Alumni place wishlist for 2014’s One year MBA before new IIM I Director

The new year will see a new director at IIM Indore (IIM I). Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Professor of Corporate Strategy & Policy at IIM Bangalore (IIM B) takes charge on January 1, 2014. The alumni of the One year MBA (EPGP) at IIM Indore are excited at the development and have high hopes from the new director. They hope he will build a momentum around the One year MBA at the institute, which is the first course at IIM Indore to meet global norms for an MBA course. The One year MBA, aimed at an experienced audience, is relatively new in the panoply of programmes at IIM Indore, which till 2009 focused primarily on a two-year PGP programme targeted at fresh graduates (Masters in Management as per global accreditation criteria), and, therefore the course needs nurturing. IIM Indore has taken steps in this direction – the institute recently introduced a spate of changes in the design and content of the course. 

To contribute to this process and with new beginnings in mind, Oneyearmba.co.in did a brainstorming exercise with the five classes that have graduated the One year MBA at IIM Indore since the course’s inception in 2009-10, followed by a survey that captures aspects of the course that need improvements. On the eve of the new year, we share the results of the survey which are relevant to not just the course at IIM Indore but to One year MBA courses at almost all business schools in India. 

                                                                                                                                      Top 10 areas of improvements in the One year MBA at IIM Indore

1. Realigning the academic calender with the hiring cycle 

IIM Indore currently follows a September to July academic calender for its One year MBA. Most business schools in India instead follow an April to March cycle for their One year MBA. The April-March cycle is aligned with the campus hiring schedule of companies in India. The class graduating in July from Indore tends to miss out on certain positions due to this.

2. Changing the nomenclature of the course from Executive Post Graduate Programme to One year MBA/ equivalent alternative

The branding of the course has created a lot of confusion. Students & recruiters often perceive the One year full time regular programme as an Executive MBA (a part-time programme). The inclusion of the term ‘executive’ in the name of the course causes all this confusion. Even the press is confused. (read: Business Today confuses One year MBA with Executive MBA)

The confusion is ironical because the One year MBA is the first MBA in India to meet global accreditation norms that are followed by business schools such as Harvard, Wharton and Kellogg. (read: Executive MBA? No. India’s first globally accepted MBA? Yes!)

Why is this change important? From the viewpoint of the students it is fairly clear that less than optimal branding affects recruiter perception. But there is a far more important reason.

An MBA course worldwide is a post-experience programme. In India, students rush into management education after graduation without gaining any work-ex. If a perception is created that the ‘MBA’ is the two-year course and that the One year MBA is some sort of specialized executive course, it will end up defeating the task of creating MBAs as the world understands the term as well as rob Indian students of a chance to find their calling before they head to business school. (read: 16 lakh salary good for a 21 year old? A surprising answer on Quora)

3. Flagship status for One year MBA along with two-year PGP

The IIMs have not defined the criterion for calling a course a flagship course. However, a quick glance at key features of the two courses reveals that the One year MBA seems a fit candidate to represent the institute in India and globally:

• The One year MBA’s intake is based primarily on the GMAT, which is used by top global business schools, such as Harvard and INSEAD
• Like international business schools, the One year MBA follows an evolved admission process which considers many facets of a candidate and gives the GMAT score only a 20-25% weightage in order to admit well-rounded talent
• Across the world, business schools tend to award flagship status to their MBA course. IIM Indore’s One year MBA meets global norms for an MBA while the two-year PGP course is a MIM programme as per global norms. (read: Deccan Herald says the One year MBA is the first MBA in India)
• The placements gained through a One year MBA are at senior levels, such as Vice-president and GM as opposed to the placements gained through the two-year course, which, in line with Masters in Management programmes worldwide, places students in management trainee profiles
• The average placement salary after the One year MBA is higher than the average placement salary gained through the two-year programme (read: Placements light years ahead)
• The course admits amazing candidates, who, on an average, have seven years of prior work-ex. Students admitted to the course include IIT grads, CA’s & doctors. (read: A class that lives up to global standard))

XLRI, one of the oldest schools in India and one that offers both a One year PGDM-GM (previously GMP) and a two-year course in management (PGDM-BM) has already made this transition. It has conferred flagship status on both these courses.

The placement brochure of the One year MBA at XLRI proudly proclaims the course’s flagship status

4. Aligning the placement cycle with that of two-year PGP laterals

The two-year PGP follows two placement cycles – one for the bulk of the participants (70-80% of the batch) who have less than one year of work experience and another for ‘laterals’, who have 3-4 years of work-ex. Clubbing the PGP lateral placement with the One year MBA placement would benefit both courses by reducing separate effort to reach out to recruiters. The move will also present recruiters with a wider choice of candidates.

5. Sensitizing recruiters and companies to the course

This one needs no explanation. For companies used to recruiting management talent at the entry level, inducting MBA talent is a huge change. IIM Indore and other business schools in India need to work with the HR department at companies to create induction programmes at a senior level the same way Management Trainee programmes were created to induct the talent emerging from the two-year PGP programmes in India.

6. Entering the course in the Financial Time MBA ranking

The Financial Times (FT) ranking is possibly the most respected MBA ranking in the world. The One year MBA by virtue of its experienced class is eligible to participate in the MBA ranking. Financial Times requires a course to have graduated four batches to participate in the rankings – IIM Indore qualifies on this count too.

The FT ranking will endow IIM Indore’s One year MBA with a globally accepted recognition of quality and help the course reach out to a global audience. IIM A’s One year MBA (PGPX) and ISB’s One year MBA (PGP) have already made a mark in the FT rankings. (read: Ranked among top Global MBAs by Financial Times, London)

7. Applying for AMBA accreditation 

The Association of MBAs, UK is the world’s premier accreditation body. It is the only global body that accredits courses instead of business schools. The MBA courses of business schools such as Harvard, INSEAD, Stanford, Wharton are AMBA accredited.

In India, very few schools have managed to get the AMBA accreditation. Of the schools that have applied, IIM Lucknow, MDI & S P Jain, Mumbai have received MBA accreditation for their One year MBAs. (links – (http://bit.ly/iimlaccreditation), (http://bit.ly/spjainaccreditation) & (http://bit.ly/mdiaccreditation)

The MBA accreditation by AMBA will help IIM Indore’s One year MBA attract international students.

8. Extending the academic calender to 12 months from 10 months

With almost 670-750 contact hours crunched into a span of a year, the One year MBA at IIMs is taxing as is. IIM Indore’s One year MBA wraps up even faster in 10 months. Students feel that the additional two-months will help them absorb concepts in greater detail and also give more time for on campus activities such as participating in student clubs and sports.

9. Establishing an entrepreneurship cell and a seed fund 

Indian business schools have an abysmal record of fostering entrepreneurship – most students enter a job after graduation. Schools in USA and Europe, on the other hand, have a deep focus on creating businessmen rather than managers.

At Stanford, for instance, MBAs have the opportunity to partner with alumni to develop and launch businesses through the school’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES). The CES also offers students specialized advising sessions from experienced entrepreneurs and executives. Aspiring entrepreneurs can apply to work in the Stanford Venture Studio, where they interact with other students who have similar interests.

These processes have achieved their aim. In 2013, Stanford’s graduating class founded 32 startups which received a combined funding of $980 million!

A lot of One year MBA students at IIM Indore have an interest in starting something on their own. A entrepreneurship cell on the lines of Stanford’s cell could help these students realize their dream.

10. Increasing interaction with the industry

IIM Indore already conducts a strategy conclave every year in Mumbai where One year MBA candidates interact with industry heads. Luminaries such as Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC and R Gopalakrishnan, Director, Tata Sons, G. M. Rao-Chairman and Managing Director, GMR have been guests at previous events.

More such interactions will help the One year MBA batch foster ties with the corporate world.

Methodology: A qualitative survey was carried out to elicit key areas of improvement, followed by a quantitative survey that captured votes for each option generated in the qualitative section. Respondents were free to vote for multiple options on the survey. The options that received the maximum votes were listed as The Top 10 areas of improvement in order of the number of votes received.