Retd) SS Chahal, Principal Director, NIMS Pitampura. “The outgoing recession has brought a huge change in the business sector and obviously management education has changed in a big way. Our BBA/MBA programmes equip our students with knowledge and skills that are far ahead of the times with innovative business tools and new ideas making them multi-tasking and multi-skilled in all possible ways.”

NIMS in keeping up with its tradition of excellence has launched two premium courses:

a) Industry integrated BBA/MBA courses that would help management aspirants get a strong foothold in the industry right from the beginning and pave the way to a great career ahead.

b) MBA: a one-year post Graduate Programme For Working Executives (Evening & Weekend Classes)

What sets NIMS apart as a business school is its philosophy ‘think ahead of the times’, a philosophy that not only challenges one’s  thinking but motivates one to constantly and consistently think ‘out of the box’. It is this thinking that has shaped the destiny of so many of our students and made corporates respect and honour us.

Studying at NIMS has several advantages. NIMS is ranked 38th among best private b-school in India and its focused learning in business management and its strong International linkages with prestigious Institutions, Universities, b-schools (National College of Ireland, etc) makes one ready for managing businesses worldwide.

The NIMS Courses are:

1) MBA+PGPM (Regular Degree  Programmes) / BBA + GPM

Also available International Programme: 3 yrs joint BA (Hons) in Business from National College of Ireland.

2) MBA one-year Post Graduate Programme For Working Executives (Evening/Weekend Classes)

Free of cost special add-on courses

• Retail Management • Real Estate Management • Employment Enhancement Programme

• English (IELTS equivalent) • DOEACC ‘O’ Level Course

• Free laptop

• Upto 100%  scholarship for meritorious students

At national level NIMS has affiliations with leading UGC recognised universities (Punjab Technical University, Guru Jambeshwar University of Science & Technology & Maharshi Dayanand University accredited as grade “A” University by NAAC).

Quality standards of NIMS are also amongst the best in the world with emphasis on practical value based learning and developing managerial and leadership skills. A considerable amount of time is also spent to develop communication skills in English – the International language of business or a widely spoken foreign language (for those already proficient in English), acquiring excellent proficiency in IT (“O” level of DOEACC) and the overall development of personality, so that our graduates or post graduates could be at home at any place in the world.

Why NIMS?

• Fabulous Wi-Fi Campus, World Class AC Glass Building.

• Strategic location in corporate hub of Delhi connected with Netaji Subhash Place Metro Station at Ring Road

• On the Job Training & Placements with Corporate/MNCs.

• Free Add On Courses in Retail Management, Real Estate Management, Employment Enhancement Programme, English (IELTS equivalent), DOEACC ‘O’ Level Course Worth Rs 1,07,000

• Guidance and Blessings of Noted Educationists, Vice Chancellors, IAS, IPS & Corporate Giants

• Visiting Faculty comprising of IIM, XLRI, FMS Alumni…

• Free Laptop & Upto 100% Scholarship.

• Education Loan Facility.

• Elite B-School in North Delhi with focused Business Management Education

• MBA & BBA are Industry Integrated Regular Programmes from MDU Rohtak while GPM & PGPM are autonomous programmes of NIMS.

• Netaji Subhash Institute of Management Sciences (NIMS) is the most respected Business school in North Delhi.

• Just 10 kms from Delhi University with several top colleges nearby.

• Ultra modern campus with wi-fi connectivity.

• Amply stocked digital library.

• Classrooms networked with latest audio – video equipments.

• Internationally acclaimed faculty with strong industry exposure and linkages.

• Leading edge quality teaching pedagogy.

• Innovative curriculum with excellent learning ambience.

• Focus on not just matching industry needs but also matching the changing ethos of the world.

Faculty

An internationally acclaimed faculty pool with vast exposure in national and international areas  providing a dynamic learning process mixing knowledge with rich experience.

Alumni

Alumni are the best brands for any educational institution and our alumni are leading the world  as corporate managers, academicians, successful entrepreneurs at renowned Indian and multi national companies & educational institutions.

Infrastructure

The institute has a well equiped, ultra modern and  fully air conditioned campus with wi-fi connectivity. Classrooms are networked with latest audio – visual equipments and has a well-furnished and modern cafeteria. The institute also provides medical assistance during emergency situations.

Placements

NIMS provides such a quality oriented and in depth knowledge of the business environment that it results in the achievement of 100% placement record and summer internship attachment according to one’s aptitude and skills.

Netaji Subhash Institute of Management Sciences
NIMS B-school, Netaji Subhash Place, Pitampura, Delhi 110 034

Tel: 011-47020055 (20 Lines)
Mob: 09971620055, 09971870055,
Email: info@nimsindia.net
Web: www.nimsindia.net