How to Select a B School?
There are 1000-plus B-schools in India and half a dozen rankings to boot; notwithstanding the numerous claims and counter-claims in the print and/or electronic media. All of these seem to be true at first sight but it really is a Hobson's choice to decide which one to select and which one to prune out from the wannabe list. Following is an exhaustive list of governing parameters in order of importance, for a student to decide the B-school best suited to his/her interests and competence. The governing parameters have been grouped as PRIMARY and SECONDARY:
Industry Interface:
The interface that the B-school has, in terms of quality of the companies visiting the campus, the quality of projects, guest lectures, visiting faculty et el gives an idea of the kind of rapport the institute has built up for itself in the industry. This strong linkage is developed and maintained by both the Training and Placement Departments, along with the active participation of the students. The data, about the companies visiting the campuses for summer or other contact programmes, is available in the curriculum details.
Pedagogy and Strength of Course:
Some courses have become synonymous with the very best in the world. For instance IIM-A started with the active participation of Harvard & IIT-Bombay has incorporated the course of Sloan School of Management. Not just the course but the unique pedagogy through which the course is administered also plays a very important part in the development of the future manager. For example, IIM-A administers most of the part through case-studies whereas experiential learning is the norm at FMS, Delhi.
Faculty:
The vision and excellence of the faculty not just in terms of academic qualification but also in researches carried out, papers published, projects undertaken, and the first hand experience of the practicability of solutions juxtaposed with the experience of having done the real thing through the students makes for real learning. These details can be readily sourced from the website and/or the brochure of the institute. While considering faculty, one has to look for the number of permanent faculty, the experience of faculty , their experience, and their business knowledge.
Alumni Strength:
The positions occupied in the echelons of management in the corporate world by the alumni give an ample evidence of the locus standi of the school. This goodwill or confidence gets translated into better placements. One can get a general idea, based on the year of establishment of the school. Generally, the older the school, the larger and probably the more distinguished is its alumni strength. The information about alumni is readily available on the websites, brochures, or generally in the alumni databases managed by al coms (alumni committees).
Specialized B-schools:
A student's interest in a particular field or subject is a vital ingredient in the choice of a B-school. Some schools have become synonymous with one of the specializations they offer. For example, XLRI and TISS are well known for Human Resources, MICA for Advertising, IIFT for Foreign Trade, IRMA for Rural Management, IIFM for Forest Management, NITIE for Industrial Management, etc. One needs to choose the course according to one's own inclinations.
Placements:
B-school placements are looked at with awe and expectation by the aspiring students year after year. It includes the number of companies that visited the campus, average salary packages offered by them, quality of the companies, the average number of jobs offered by the companies, and the number of overseas placements. Yet despite this being a significant factor, it is itself dependent on the interplay of a host of other parameters at work and should not be viewed in isolation. Secondly, one should do a careful analysis of at least past two to three years of placements to get a realistic picture.
Infrastructure:
The presence of adequate and state-of-the-art infrastructure is an important determinant to judge whether the school offers qualitative environment conducive to learning. The infrastructure includes not just the lecture theatres, auditoriums, or other such entities, but also the availability of adequate resources for effective and quick learning to take place.
Research Excellence vs Academic Excellence:
Teaching and research are important to all business schools and a B-school should be able to make a judicious balance between the two. The pointers can be: -
- What percentage of faculty is involved in research ?
- How much time does the faculty devote to research ?
- Is research output academic and theoretical, or applicable and relevant to business ?
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