Scholarship Details

• The BK Birla Scholars Program marks the largest endowed scholarship gift to a European Business School.
• It honors the legacy of Birla’s late grandfather, industrialist, philanthropist and pioneer Basant Kumar Birla. A humble and visionary leader, BK Birla (1921-2019) viewed access to higher education as a fundamental right for all.
• BK Birla Scholars will represent the most impressive talent across the School’s full-time MBA program and will embody academic excellence and high leadership potential.
• The top 5% of the class will be eligible for the award. The award will represent the mark of highest distinction among students. The first cohort will start in Autumn 2019.
• The Tuition fees for the 2019 intake at LBS are £82,000. A wide range of scholarships and loans are open to MBA students. Most are available to successful applicants in Stages 1, 2 and 3 of the MBA application process.
• Touted as the world’s most flexible MBA, LBS says the program could be customized to individual interests and career path. With flexible exit points at 15, 18 or 21 months, core courses could be tailored to individual needs along with 70+ electives and applied learning opportunities.

Comments from Birla and LBS Dean

Birla said the BK Birla Scholars Programme reflected his grandfather’s generosity of spirit and commitment to supporting the continued growth of emerging business leaders.

“I am extremely proud to honor my grandfather’s legacy and create something enduring through this landmark global scholars program at LBS. Through this program, we look to build a diverse and vibrant community of next-generation leaders who are committed to the ideals of integrity, dedication and service to humanity. The very values epitomized by my grandfather,” he added.

LBS Dean François Ortalo-Magné said, “It is an incredible gift to be able to honor BK Birla’s memory with this prestigious scholars program.”

BK Birla’s Legacy

BK Birla assumed a leadership role in his family business at an early age, using his strategic acumen and foresight to grow a vast global empire. Numerous leading institutions have been influenced by his wisdom and mature guidance, among them the Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, the BK Birla Centre of Education in Pune, and the Birla Institute of Management Technology in Delhi.

More than 50,000 students are enrolled in the educational institutions established by him. The BK Birla Scholars Program continues that legacy and further cements the family’s decades-long association with LBS, Aditya Birla Group said in a release.

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Alex Mesterton-Gibbons, Recruitment Manager, Early Careers Programmes at the London Business School (LBS), has, in the Students and Admissions blog, compiled the experiences of some of the current batch of Masters in Management (MiM) and Masters in Financial Analysis (MFA) students who provide valuable tips.

Lydia Cambridge (MFA 2018) says her undergraduate final year exams took place during the summer term and as a late applicant for GMAT, she was unable to prioritise the test. She had just a nine-day window between her final exam and the last GMAT test before the application deadline.

Initially, she thought there would be no point in trying to cram with such little time and the £300 exam fee would be better spent on something else. Still, she decided to give it a shot.

Talking about your plans with your peers and supervisors would be helpful. Avoid too much stress, especially during the week closer to the test. Avoid cramming in a new topic on the day before the exam and be well rested.

“Retrospectively, I wasted the first two days by reading techniques in the official GMAT guide. Save yourself time and money by trusting me on the fact that expensive guides/tuition is unnecessary. If you don’t have friends who have previously sat the test, then use LinkedIn to connect with those that are happy to help share their papers.

“You will definitely need practice exams, they are the key to success. Learn by scrutinising your errors in the tests, and build stamina by practicing them as entire exams. A common downfall is not having the ability to concentrate acutely for almost four hours,” she says.

She also took recourse to some “strategic shortcuts.” She found that the mathematical and verbal sections do not carry equal weight. Thus, having an 80th percentile score for verbal and 70th for maths would give a stronger overall score than the reverse. Assuming your maths is at a reasonably good base level, there are greater returns to improving your verbal score, Lydia says.

Jana Weinand (MiM 2018) says she sat for GMAT late in February to apply by April. She too faced severe time constraints, having had to deal two full-time consulting internships and a summer study programme in China after submitting her bachelor thesis.

Her advice, in such a situation, is to plan ahead and take a few mock tests up-front to get an idea about your core strengths and weaknesses. You have to focus on improving your major weaknesses, before fine-tuning your strengths. “Sit down, find a large calendar (an actual calendar, not just your phone) and plan out your preparation roadmap over the whole time you have allocated yourself (including when to take mock tests or which free resources you can use, i.e. the Economist),” she says.

Talking about your plans with your peers and supervisors would be helpful. Avoid too much stress, especially during the week closer to the test. Avoid cramming in a new topic on the day before the exam and be well rested.

Florina Toma (MFA 2018) says she prepared for the GMAT in less than a month using the official practice questions and familiarising herself with the format and timing of the test. Identifying the types of questions you find challenging and focusing on those in a structured way, you could dramatically improve your score over a very short period of time, she says.

Geraint Kong (MFA 2018) completed the GMAT preparations in around three weeks, taking one week to get familiar with the possible question types and then spending about two weeks doing the practice tests online. “By doing this I got the required score on the first attempt. I did buy the whole set of the “GMAT official guide” but barely touched it, except for using the access codes to online tests,” he says.

Sanskriti Mittal (MiM 2018) was engaged in a full-time job when she decided to apply for a Masters degree and was sceptical about being able to manage the applications in her limited free time. However, she decided to consciously adopt a positive outlook towards the entire process, beginning with the GMAT preparation.

Considering GMAT only as a learning opportunity, she says she enjoyed preparing for it and took the exam on her birthday. “I would highly recommend you to take a step back, and start by tackling your fear or resentment towards the exam. Developing a positive state of mind can make a huge difference,” she says.

According to the first MFA employment report for the program launched the program in September 2016, of the 73 graduates who sought employment in the three months to December 19, 2017, 72 received an offer of employment (99%) and 70 accepted an offer (96%).

Of the total number of 76 graduating students, two went into family-owned businesses and another launched an enterprise.

The MFA program is meant for those wanting to build a strong foundation for a career in the Finance sector. The curriculum is built on the five fundamental pillars of corporate finance, asset management, accounting, financial markets and financial econometrics.

While some of the courses are exclusive to the program, MFA participants attend some of the established courses along with MBA and Masters in Finance (MiF) students.

Enrico Cocchi, MFA Career Lead at the LBS Career Centre, described the number of employment offers as a powerful demonstration of the excellence of the program and the quality of the students.

“It’s clear that when it comes to filling vacancies, our MFA graduates are in high demand. These men and women are going to the market with the knowledge and skills that employers are looking for and they are quickly rewarded for their endeavours,” he added.

Asia and Europe were the next preferred employment locations for MFA graduates, at 22% and 20% respectively. Just 3% of MFA graduates accepted jobs based in the US, while 1% took up positions in Latin America and the Middle East.

“LBS’s 2017 MFA graduates worked incredibly hard over the course of their programme and it makes me proud to know that such a significant number were offered employment so soon after graduation,” Cocchi said.

Meanwhile, the UK was the most popular job location for the graduates, with more than half of them, 53% to be exact, taking up positions in the region despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

“Having experienced first-hand the lifestyle and business opportunities on offer in the UK during their time at LBS, our graduates are then choosing to stay on and build their lives here,” Cocchi said.

“That is a big endorsement; it confirms just how attractive our employment opportunities are in the UK and just how competitive Britain remains on the global stage,” he added.

Asia and Europe were the next preferred employment locations for MFA graduates, at 22% and 20% respectively. Just 3% of MFA graduates accepted jobs based in the US, while 1% took up positions in Latin America and the Middle East.

The favoured city locations included London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Stockholm and Zurich.

The banking and financial services sectors have claimed more than two-thirds of the graduates. The most popular job sectors were investment banking and brokerage (45%), followed by private equity (13%), investment management (9%) and commercial banking/project finance (4%). The first departure from the banking and financial services arena is technology at 7%.

The employment figures were calculated using a survey of the School’s 76 MFA 2017 graduates. The survey generated a response rate of 100%.

LBS’s Masters of Financial Analysis is a full-time degree program based in London. Over the course of the 12-16 month programme, MFA students are exposed to rigorous academic concepts and theories, outstanding professional development opportunities and international exposure to stand out in today’s competitive market and deliver the immediate impact that global employers demand.

The competition, held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, brought together students with finance and business backgrounds from across the world to compete on a finance case involving strategic management.

The competition begins with the distribution of a digital copy of the case to all participants that can be completed even before they land up on the campus. The top 10 teams are given the opportunity to make a short case presentation to a select panel of distinguished professors and industry professionals. If a top 10 finalist is not able to come to Cambridge, MA for the live final competition then a video presentation will need to be submitted.

Participants were also invited to a 3-day networking event on Harvard’s campus with some of the top minds in the financial and management industries from April 7 to 9. Activities during the weekend included the final competition event with special guest judges, a cocktail party with representatives from various companies, an awards gala, a tour of Harvard, excellent speakers, etc.

The winning team, comprising full-time MiF students Chin Ta Sim, Adrian Ho, Marston Litvinsky, Salman Alam and Lucas Servido, received a cash prize worth approximately US$10,000 (£7,796).

The winning team, comprising full-time MiF students Chin Ta Sim, Adrian Ho, Marston Litvinsky, Salman Alam and Lucas Servido, received a cash prize worth approximately US$10,000 (£7,796).

“This was a great opportunity for us to learn, interact with other international students, grow our network and meet professionals within the finance industry,” says Chin Ta, speaking on behalf of the team.

The two-day event was organised by the Harvard Extension Business Society and the International Finance Student Association. The LBS students also attended a networking event and leadership conference in Boston, Massachusetts, with some of the best finance and economics minds from across the globe.

The team faced an unexpected challenge at the final presentation. Lucas Servido’s flight to Boston was cancelled the night before, threatening the group’s chances of delivering a polished performance.

“When Lucas’s flight was cancelled, we all scrambled to include his section of the presentation. With just 12 hours to go, we managed to pull through and emerged victorious,” Chin Ya says.

“We travelled to Boston to present after emerging as one of the top 10 teams in the preliminary round and felt extremely proud to eventually be declared the champions, particularly as the other teams from top US and Europe business schools were impressive,” she adds.

The students were honoured at an awards gala at the Prudential Tower in Boston following the competition.

Masters in Finance (MiF) at LBS is available in 10 or 16 in full time and 24 months as a part-time program. Aimed at professionals with 3-8 years work experience, the program claims to inculcate in students a truly global view of finance.

A wide range of electives, practitioner courses, industry-focused events and international experiences are available to suit individual professional goals.

The next batch gets underway on August 14, 2017. The fee is pegged at £43,100.