With an MBA seen as the ticket to earn mega bucks in corporate India, management education is big business. Unfortunately, there are very few institutes that combine quality infrastructure with industry interface to equip students for today?s demanding business environment. ICFAI Business School (IBS) aims to do just that.

?ICFAI Business School has a different role to fulfil. In this age, the demands of industry are constantly evolving. Hence, management education has to ensure that it keeps pace with industry while keeping itself abreast of corporate social responsibility,? says Subhash Sarnikar, chairman, ICFAI.

Set up in 1995 by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India, the B-school has 14 campuses all over the country. It offers a two-year postgraduate programme in business administration and has a number of executive programmes as well.

IBS follows the ?Hub and Spokes? administration model where the hub is located in Hyderabad and where admissions, programme structure, curriculum design and development of courseware take place. ?The different campuses of the institute are responsible for delivering high quality education based on the common programme structure,? explained S.K. Sharma, director of IBS.

Flexi-options

There is an option to go for multiple specialisation at IBS. ?Management education is different from any other education. It has to be flexible and proactive. It should also be able to respond to industry demands, and evolve accordingly,? says Sharma.

The programme, however, lacks approval from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the parent body for management education in India. Sharma defends this and says, ?Academic autonomy is of paramount importance. We have no problems in approaching AICTE as long as they do not restrict our academic freedom and autonomy. There are a number of restrictions if we decide to go for the Council?s approval and it should be remembered that it is not mandatory for an institute to get their approval.?

IBS is seeking accredition from international bodies like the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, USA, and the European Foundation for Management Development, Belgium, in order to benchmark itself against the best. Research and case studies are tools that the institute feels are critical for any B-school?s success and ICFAI aims for that. It is a contributor to the European Case Clearing House, the world?s largest global case depository. ?Research is extremely important to us as it adds value to the institute,? says Sarnikar. He pointed out that the institute offers incentives for getting research papers published.

Fabulous jobs

Management institutes are judged by the placements that they can manage. ?Placements are a collaborative effort between the students and IBS. We have placed almost 10,000 students and have reason to believe that the ICFAI brand name has a lot of credibility in the industry. We have also been ranked amongst the top 15 business schools in India,? emphasises Sarnikar.

Admission to IBS is through an admission test IBSAT. It also has its own evaluation, where a student?s academic record is not the only criteria. ?We prefer to look at the student?s knowledge, skills and attitude in totality,? pointed out Sharma. The students are selected on the basis of their test scores, presentation skills and personal interview.

All this does not come cheap, with the course fee pegged at a hefty Rs 5.46 lakh. However, it has tie-ups with financial institutions to facilitate loans.

Biswarup Gooptu

OLD MEMORIES

Saugata Maitra, manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers, recounts his days at ICFAI

Being from the first batch of IBS was a tremendous experience for me since everything was so new and pristine. There was a special charm to it.

And I learnt a lot there. We faced a few teething troubles related to infrastructure initially, but I looked upon it as a stepping stone to the corporate world.

I have to admit that the placement network of IBS was absolutely fantastic even then and we really benefited from the institute?s strong industry connections.

Even today, I maintain very close connections with IBS and it is absolutely wonderful to see the school grow from strength to strength. Today, I can easily and proudly claim that it is one of the premier management institutes of India. It has been a pleasure to be a part of the institute.

As told to Biswarup Gooptu