The Indian School of Business (ISB) has named Rajendra Srivastava, deputy president (academic affairs) of Singapore Management University (SMU), as its new dean. Srivastava will succeed Ajit Rangnekar effective 1 January 2016 and lead ISB "through its next phase of growth" to strengthen its position further globally, the B-school announced. ISB is the third such Indian B-school to hire its dean from an overseas school, after IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Bangalore. ISB's dean is of the same rank as an IIM director. "Professor Rajendra Srivastava's appointment as the new dean of ISB marks a significant step towards ISB's mission of consolidating and strengthening its position as a world-class business school. I wish him success with the confidence that ISB will achieve new heights of success in the years to come," said Adi Godrej, chairman of the ISB Board and chairman of the Godrej Group. Srivastava is an MBA and PhD (Business Administration) from the University of Pittsburgh, an MS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, and a BTech (Mechanical Engineering) from the IIT-Kanpur. He has over 30 years of an experience as an academic and administrator. Prior to SMU, he had held distinguished research chairs and senior management positions at the University of Texas at Austin and Emory University in Atlanta. Srivastava's research interests are in the area of marketing and brand strategy. He is well-known globally for his work examining the impact of marketing investments on business performance, business model innovation and marketing metrics. He is a highly cited scholar with work published in leading marketing journals. The new dean would focus on "balanced excellence" or the integration or research, education and practice as well as a balance between thought leadership from the East and West, it stated.
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Aptech, the global education company has launched the Aptech Banking & Finance Academy with a mission to fill the predicted skill deficit in the BFSI sector.Anuj Kacker, Executive Director, Aptech, said, “BFSI is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. While the Indian banking industry expected to become 3rd largest in the world by 2025, the biggest hurdle in its way of growth is the lack of skilled human assets. We have taken up this mission to fill this skill deficit in the industry by empower 5,000 people every year with the skills required by a Certified Banking Specialist.”The Aptech Certified Banking Specialist (ACBS) programme has been designed to offer new age banking skills in front office and banking operations.The course will be initially offered in select 21 centers this year but will be expanded to 100 centers by next year. Aptech also plans to add more programs for other financial services sectors under the same course.The course aims to impart a wider assortment of skills suited for enhanced employability quotient sought by private banks, NBFCs, and allied sub-sectors like gold loan entities, DMAT service providers, housing loan companies, broking firms and insurance companies. After completion of course, young professionals can get a job in sales, relationship management or core banking operations profile with skills to work as a Certified Banking Specialist.According to National Skill Development Corporation, the BFSI sector will witness creation of 1.5 million new jobs by 2016-17. Lack of skilled human resource is one of the biggest impediments to the projected growth of the sector. With the newly launched Banking & Finance Academy, Aptech has taken up the challenge to fill this deficit.(BW Online Bureau)
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Mumbai University, higher educational institutes, the Government and industry has come together to create a common platform for capacity building and developing skills of B-Schools faculties. Haider Ali Khan reports More than forty institutional heads, corporate and HR faculty of B-Schools in and around Mumbai came together at WeSchool to craft a structured immersion experience for Faculty in Industry on Thursday (23 July). It was named as ‘Merger of Minds’. It is a collaborative effort that will be directed towards faculty sharpening and contemporarising the mind-sets, attitudes, knowledge and skills. They would have to move away from being the lead provider of knowledge and skills to more of a facilitative approach focused on student-centric learning requirements. The immersion experience is initially planned for the faculty from HR includes a variety of pedagogy, executed under the guidance of an industry mentor and would be extended to faculties across specialization and streams at a later stage. Professor Uday Salunkhe, group director of WeSchool said, “The rate of knowledge obsolescence and the dynamic environment changes makes collaborative models a necessity. Educational institutes have the responsibility remain aligned and contemporary with the stakeholders, which influence what is to be taught and how the same would be reflected in the behaviour and actions of our graduating students. This is the era of Mergers of Minds as unless we come together to co-create the future for all stakeholders, things will be difficult. Today, while there is too much emphasis on academically qualified faculty, what educational institutes also need are the professionally qualified faculty. We must start a process of reverse mentoring by bringing corporate heads to our classrooms and send faculty to experience and learn from the best practices in the corporate arena. We have to adapt SOS approach of transforming self, organisation and society. Let us collaborate to co- create a better future for all our students.” Speaking at the event, Sanjay Deshmukh, V-C of Mumbai university said, “Merging of minds’ will be possible when government, academia and Industry join hands at all levels to develop a symbiotic relationship that creates room for innovation and sustainable development for all, and especially for those who don’t have many opportunities.” He also added that contributing to efficient workflow, setting up of interface infrastructure, student engagement and enrichment, strengthening R and D efforts are the key areas for collaboration, where we will have to step beyond boundaries of traditional thinking, adopt principles of design thinking and empathy for people who are marginalized as an integral part of the education we provide to our students. As we progress we must also ensure that we have bio-balance combined with economic stability, the world must become a bio-village. Reaching the unreached should be our focus.
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NIIT Technologies, a leading global IT solutions organisation has been recognised as one of India’s ‘50 Best IT- BPM Company to Work For in 2015’ by Great Place To Work® Institute. Additionally, the company has also been conferred as the ‘Top 5 Large Organizations’ in the IT-BPM domain which include companies having over 5000 employees. The survey conducted by ‘Great Place To Work® Institute’ assessed over 135 companies from the Indian IT-BPM industry through two different lenses: employee survey to gather employees’ experience at their organization and an assessment of the existing policies and progTrustIndex©,rams, captured through the Culture Audit©. Rosita Rabindra, Chief People Officer, NIIT Technologies Ltd. said, “Two years ago the Company embarked upon its biggest cultural change journey to address the changing expectations of its clients. The journey aims at ‘Uplifting Service Levels’ through the Company’s service vision of ‘New Ideas, More Value’. This vision has become the backbone of the key HR practices for the organisation”. NIIT Technologies has scored high on its ‘Inspiring’ and ‘Developing’ practices. The “Inspiring” practice hinges on “Role Models”, employees who have done exemplar work and “Success Stories”, successful work which has delivered quantifiable benefits to the customer. The “Developing” practice focuses on providing the employees with a multi catalyst career development approach.
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WPP and the Indian School of Design and Innovation (ISDI) are jointly establishing the ISDI WPP School of Communication in Mumbai.Located on ISDI’s state of the art campus in the heart of India’s business capital, Mumbai, the ISDI WPP School of Communication marks WPP’s first foray into the Indian education sector. The partnership will help create India’s first professional three-year undergraduate diploma program in communication based on a unique work-study model that will bring together a strong academic and creative curriculum combined with practical application.The admissions process is currently underway through an online application form. The school recently hosted its first Accepted Students day where students and their parents had an opportunity to interact with the leadership team and faculty. The inaugural batch will commence in August 2015 with the first cohort of 60 students.The ISDI WPP School of Communication is WPP’s second education initiative globally. In 2011, WPP in partnership with the Shanghai Arts and Design Academy established the WPP School of Marketing and Communications in China. The program has just successfully completed its fourth year with 220 students enrolled.WPP has helped develop curriculum and will mentor students WPP and WPP companies, which are globally recognised for their in-house training and development programs, have worked closely with ISDI to develop the School’s curriculum and hire full-time faculty.Radha Kapoor, Founder & Director, ISDI, will lead the School’s board of directors.Additionally, senior staff from WPP companies will serve as part-time faculty and act as mentors. Internship and training opportunities will also be provided to students. An Executive Council has also been set up to oversee the smooth functioning of the 3-year program. ISDI is represented by Dr. Indu Shahani, Dean HR College, Radha Kapoor & Siddharth Shahani, Directors, ISDI; and WPP India by Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager, Paul Mower, Country Finance Director and Madhukar Sabnavis, Vice Chairman & Country Head of Discovery & Planning, Ogilvy & Mather.While the list of visiting faculty will be marked by celebrated names such as Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and National Creative Director at Ogilvy & Mather, and Roshan Abbas, Managing Director at Encompass Events, the program directors will include the likes of Madhukar Sabnavis, and CVL Srinivas, CEO at GroupM for South Asia, among others.Commenting on the partnership, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell said, “Amid strong growth in the wider economy and, more specifically, in our sector, India is facing a pronounced talent shortage, one that is expected to become even more acute in the future.” He added, “As the leading communications group in India and the world, WPP is committed to helping India to further develop the already high level of creative and professional talent in this sector.”Speaking on the supply-demand gap for fresh talent in the industry, Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager – India at WPP, said, “We employ approximately 15,000 people (including associates) and on an average, we need 3,000 new recruits every year, including replacements and first timers and this school is just a small beginning. We hope to expand this to be able to cover a significantly large part of our requirements and turnout 400-500 young men and women every year from our school. Our first batch of 60 students is just the beginning.”Committed to introducing a new education model, ISDI had welcomed its founding batch in July 2013. Founded by entrepreneur Radha Kapoor in association with Parsons The New School of Design, New York, ISDI is at the forefront of Indian design creating new career opportunities in design. The partnership with WPP will help create the right mix of design, innovation and effective communication that will shape the careers of future industry leaders.Ms Kapoor said, “The joint establishment of the ISDI WPP school to nurture world-class creative talents and the development of a new model in the collaboration between colleges and companies is a new exploration on the path of higher vocational education for the ISDI.”“WPP and its companies are known for their world-class internal training programs. WPP will share its experience in developing such programs and making them relevant to ISDI and its students. Upon graduation, students will have a solid academic background and creative skill sets, providing them with good employment opportunities in our industry,” she added.The School will offer students a three-year undergraduate program, wherein, the first year comprises of basic marketing and communication subjects and the second and third year offers students four major specialisations to choose from- Advertising and Communications, Media, Activation and Digital Marketing and Public Relations. WPP Lectures will run from Monday to Saturday, in the afternoons. Throughout the three years, students will be taught and mentored by top professionals from WPP and the industry, will work on live projects, build a portfolio, develop practical work skills, and have the opportunity to intern with WPP companies and get international exposure through student exchange and study abroad programs.Graduates will receive a three year Undergraduate Program certification from ISDI and WPP, in addition to a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from the University of Mumbai, IDOL (Institute of Distance and Open Learning).Going forward, Mr Kapur says that it will hope to replicate this model in more cities. “We would like to take it forward and open another branch in New Delhi in the future,” Mr Kapur said.
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Ashish Nanda, director of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), believes autonomy with accountability is paramount to building professional institutions of global excellence. In an exclusive interaction with BW Businessworld, Nanda shared his views on skill development, management education and the country’s legal system. Before joining IIM-A in 2013, Nanda was Robert Braucher Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School, and, before that, a faculty member of Harvard Business School. Excerpts:On Skill Development:The debate about skill development should focus on creation of opportunities, not just jobs. To benefit from our demographic dividend, we must build the capabilities of India’s youngsters as they enter employable age so that they seek and leverage opportunities: opportunities to work in skilled jobs, but also opportunities to entrepreneurially develop new businesses and create jobs. And for that, our post-secondary education system needs to change on three fronts. One, undergraduate education should have an emphasis on liberal arts, so that the students develop broader perspectives and sample various subjects to choose the ones that they relate to the most. Two, professional education should be close to practice so that graduates of professional schools have a good understanding of the real world when they enter it. Three, programmes should be offered in short bursts for practising professionals, for education is now a life-long activity and, to remain on the cutting edge and to renew themselves, executives are now increasingly going back to school throughout their work lives.On New IIMs:There is no doubt that we do not have the capacity to cater to the huge demand for quality management education in the country. For instance, less than one per cent of our applicants find their way to IIM-Ahmedabad every year. This is not to say that others are not qualified enough to receive world-class management education. However, we need to think carefully whether setting up of more IIMs will solve this problem. Perhaps the easiest part of institution building is development of physical infrastructure. But how do you ensure quality faculty? How do you ensure the best education for students? Developing a culture of academic excellence takes time. To build capacity, perhaps we should follow a mix of building some new IIMs and also strengthening the existing ones. Leading IIMs that have the software of academic excellence can grow hardware of additional physical capacity, and they can also mentor the new institutions that are being set up. We are already doing it in the case of the new IIM coming up in Nagpur.On IIM (Bill) 2015:It is in a draft form and the ministry is in the process of getting stakeholder comments at the moment. I hope the Bill, in its final form, empowers IIMs rather than centralising control. Autonomy ensures efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation. And autonomy goes hand-in-hand with accountability. If IIM administrations are responsible for decisions, they should be held accountable for results as well. Centralisation is not the answer. It disempowers and reduces accountability.On India’s Legal Services Industry:There is a joke in international legal circles. They say that the forecast about the Indian legal services has been consistent for over a decade now: that the industry will open up to foreign competition within the next three years. The fact remains that by not allowing international law firms to practice in India, we are losing out. Several companies with Indian operations, including Indian multinationals, are choosing locations such as Singapore to execute cross-border deals or to conduct arbitrations because they prefer to work with the best of global legal talent in an efficient legal milieu. So, we are losing business. Opening up the Indian legal system to foreign players will not only bring some of that business back onshore, but will also offer jobs and career opportunities for young Indian lawyers. Increased competition motivates indigenous law firms to improve their quality. - Joe C Mathewjoe@businessworld.com(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 10-08-2015)
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MICA, a management institute, is offering Post Graduate Certificate in Advertising Management & PR by MICA in association with Ivory Education.The classes are made available in across the country through live learning by e-learning. Last date of admission enrollment and procedure is 31st of July.This course will include two very important disciplines in the area of marketing communication i.e advertising and public relation. It has an exhaustive coverage of communication concept, principle and theories. It will also build a greater understanding of design, implement, and evaluate message content needed in various professional setting.Kapil Rampal, Director, Ivory Education said, "Advertising Management & PR is an essential program for those looking for build up their career in business, communication, mass media and variety of other areas . It will open doors to a host of opportunities. The program is offered in collaboration with the leading institute worldwide in communication- MICA Ahmedabad along with services of a professional e-learning company."The programme is offered by MICA with a solution of Ivory Education that will allow the participants to join the program from anywhere in the world. It uses cloud technology instead of requiring students to visit a center to attend classes.The certificate course includes advanced topics such as, Advertising, Consumer Behaviour, Marketing Research, Digital Marketing, Public Relations Media Management and many more.A graduate from any recognised university with 50 per cent marks can apply for the seat. Work experience will be preferred but will not be a limiting factor for enrollment. The participants can also be given option to connect from home.
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Go back to school to 'experience' an MBA in a vibrant setting with smart brains all around to enrich the skill-set and reinvent the charm, writes Mayank SrivastavaFor long, the trend in India has been to complete the education in one go and then, focus on the professional career. The idea of getting back to school after gaining substantial experience is relatively new but is fast gaining popularity in India; over the last 15 years, an increasing percentage of Indian corporate professionals have been aspiring to pursue MBA after gaining more than two years of experience; the trend is here to stay and grow- as is the case in the developed nations. However, a significant number of corporate professionals realise the need for an MBA after 30; they witness the growth curve plateau and thus, realise the need for getting back to school for enriching the skill-set, gaining greater credibility through a management degree, and leveraging a platform for interacting with the potential recruiters for assuming bigger roles for a renewed growth trajectory. There is every merit in realizing the need for an MBA, however late in one's career, and taking the right steps. However, one needs to take well informed decisions as at this stage in one's life, the opportunity cost is high, risk appetite is low, and personal responsibilities are on an increase. Here is an attempt to educate the 30+ MBA aspirants take wise, duly informed decisions. The order of options is in decreasing degree of recommendation...One Year Indian MBAMany IIMs and multiple other Indian programs offer one year, full-time residential programs. These programs require certain minimum years of experience for eligibility and boast a class of highly experienced candidates. An Indian MBA has its own benefits in that gaining employment is easier, the logistical hassle is marginal, education loans for good institutions are easily available, and, very importantly, the network one develops is easy to retain and leverage. This option is strongly recommended for candidates who wish to stay in India and avoid the heavy investments and uncertainty associated with global MBAs. Here is the statistics for the prominent one year Indian MBA programme...One Year International MBAMost European MBAs and a few American/Canadian/Asian MBAs are one year long. The average work experience in these programs is generally around 6-7 years and the average age of the class is around 29 years. The opportunity cost in these programs is less, the brand value of these programs is high worldwide, student body is global, the feel of these programs is quite international, and the ecosystem is truly intellectual owing to the long history of these programs and the universities they are associated with. One of the disadvantages of these programs is that most of the prominent ones are mainly in the Europe where the economy has been on a downturn for several years now and thus, employability is not certain- especially for international students, even if one graduates from the programme in the geography. Further, one year is not long enough duration for building a case for a management career in an international location; a career switch is extremely difficult through these MBAs as assuming leadership positions without prior experience in a domain is a rarity and most one year MBAs don't include internships. Overall, this option is recommended only if a candidate is not looking for a change in role and carries serious, tangible skills that boost one's employability prospects on completing the MBA. Two Years International MBAAlmost all of the premiere MBA programs in USA, and many in rest of the world, are two years long; the average work experience of the class in most of these programs is around five years and thus, the average age of the class is generally around 27-28 years. These are the world's most prestigious programs and bring along the highest brand value, strong global network, and a strong curriculum in general management with the flexibility to concentrate in 1-2 disciplines. Most of these programs are a bit reluctant to consider the 30+ candidates as 1) the candidates with 3-6 years of experience derive great benefit in their roles and salaries after their MBAs; such return for 30+ candidates is always difficult and 2) schools doubt whether a 30+ candidate will be able to face the academic rigor in a business school and compete with the 20 something classmates! Further, these programs are generally quite costly and a longer duration means higher opportunity cost. But then, those aspiring for the world's best brands for their MBA, or wanting to shift their work location to USA, or considering a shift in career (for which a longer MBA is better) cannot overlook these options. While applying, the 30+ candidates must present solid reasons for the need of an MBA late in their career, portray well deliberated, meaningful career goals, and ensure very high GMAT scores to prove their academic abilities. Moreover, the candidates must conduct serious financial planning before treading this path. Recommended for candidates looking for a shift in role, relocation to USA, or strong brand value.Part-Time/ Online/Correspondence/Weekend MBAVarious big brands have the option of such degrees and the idea of having such brands on Resume is enticing, especially when they come without the need for leaving one's job, at a reasonable cost, and mostly without the appearing for GMAT or CAT. Things that come too easy are seldom worthy. Practically, these are not MBAs but merely certifications- nowhere close in value to a full-time MBA, and provide no assistance in placements. Through these programs, one keeps studying a few things over the weekends or after office, clears multiple exams, and eventually gets a degree one day; but the change on one's profile or career trajectory is insignificant. Not recommended; pursue this option only if your circumstances do not allow the flexibility to take a sabbatical and study full-time. Expect dividends, marginal, only in the longer run.Two Years Indian MBAThe conventional two years Indian MBA through CAT is the least recommended option for 30+ candidates. Most students in the two years Indian MBA class have 0-1 years experience and thus, the average age is around 23 years; a 30+ student is like a senior citizen in the class who finds it difficult to relate to the maturity level of most students and loses out on peer learning, an essential part of the MBA experience when one pursues the education from schools accepting only the experienced candidates. Further, the companies visiting campuses assume hiring candidates with no to little experience and thus, getting middle-management profiles (that one must expect at an MBA at 30+) is impossible after from campus and one needs to find a job oneself. Not recommended. Strongly.VerdictIt is a difficult decision to take a break from job and go back to school when you are over 30. It sounds that this education is going to be expensive; but as the saying goes, if education is expensive, try ignorance! If you feel that your career needs the push of an MBA, go for it and you shall never regret. However, don't look for short cuts through cheap or easy options; score high on the GMAT, apply meticulously to only the esteemed programme, and go back to school to 'experience' your MBA in a vibrant setting with smart brains all around to enrich the skill-set and reinvent the charm. You shall then reap the benefits of a true MBA.The author is Founder of Experts Global - an education firm
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