Frontier India » Education

MBA – A Panacea?

Lokesh Vishwakarma — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:43:25 +0000

‘An MBA will guarantee you a job’, ‘With an MBA you can reach the top of a corporate ladder’, ‘An MBA is your only chance to success’, such and many myths are abound about the utility of an MBA degree. It is regarded by many as a legitimate passport to a lucrative and a successful career. This has led to a mad scramble for seats at leading management institutes and most students strive day in and day out to just gain an entry into the hallowed portals of an Ivy league college.

In the midst of all this, you would do well to understand what exactly an MBA will mean for your career. The biggest benefit that you get from a good B School MBA programme is the exposure and the peer group learning. The quality of students you will interact with will be the biggest source of self development. The best students are found at the best institutes and your interaction with them, more than the institute itself, provides you with the best learning experience.

It is therefore necessary to interact regularly with as many of your fellow students on campus as possible. All top notch institutes try to ensure that they have a diverse group of students on campus. By mixing with multi skilled group from all over the country, you will be exposed to a variety of thought processes and ideas that you may never have come across before. Absorb as much as you can from all of them. Understand all points of view – even if you do not agree with them.

It goes without saying that the faculty plays a very important role in the development of your career at a management school. However, it is extremely unlikely that you will get uniformly good faculty members even in the very best of B Schools. It is important to realize that MBA education is largely experiential in nature and it is difficult for even the best institutes to have all teachers who have both necessary academic expertise and required industry experience. You will have to take the most of what is on offer. Please make sure that you get out of the bunking mindset of your under graduate days. The opportunity to attend classes of star professors will never come again and missing them would be outright folly.

Most management Institutes these days have quality infrastructure in terms of library and computer facilities. The crucial thing is to make use of this infrastructure. You may not get access to such a vast repository of high quality data and journals easily in future. After you leave the institute your knowledge will fast become obsolete in any case. You can’t afford to be outdated even before you leave!

The excellent jobs on offer to fresh MBA is undoubtedly the primary reason for the popularity of MBA as a post graduation option. Salaries on offer are truly mind boggling in premier institutes. However, there are few important things to take care of while planning for your future career. Remember the placement that you get at the management institute is only the first job of your career. In the excited atmosphere on campus, it is easy to make the mistake of planning for your placements rather than planning for your long term career.

Many students tend to target specific organizations/sectors and select optional courses based on what they feel will help them make it to those organizations. This is a very common blunder. It may help you win the battle of placements but it may well result in your losing the larger war of your career. It is necessary to plan for placements but it should not become your overriding concern on campus. At first glance, this advice may well sound difficult to fathom but you would do well to mull over it carefully.

While MBA is undoubtedly a good door opener, it is not an open ended passport to success in your career. You will get a good job based on your academic credentials and the reputation of your B school – you won’t get your promotion because of it. In order to move on in your career you will have to prove your capability to deliver results to your organization – over and over again. Nobody will bother about what institute you passed out from – it is only the quality of your work that will count.

Admission to a good management institute can be excellent springboard for your career. However, to benefit optimally from the opportunity, you will need to put a lot of effort both on campus and later on in your career. An MBA will not reduce the need to work hard, it will only make hard work more rewarding.

Lokesh Vishwakarma

Lokesh Vishwakarma is a final year MBA student at Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai. He is an opinion writer and has written on various topics in diverse publications. He is a Guest Speaker on All India Radio show ‘YuvaVani,’ where he speaks on youth related topics. He was a former Core Team Member of Mumbai based NGO Mumbai Votes, which audits the performance of India’s elected representatives (MPs, MLAs & Councillors) vis a vis their promises before getting elected. He was also the Leader of KC College National Service Scheme (NSS), A Government of India initiative. KC NSS is the largest and the strongest NSS unit in the city of Mumbai.

Indian team to participate in 13 disciplines of WorldSkills 2013

(FINN) Frontier India News Network — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:07:46 +0000

New Delhi: National Skill Development Corporation’s (NSDC) WorldSkills India initiative is sending a team of Indian contestants for 13 of the 22 disciplines for the next WorldSkills International competition to be held in the German city of Leipzig between 2nd to the 7th of July, 2013.

The disciplines includes Beauty Therapy, Electronics, Fashion Technology, Graphic Design, Hair Dressing, IT Network Administration, Jewellery, Mechanical Computer Aided Design (MCAD), Mechatronics, Mobile Robotics, Restaurant Service, Web Design, and Welding.

The selection was made via a WorldSkills India 3-day skill competition at Pune’s Balewadi Stadium from March 7 to 9.

The candidates include Sonal Chauhan for Hair Dressing’ Riddhi Anand for for Restaurant Service, Ravina Bhatti for Beauty Therapy, Manu Scaria for Fashion Technology, Bhabhesh Jana for Jewellery, Prateek Sharma – Uday Patil for Mobile Robotics, Umesh Gore for Welding, Kunal Mulwani for Web Design, Sarthak Bhardwaj for IT Network Administration, Akash Chavan – Rahul Tathe for Mechatronics, Varad Patil for MCAD, Omkar Suvam for Electronics, and B Arun Raj for Graphic Design.

Selection of the Indian contestants in the skills of Auto Body Repair, Automobile Technology, Car Painting, CNC Milling, CNC Turning, Confectionery, Cooking, IT Application, and Plastic Die Engineering for the WorldSkills Leipzig event would take place shortly.

WorldSkills India’s supporting partners for the WorldSkills 2013 competition at Leipzig include aha! (Asha Hariharan Academy), Aptech, ASDC, Autodesk, CII, FICCI, Gem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI), GTTI, Jetking, LTA School of Beauty, MIT Academy of Engineering, NASSCOM, and NIFT.

Budget 2013 -14: Increased Allocations to Education Sector Positive – India Ratings

(FINN) Frontier India News Network — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:28:39 +0000

Chennai: India Ratings views the increased allocations of INR 658.67 bn in Union Budget 2013-14 to education sector -17% over FY13 revised estimates (RE) – as a positive feature. The agency also feels strengthening of existing schemes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan through hiked allocations could provide salutary benefits.

Concurrently, INR 16.5 bn allocations to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences could accelerate the commencement of these courses in these institutions. Nevertheless, the ramp up and movement to operational phase on a timely basis is a challenge.

Scholarships announced to the tune of INR 52.84 bn are likely to help a few disadvantaged sections of the society to access education facilities. At the same time, upped allocations to few institutes of excellence (Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) provide impetus and reinforce the thrust for this sector.

India Ratings feels that long awaited liberalisation of the sector is imperative for substantial improvements in education infrastructure.

DHFL creates NBFC Avanse for education loans

(FINN) Frontier India News Network — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:32:34 +0000

Mumbai: Dewan Housing Finance Ltd. (DHFL), has ventured into Education loans market by creating a Non Banking Finance Company (NBFC) Avanse Education Loans focused at higher studies segment. Around 30 lakh students in India pursue higher studies annually and the market for student loans has been continuously growing every year at a CAGR of approximately 30%. The growth is expected to continue, driven by the projected growth on the education sector spends.

Avanse will fund students intending to pursue engineering, business and management studies. In addition, the NBFC will also provide students the opportunity to explore non dominant courses like Aquaculture, Photo Journalism, courses in Music & Culture and others. The company will tap the 19.8 million Indian students who at any given time require education finance to pursue higher studies in India and overseas.

Avanse Education Loans covers complete cost of education including living and other expenses. The company offers educational loans with minimum loan value being Rs 50,000/- up to the maximum value required and offers flexible repayment plans with repayment tenure up to 10 years (120 months).

Avanse Edvantage is designed to make the education loan process easier by offering customized loan solutions, hassle free and transparent process and doorstep service for customer convenience.

Avanse Education Loans has earmarked its expansion plan and in its initial phase will have dedicated offices across 10 major locations which are Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh. DHFL’s vast network is also planned to be leveraged.

NIIT IFBI announces 3rd National Banking Entrance Test

(FINN) Frontier India News Network — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 08:45:47 +0000

Bangalore: NIIT alsong with Banking & Insurance training ltd (IFBI) has announced the 3rd national Banking Test (NBET) for their Post Graduate programs. To be conducted from 15th – 28th February 2013, 2600 NBET toppers will get pre-course placements from private sector banks in India.

Graduates with 50% and above marks in class X, Class XII and final year graduation students are eleigible for the test. The candidate has to be born on or after 1st July 1998.

NBET is online examination to evaluate the verbal, numerical, logical and basic checking. NBET qualified candidates will appear for personal interview and shortlisted will enroll for the PG programs.

Dr Amarnath Safaya, former director Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences passes away

(FINN) Frontier India News Network — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 05:58:59 +0000

New Delhi: Dr Amarnath Safaya, the former director Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (SSSIHMS), Prasanthigram, who was handpicked by Satya Sai Baba himself in 1991 as the first director, passed away on Thursday, January 10, in Delhi. He served the institution till October 2011, when he retired for health reasons.

He also served as the director of SSSIHMS, Whitefield, Bangalore in its initial years. During Dr.Safaya’s tenure SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram saw an all-round development and established itself as an institution par excellance. Four specialities viz Cardiology, Urology, Opthalmology and Orthopaedics were added during his tenure. He was also instrumental in organising three international Cardiac Conferences and three international Orthopaedic Conferences in the hospital.

Prior to joining the institution, Dr.Safaya had served as the Medical Superintendent of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi for 16 years and was the founder president of the Association of Hospital Administration. He was also the Vice President of the National Board of Examinations, Government of India from 1990 to 1992.

Dr.Safaya was born on October 2,1932 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He completed MBBS from Agra University and took his MD degree from the University of Kashmir in 1964.

IIM CAT 2012 results on 9th January

(FINN) Frontier India News Network — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 04:29:17 +0000

Kozhikode: The Indian Institutes of Management has announced that the results for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2012 will be available from 9 January 2013. Candidates will be able to log on to IIMs’ secure portal via the CAT website from 9 January to retrieve their results. Candidates will be required to enter their CAT registration number and email address in order to access the site. Candidates have been advised to retain a printed copy of their results. Access to CAT 2012 results will available until 31 December 2013.

“Although we took added precautions, we anticipate a slightly heavier traffic on the first day and candidates are advised to be patient and not rush to retrieve their results. They may try again later if they find the site to be slow,” said Professor SSS Kumar, CAT 2012 Convenor.

CAT 2012 was conducted at 61 test centres across 36 cities over a 21-day testing window from 11 October – 6 November 2012.

NIIT – NASSCOM tie up for trainng 1 lakh graduates in IT skills over three years

(FINN) Frontier India News Network — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 05:47:33 +0000

Bangalore: The NASSCOM Sector Skills Council (SSC) on Friday signed a MoU with NIIT for three years to train 1 lakh students all over the country starting from 30,000 students in the first year. The two initiatives- FSIT (Foundation Skills in IT) is for engineering graduates and Global Business Foundation Skills (GBFS) is for graduates from all streams.

GBFS has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the BPO/KPO and the LPO industry. NIIT Careers@Campus model will enhance employability skill sets of engineering graduates in particular and the overall employability of all graduates in general.

The training program has been designed by IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council NASSCOM and the achievement levels are certified through the NAC and NAC-Tech assessments. The collaboration between NASSCOM’s IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council (SSC) and NIIT aims to train over 1 lakh students over three years, starting with 30,000 students in the first year.

FSIT and GBFS, are of a duration of 120 hours each and cover topics ranging from on technology to soft skills and professional skills and project management. Most of the topics covered are applicable to multiple industries and although all students are eligible to take part in the program, it is best suited for engineering students studying in third year and final year.

CBSE announces class 10 and 12 exams from March 1, 2013

(FINN) Frontier India News Network — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 05:59:38 +0000

New Delhi: The Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced the 2013 examinations for Class 10 and Class 12 will commence from March 1st. The 10th standard Secondary School Examination extends from march 1st to 15th March. The board has advised schools to conduct the school based assessment between March 16 to March 31, 2013.

The 12th Standard Senior Secondary School examination stretches from 1st March to 17th April.

10 lakh students across India had appeared the CBSE examination in 2012 and a further rise is expected this year.

In a separate circular, CBSE has asked the students availing scholarship under the ‘Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students’, operated by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, to update their Aadhar numbers.

NIIT University announces ‘NU Scholar Search Program’

(FINN) Frontier India News Network — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 10:16:59 +0000

Bangalore: The not-for-profit NIIT University on Thursday announced the NU Scholar Search Program to facilitate admission of meritorious students.NU Scholar Search Program will help students secure early admission in the cutting edge NIIT University Btech programs on the basis of their performance in 10th and 12th standard examinations and a student & parent interaction process with the University.

For admission to the BTech programs, students appearing in Class XII boards in March/April 2013 and those who have taken their Class XII Board examination not earlier than March-April 2011 can apply to the University. Students with an aggregate of 60% and above in Class X can apply under Early Admission (EAD) mode. NU supports the Early Admission candidates for their Class XII exams through the Study Smart initiative. Last date to submit application under Early Admission phase is January 31, 2013.

Meritorious students who have scored 80% or more marks in Class X exams combined with good performance in Class XII exams, are eligible for scholarships under the NU Scholar Search program ranging up to 100% of the University and Hostel fees, along with a monthly assistantship.

Students applying under the NU Scholar Search program are exempted from paying the application fee if they apply before December 31, 2012. The Scholar Search Program, combined with Early Admission mode,not only reduces the admission anxiety for the student, but also encourages her/him to perform even better in the Class XII exams.

The NIIT University currently offers 4-year BTech program in three streams: Biotechnology (BT), Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), and Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE).

The University also offers MTech Programs in Educational Technology, Embedded Solutions & Convergence, Computing & Communications and Bioinformatics; and PhD programs in all the above disciplines. The University has just announced a new MTech Program in GIS recently.

Nestled in the foothills of the Aravali range in Neemrana, Rajasthan, the picturesque 100-acre fully residential green campus of NIIT University is equipped with state-of-the-art technology-enabled methodology.