State tops demand for management edn

“The spurt has been noticed since 2005-06. In that year out of 2,116 applications for admission to the MBA programme, more than 308 were from Karnataka and 66 secured admissions,” said V K Menon, senior director, career advancement services and admissions at ISB.

The numbers steadily increased in 2007 (387), 2008 (527), 2009 (592) and 2010 (538). This year the number of applications stood at 538 and 94 secured admissions. Delhi and Mumbai were the other toppers in the admission list along with Karnataka.

Menon said the state has a bigger pool of entrepreneurial talent when compared to other parts of the country, particularly from Bangalore. “Students from Karnataka, particularly in this academic year, gave the class of 2011 a vibrant and diverse colour, with their different backgrounds,” Menon added.

For instance, Pooja K Ranga worked as a senior analyst with Accenture Services Private Ltd. A Bachelor of Arts from Bangalore University, Pooja did her post-graduation in Human Capital Management from XLRI.

An engineer by training and an entrepreneur by profession, Raghavan grew up in Bangalore. He went to the UK to do his masters and stayed there for eight and a half years, being part of two start-up companies. Before joining the ISB, he was the managing director of Cartel Consulting UK Ltd.

Then there is Abhilasha Bahl, a fashion designer and a scuba diver. She has nearly eight years of experience in garment retail industry, having worked with ITC Wills LifeStyle and Arvind Brands. Bahl holds a graduate diploma in Fashion Technology from NIFT, Bangalore.