Education: Choose the right B-school

Once you decide to do an MBA or a postgraduate course in management, choosing a B-school is an important step. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that your choice of programme and business school meets your needs, interests, career goals and learning style. Here are a few aspects that you will need to keep in mind while finalising your choice:

Post-MBA career path: The B-school you select should be in line with your post-MBA career. If you are interested in a specific domain you can choose a B-school that specialises in that domain. For example, if you are interested in Advertising or Marketing Communications, you can opt for an institute that specialises in communication.

Curriculum and pedagogy: The curriculum should be updated frequently to match the industry’s requirements. The industry’s perspective should be duly considered. Pedagogy should include experiential learning like role plays, case studies and simulation apart from the traditional lecture-based method.

Accreditation: Check if the B-school you are applying to has been approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to offer MBA and other management-related courses. Doing so will ensure that you are receiving quality education and increase your chances of getting a good job. Additionally, check if the B-school has been accredited by reputed international agencies like Association of MBAs (AMBA), UK, and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), India. Such an accreditation gives credibility to B-Schools as these bodies follow rigorous procedure.

Ranking: From 2016, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has been doing the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in which B-schools are rated based on teaching-learning process, research and innovation, and placements. Such rankings can help you get a better insight into various features of a B-school. Apart from NIRF, one can also take a look at the ranking lists made by reputed magazines and organisations. Though the methodology the magazines use to judge the universities and colleges may be different, these will give you a basic idea of where the B-schools stand.

Internships: Recruiters usually go by the reputation of an institute when they come to offer internships. Internships give you an opportunity to know how an organisation works and what to expect from a job. So, take a look at the B-school’s tie-up with organisations for internships not only in terms of number but also in terms of size, location, nature of business, reputation of the organisation, etc.

Alumni network: A B-school’s alumni feedback will act as a guiding light while making a decision as they will be able to clearly articulate its strengths and weaknesses. They will also be helpful in understanding the current trends in the market, future of certain industries and may also help you in selecting the right electives and specialisation.

Infrastructure: This is perhaps the most important parameter while choosing a B-school. Hence, it is essential to visit the campus at least once to know what kind of infrastructure the B-school offers. Apart from having well-equipped classrooms, B-schools should have a good library and a computer lab.

Placements: Go through the placement record of the B-school and take a look at what sort of companies have hired students from here, and their average salary. It is also important to consider industry- and sector-wise salary packages and also in the context of national and international placements. This is highly relevant while calculating ROI (Return on Investment), especially if you are looking for a loan.

Industry interaction: Check if the B-school has tie-ups with the right industry organisations and professionals. Such tie-ups can help students gain industrial exposure and practical knowledge. So, take a look at the frequency of guest lectures, industrial visits, profile of speakers in the invited talks, etc.

Activities beyond the classroom: The facilities and encouragement provided in the institute for co-curricular and extracurricular activities is of utmost importance. Not only do these activities enable students to learn outside the classroom, but also mould their personality and increase their confidence. What’s more, skills like resource management and conflict handling can be polished through these activities. Active participation in such events can enable a student face real-life problems better and have a successful professional life.

(The author is assistant professor, Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumakuru)