MDI-Gurgaon
The Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, was established as an autonomous body in collaboration with several global institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Bank and the International Labour Organization in 1973. The institute began its flagship Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) in 1994. Before that it only offered the National Management Programme sponsored by the Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
Being one of the top B-Schools of the country, the institute has the distinction of being the first internationally accredited Indian B-School. MDI received accreditation by South Asian Quality Systems (SAQS) in 2005. The institute’s long-term education programmes are accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), UK, and all its PG programmes in management are recognised and accredited by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi.
Admission
MDI offers post graduate programmes in management, human resource management and international management for fresh graduates. The Fellow Programme and Executive Fellow Programme are for those who have at least 10 years of work experience at a senior level. A special mention needs to be made for the institute’s Public Policy Management Programme (PPMP). MDI ranks among the top five institutes offering the programme.
Campus
The campus, spread over 39 acres is immaculate with red brick buildings and dotted trees. The PGPM, PGP-HR and PGP-IM students stay on campus and are provided accommodation on twin- sharing basis in one of the two hostels. There is a separate hostel for girl students. The institute also has a special executive hostel for the MDP participants. Faculty members too have their living quarters within the campus.
Alumni
MDI boasts of an illustrious alumni association. Over several decades it has developed a strong and influential network of professionals many of whom are leaders in the corporate world. The alumni network has members from all the post graduate programmes.
Placements
Placements at the institute are organised by the students though they are guided by the faculty. The student coordinators are responsible for developing and nurturing relationships with corporates for both recruitment and non-recruitment activities. These include actively engaging companies on a regular basis, handling operations during the Placement Week and so on.
Summer internship is a major part of student life at MDI. For students pursuing the post graduate programme in management or HR, a summer internship of six to eight weeks is a compulsory part of the curriculum.
MDI International Summer University
The institute has a special International Summer University programme where the prime objective is to give an opportunity to overseas students and executives to understand India, an emerging economy first hand. The MDI ISU gives Indian students an opportunity to interact with overseas faculty, their thoughts and their pedagogy. There are a total of nine courses offered by MDI ISU. Those pursuing this programme can select from the courses on offer to supplement the course curriculum of their home institutions. Indian students can opt for two courses whereas international students select four. Grades for the courses taken at MDI ISU are transferred to home institutions/ partner institutions, and are recognised to ensure a work load balance for the student.
What Sets MDI Apart?
MDI believes in a philosophy of learning by doing and a large number of initiatives are taken by the student community to add value in society at large and dealing with complex business problems of corporates.
According to C.P. Shrimali, acting director at MDI, knowledge creation is as important as knowledge dissemination. “For this purpose the faculty is our key resource and MDI is making significant addition to its talent pool this year,” he says adding that the full time faculty number will soon exceed 80. Similarly, students are encouraged to carry out live projects, industry assignments, industry research and participate in a large number of competitions. “I believe in a competitive business environment. The student community should build competencies and have an attitude of continuous learning and innovation along with a mindset of value addition and performance centricity. Faculty needs to provide facilitation, coaching, guidance and create an environment of research and learning for dealing with competition,” he concludes.
The author, Gauri Rane , is a Mumbai-based education journalist
(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 14-12-2015)
