What is International Immersion?

International immersion is an integral part of the PGDM (Executive), a full-time AICTE approved and AACSB accredited 15-month program at IMT Ghaziabad, aimed at high-performing professionals with work experience.

The immersion, in association with leading business schools across the world, helps the participants develop a global perspective. The 4-6 week Global Career Accelerator (GCA) is held with specific customization focus, at one of IMTs European partners.

An IMT Ghaziabad spokesperson told OneYearMBA.co.in that as per the structure of the PGDM Executive program, the students spend one term with the partner institution as part of their curriculum.

The students gained awareness about the highly competitive business scenario in Europe– how various European companies (majorly Swedish) function to stay ahead of the competition.

The students of the previous batch had been to EM Normandie, France, IESEG School of Management, Paris and Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.

Asked about the experiences of the students at the immersion, the spokesperson said they found it to be “an excellent opportunity to get exposure on international business settings, They are able to better understand and appreciate the diversity of consumer groups.

“They are able to build up an understanding of the global marketing environment and learn different approaches to handle employee performance,’ she added.

About the students’ key learnings or takeaways, she talked about data visualization using Tableau, a data analytics and visualization tool. They also learn about expanding into international markets, that is, market entry strategies, competitive matrix, market attractiveness, stages of globalization etc.

The students gained awareness about the highly competitive business scenario in Europe– how various European companies (majorly Swedish) function to stay ahead of the competition. They also received fair learning on major corporate entities such as Ericsson, IKEA and Volvo.

The students are awarded scores while participating in the immersion modules. Asked if any changes or improvements were being contemplated in the immersion programs, she replied in the negative. “The immersion program in the current form is best suited to the program architecture. We are not contemplating any changes,’ she added.

Alumni Views on the International Immersion 

IMT PGDM Executive alum Vineet Sreedharan, currently leads the Business Process Re-engineering and Knowledge Management verticals in the IT department at Trident Group, a billion dollar textile conglomerate.

“The immersion program is a game changer as it provides an experience of living a culture that was hitherto unknown to us. Apart from broadening our understanding of the world around us, it also teaches us various facets of cross-cultural collaboration and connects with technologies and practices that are still to be implemented large scale in our country”

He has an overall work experience of 6.5 years with a special focus on strategizing and implementing digital transformation projects, describes the international immersion as the “cherry on top for the 1.5-year course”.

“It was an approximately 40-day program as part of the international immersion term and thanks to IMT’s strong network and partnership with the best B-schools in the world, we managed to visit a fantastic business school called EM Normandie, in Normandy, France,” he said.

“Six courses were included in the program, which included cross-cultural visits to important places in and around Normandy such as Etretat and Mont Saint-Michel. Since the costs were included in the course fee and IMT helped take care of the Visa and stay formalities, it helped us a lot during the travel and transition to an international environment,” he added.

“The course was well structured and taught by eminent faculty from the school. There were well-placed breaks in between, which allowed us the opportunity to explore a few more countries around France, such as Spain, Belgium and Netherlands,” he said.

Asked about his favourite course in the international immersion, Vineet said two courses practically stood out. These were Brand Management by Prof Olivier Kovarski, Director of Executive Education & Associate Professor in Marketing and ‘Doing Business in Europe’ by Prof Eleonore Mendel, lecturer in Intercultural Marketing and Management and a Consultant in cross-cultural marketing.

Asked about the takeaways from the immersion experience, he said, “The immersion program is a game changer as it provides an experience of living a culture that was hitherto unknown to us. Apart from broadening our understanding of the world around us, it also teaches us various facets of cross-cultural collaboration and connects with technologies and practices that are still to be implemented large scale in our country.”

“For example, we got to witness the best of eco-friendly transport such as the large scale preference for cycles at Bruges and Amsterdam and the best implementation of smart cities through the use of smart cards at Barcelona,” he said.

Vineet said the exposure to international students and working methods “changed our understanding and helped us appreciate the importance of several things. These include punctuality–how Europeans treated time as money and how essential it is to be on time at the right venue in the right manner.

“Secondly, the work-life balance–how necessary it is to close work so that adequate time could be spent at home with loved ones. Thirdly, environment consciousness-reducing wastage and promoting environment-friendly ways to commute,” he added.

Asked about what advice he would give to students to make the best use of international immersion, he said, “Keep all inhibitions aside and fully soak yourself in the international immersion program, it is always worth it. And a word of caution. Respect the country’s rules as well as give equal importance to learn too, as there would always be a lot of takeaways that you gain.”

For MBA aspirants and current students, his message is to be “A constant learner lifelong and constantly upgrade your skills. Technology is adapting at a fast pace and we must learn to keep up with it.

“You have to keep networking with people, share your knowledge and help them through good deeds as a way of giving back to the world.

Alumni Views on the PGDM Executive Program

Vineet Sreedharan, endorses the program for three reasons.

First, for the “wonderfully structured course curriculum”, secondly for the affordability of the program, which included one international term and thirdly, for “a fantastic faculty team and alumni network.”

Another alum, Piyush Singh, Chief Manager, Credit cards at Kotak Mahindra Bank, was in the PGDM Executive, Marketing & Information Technology 2012-13 batch.

He regrets that the international immersion facility was not there at that time, but is full of praise for the program.

Prior to enrolling for the program, Piyush, who had completed his B Tech. Production Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Surat in 2003-07, had worked as Associate System Engineer, IBM Global Services and as Senior analyst at Cerillion Technologies.

After completing PGDM, he joined ICICI bank through campus placement. About why he chose the one year program and IMT, Ghaziabad he said, “Preparing for MBA, I got decent CAT scores and looked at various options in the market. A few of my friends had done the two-year program at IMT and liked it. Since I had 5 years of work experience, a two-year program (mainly for those without work experience) would not have been suitable for me. So I chose the one year program.

“It is academically well designed, very intensive and a really good learning experience. Apart from studies, there were plenty of extra-curricular activities. I enjoyed the time spent over there and made good friends,” he added.

“It is a good opportunity for people looking to diversify their job. If you have some 5 plus years’ experience, it will help in changing over to a different work profile. You can go into the management stream and increase your salary compensation as well,” he added.

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It is designed as a platform where the executives will be able to develop the skills needed for leadership roles in their functional domain with a global orientation.

Both the alumni as well as international exchange students are full of praise for the program and IMT for having broadened their horizons. Have a look at the details of the program to understand how it created such an impression on their minds.

PGDM (Executive) Program

The AICTE & AASCB accredited accelerated program primarily focuses on “Knowing by Doing” concept. It leverages on the execution of professional skills & knowledge from past industry experiences in addition to learning value-based general management subjects.  Industry-centric customization enhance their ambitious perspective for functional leadership roles with accelerated growth in careers.

IMT students attending workshop on design thinking

The course caters to the industry needs with a contemporary, diverse curriculum into respective models such as Web Learning, Foundation, Functional, Internationalization, Customization, Integration, and Dissertation.

The learning and pedagogy experience in the PGDM Executive course encompasses a broad range of learning techniques including case studies, simulations, real-life projects, debates, discussions with senior executives of organisations, startups, consulting projects, courses and workshops.

It provides global management experience with a 4-6 week Global Career Accelerator (GCA) designed for international immersion with leading business schools (IMTs European partners).

In order to provide holistic development of students, several campus activities such as “IMTheInnovator” (Startup Exhibition), Expanding Horizons (Industry Interaction), Personal Growth Lab, Expressions etc., are held. Such activities help in honing the student’s skills and augment their confidence as they go on to make complex decisions in their management careers besides energizing the campus life.

How does all this translate in a real-life scenario? Read on further to see what the various students have to say.

Class Snapshot 2018-19

Have a look at the PGDM Executive 2018-19 batch. While the majority of the participants (60%) came in with 5 to 6 years of work experience, 25% reported 7 to 8 years. 9 plus years of work experience for the remaining 15%.

On the electives, the majority 45% chose Information Management,  followed by 30% in Operations & Supply Chain Management, 25% in Marketing.

Class Snapshot 2017-18

In the class of PGDM Executive 2017-18, 51% of the participants came in with 5 to 6 years of work experience, 22% reported 6 to 7 years, It was 7 to 8 years for 18% and 8 plus years of work experience for the remaining 9%.

Alumni Say PGDM Executive Expanded Their Horizons

Students in the 2017-18 batch, the most recent of the graduates, recollect fondly their experience at IMT Ghaziabad and about how the program expanded their horizons.

Ravi Purohit, 30, a B.Tech (Mechanical) with six years’ work experience in elevator industries and auto/auto ancillary units, chose Marketing Analytics as elective. He says prior to enrolling for the program, he was in the lower to middle management roles and used to making decisions at that level.

“However, learning at IMT has broadened my horizons, improved my decision making and helped me connect the dots in how management decisions affect the various stakeholders right from Finance to HR to Supply Chain and vendors,” he says.

Chinmay Charade, 28, also in Marketing Analytics, is a software and consulting professional with 6 years of experience. He has hands-on experience in client engagement and on-site roles.

“PGDM Executive, apart from core learning of Marketing and Finance, it has helped me gain a broader view of how corporates operate. So now my decision making is much more holistic and integrated. Previously, I had a very narrow lens of looking at the environment I was in.  Apart from that, I have learnt about business ethics, responsibility and critical thinking that would definitely help me in my future career,” he says.

Debanjan Sarkar, 29, is having Information Technology as elective. He has around 6 years experience in IT industry as a part of the Quality Assurance team. He says during the one-month international immersion at Copenhagen business school in Denmark the group learnt several things including the basics of data analytics. An industry visit to IBM and others opened a window to day-to-day operations of major firms in an international setting and how they deal with issues and resolve them.

Standing in the football field in IMT campus, he says apart from studies, the school gives prominence to sports and cultural activities.

For Priyam Chaudhury, 28, who has 5 years 5 months of experience in Technology Consulting services, the program taught him the value of time management. His problems solving skills in the industry also improved and he learnt about adopting a holistic approach towards management.

Antara Chakraborty, 29, who has 7 years of work experience in IT Services & Consultancy, says the concept of “Knowing by doing” was very helpful. The international immersion was completely customized.

Praise for IMT from International Exchange Students

Meanwhile, the program, as well as IMT, has drawn wholesome praise from international students during their stay in the campus as part of the student exchange program with select European B-schools.

Kedge Sports Consulting

For Paul Bisiaux, Pauline Manousso and Orianne Offerle at IMT on an exchange program from Neoma Business School near Paris, France, India was quite an experience. Apart from attending classes at IMT, they participated in cultural activities, including the Onam celebrations at which they dressed up in Kerala Sarees, the men in ‘Mundu’ and shirt and participated in a typical Kerala Sadya (feast) served in banana leaf.

Pauline was amused that while Indian students remained passive in class, they worked a lot at home to get good grades in the exam. Paul says while in France, people work during the day, he found in India, they worked during the nights too. “So, we had to wait till midnight or one in the morning to get feedback on the projects,” he says.

                                                                                                                           [promoted post]

This article attempts to explore how someone with 5 to 10 years’ experience should approach MBA, what sort of a learning approach is recommended and what potential career options open up for participants with backgrounds in Marketing, Finance, Operations & Supply Chain and Information Management areas.

Approaching MBA post 5 years’ experience

Let us look at a potential student from the lens of any product or service that we may buy and consume. We seek optimum performance, price, durability, experience, and a lot more. 

In terms of people, we might break this into knowledge, skills and attitude, or traits. In today’s world, knowledge is easy to pick up, and is almost a given after a rigorous MBA programme. Skills take time but are clearly with managers who have years of experience before they decide it’s time to step up, leading often to the decision to study more and brush up. After this comes attitude, which is all about how you respond to a range of situations and pressures of daily life and business activity – this can be a key differentiator.  The difference between a leader and a manager, it is often said, is the attitude of the leader. This can of course take years to build, and sometimes a lifetime, to sharpen.

In management parlance, this is also described as the tripod of “knowing, doing and being”, as the former Dean of S P Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) Dr. M L Shrikant often put it.

Experience matters

The one-year programmes for experienced candidates focuses on leveraging their past professional expertise and giving them a step jump in their careers. SPJIMR’s One Year MBA, the One-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) admits candidates with relevant experience in chosen areas of specialisation, viz Finance, Marketing, Information Management and Operations & Supply Chain in order to provide accelerated growth to their careers. Participants graduating from this programme have, in the past, more or less doubled their incoming salary.

This is not because of the institute brand name alone but because recruiters give a premium to the overall transformation that happens in the candidate during the one year MBA. In order to leverage their experience and turn it into an advantage, the participants need to be open to learning through a wide range of methods, and not just the conventional methods of acquiring knowledge and skills.

The T-Shaped learning approach

As the candidates for the one-year PGPM programme come with experience in specific areas and backgrounds, this programme becomes more of a career accelerator, leveraging the skills from the specific areas they have worked in.

Even while candidates specialise in their particular areas, they are  expected to have an understanding across the breadth of management topics coupled with depth in their chosen areas of specialisation. This is where the ’T-shaped’ learning approach plays an
important role.

In SPJIMR for example, even though the PGPM candidates are chosen for a particular area of specialisation such as Marketing, Operations and Supply Chain, Information Management or Finance, all the candidates are taken through the three General Management (GM) phases that cover courses across all the fundamental business aspects. After completing the GM phase, candidates are then taken deeper into their chosen specialisation where they build upon their past experience.

Parallel to the programme, PGPM candidates are also introduced to business practices, industry practitioners and alumni networks to develop outside classroom skill sets specific to the roles they are passionate about. The candidates are expected to demonstrate their classroom learnings via live industry projects and in their regular interaction with top industry leaders.

Having discussed the learning styles, we now shift our focus to possible career transitions post the one-year MBA.

Career Transition Opportunities Outlook for the next three years

Based on our experience at SPJIMR’s PGPM programme for people with experience, we foresee the following opportunities emerging in terms of typical specialisations offered in MBA institutes. 

Operations & Supply Chain

Participants in the Operations domain opt for careers in traditional areas of Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Procurement and Project Management, as well as in the upcoming areas of Analytics and Technology Consulting. Consulting firms have been the largest recruiters of management graduates with significant prior experience in operations. These consulting roles range from strategy consulting to process consulting and technology consulting. The prior experience of one year MBA graduates puts them at an advantage while understanding the clients’ business processes and navigating the consulting project through the organisational dynamics. 

Information Management

With the rise in technology driven roles across the industry, Information Management roles are expected to continue being in demand. Product Management appears to be one of the most favoured roles by participants while Technology Consulting is likely to continue to be one of the most offered roles. Firms offering such roles do look for candidates with similar domain experience in the past and some even specify specific requirements like SAP, Workday etc as part of their job description. Analytics is another big area where we expect positions to keep coming up. Traditional roles of Project management, programme leads and B2B solution sales are likely to stay in demand.

Marketing

Besides the classical roles of B2B and B2C sales, participants from this specialisation are also witnessing a strong demand from the digital marketing and ecommerce companies. Roles like Digital Marketing Manager, Category Manager, Marketing Analytics Lead have seen a growth recently. What this means for candidates is that if their incoming experience does not have these skill sets, they need to utilize both in-classroom and outside classroom capabilities to succeed in these areas. At SPJIMR’s PGPM, participants are encouraged to undertake specific workshops, connected with alumni/industry leaders in these areas and supported with live projects besides specific academic courses to develop these skill-sets.

Finance

To sum it up The finance batch, across campuses, typically witnesses a larger number of roles coming from corporate banking/wealth management/relationship management. Depending on incoming profiles, candidates are also considered for Equity Research, Financial Planning and Analysis, Private Equity and Investment Banking roles. Like other specialisations, Analytics has been an upcoming field even in this area. Additionally, we expect the new-age fintech companies to drive recruitment as they move on their growth trajectory.

It is quite clear that the world is changing. The current situation adds a complex twist to the change dynamic that was already underway with forces like Industry 4.0, signs of some retreat in globalisation and ideas of sustainability getting a new push from regulators, consumers and industry.  It is difficult to paint a picture of which way businesses will evolve and what new opportunities are likely to emerge. But it is safe to say that a readiness to learn and adapt, along with a strong grounding in knowledge, skills and the right attitude will always be a winner in the marketplace.

About PGPM

SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) is a constituent of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and is ranked amongst the top 10 business schools in India. The Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM)  is a one-year full-time residential management programme preceded by 3 months of online learning, that enables candidates with minimum 5 years of work experience and strong domain expertise, to move to expansive roles in general management. PGPM is AICTE approved, and accredited by AACSB and AMBA. The PGPM programme currently operates from Its Mumbai campus. The PGPM programme commences in October every year. The admissions timeframe for the PGPM programme is March to August.

About the Author

Mr Bhishm Chugani heads placements for SPJIMR. He has 11 years of experience in education, heading placements at ISB, Bocconi Asia and now at SPJIMR. He is a graduate from ISB and has 7 years of experience in the IT/ITES industry across project and engagement management before his career in education and placements.

It is designed as a platform where the executives will be able to develop the skills needed for leadership roles in their functional domain with a global orientation.

Both the alumni as well as international exchange students are full of praise for the program and IMT for having broadened their horizons. Have a look at the details of the program to understand how it created such an impression on their minds.

PGDM (Executive) Program

The AICTE & AASCB accredited accelerated program primarily focuses on “Knowing by Doing” concept. It leverages on the execution of professional skills & knowledge from past industry experiences in addition to learning value-based general management subjects.  Industry-centric customization enhance their ambitious perspective for functional leadership roles with accelerated growth in careers.

IMT students attending workshop on design thinking

The course caters to the industry needs with a contemporary, diverse curriculum into respective models such as Web Learning, Foundation, Functional, Internationalization, Customization, Integration, and Dissertation.

The learning and pedagogy experience in the PGDM Executive course encompasses a broad range of learning techniques including case studies, simulations, real-life projects, debates, discussions with senior executives of organisations, startups, consulting projects, courses and workshops.

It provides global management experience with a 4-6 week Global Career Accelerator (GCA) designed for international immersion with leading business schools (IMTs European partners).

In order to provide holistic development of students, several campus activities such as “IMTheInnovator” (Startup Exhibition), Expanding Horizons (Industry Interaction), Personal Growth Lab, Expressions etc., are held. Such activities help in honing the student’s skills and augment their confidence as they go on to make complex decisions in their management careers besides energizing the campus life.

How does all this translate in a real-life scenario? Read on further to see what the various students have to say.

Class Snapshot 2018-19

Have a look at the PGDM Executive 2018-19 batch. While the majority of the participants (60%) came in with 5 to 6 years of work experience, 25% reported 7 to 8 years. 9 plus years of work experience for the remaining 15%.

On the electives, the majority 45% chose Information Management,  followed by 30% in Operations & Supply Chain Management, 25% in Marketing.

Class Snapshot 2017-18

In the class of PGDM Executive 2017-18, 51% of the participants came in with 5 to 6 years of work experience, 22% reported 6 to 7 years, It was 7 to 8 years for 18% and 8 plus years of work experience for the remaining 9%.

Alumni Say PGDM Executive Expanded Their Horizons

Students in the 2017-18 batch, the most recent of the graduates, recollect fondly their experience at IMT Ghaziabad and about how the program expanded their horizons.

Ravi Purohit, 30, a B.Tech (Mechanical) with six years’ work experience in elevator industries and auto/auto ancillary units, chose Marketing Analytics as elective. He says prior to enrolling for the program, he was in the lower to middle management roles and used to making decisions at that level.

“However, learning at IMT has broadened my horizons, improved my decision making and helped me connect the dots in how management decisions affect the various stakeholders right from Finance to HR to Supply Chain and vendors,” he says.

Chinmay Charade, 28, also in Marketing Analytics, is a software and consulting professional with 6 years of experience. He has hands-on experience in client engagement and on-site roles.

“PGDM Executive, apart from core learning of Marketing and Finance, it has helped me gain a broader view of how corporates operate. So now my decision making is much more holistic and integrated. Previously, I had a very narrow lens of looking at the environment I was in.  Apart from that, I have learnt about business ethics, responsibility and critical thinking that would definitely help me in my future career,” he says.

Debanjan Sarkar, 29, is having Information Technology as elective. He has around 6 years experience in IT industry as a part of the Quality Assurance team. He says during the one-month international immersion at Copenhagen business school in Denmark the group learnt several things including the basics of data analytics. An industry visit to IBM and others opened a window to day-to-day operations of major firms in an international setting and how they deal with issues and resolve them.

Standing in the football field in IMT campus, he says apart from studies, the school gives prominence to sports and cultural activities.

For Priyam Chaudhury, 28, who has 5 years 5 months of experience in Technology Consulting services, the program taught him the value of time management. His problems solving skills in the industry also improved and he learnt about adopting a holistic approach towards management.

Antara Chakraborty, 29, who has 7 years of work experience in IT Services & Consultancy, says the concept of “Knowing by doing” was very helpful. The international immersion was completely customized.

Praise for IMT from International Exchange Students

Meanwhile, the program, as well as IMT, has drawn wholesome praise from international students during their stay in the campus as part of the student exchange program with select European B-schools.

Kedge Sports Consulting

For Paul Bisiaux, Pauline Manousso and Orianne Offerle at IMT on an exchange program from Neoma Business School near Paris, France, India was quite an experience. Apart from attending classes at IMT, they participated in cultural activities, including the Onam celebrations at which they dressed up in Kerala Sarees, the men in ‘Mundu’ and shirt and participated in a typical Kerala Sadya (feast) served in banana leaf.

Pauline was amused that while Indian students remained passive in class, they worked a lot at home to get good grades in the exam. Paul says while in France, people work during the day, he found in India, they worked during the nights too. “So, we had to wait till midnight or one in the morning to get feedback on the projects,” he says.

                                                                                                                           [promoted post]