‘PGDM institutions have more flexibility in programs & initiatives’- NDIM New Delhi Chairman Mr V M Bansal

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
June 15, 2017
NDIM New Delhi Chairman Mr V M Bansal throws light on how to choose the right B-school, compare MBA/PGDM programme and shares USPs of the institute
“PGDM institutions are known to have lot more flexibility in terms of curriculum improvement, new initiatives, faculty recruitment, adding new programs, industrial linkages” V M Bansal Chairman BoG, NDIM New Delhi

New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM) is one of the prominent B-schools in Delhi. NDIM has been consistently ranked among the top MBA schools of India by Business World, Business Standard, Business India among others. The PGDM at NDIM is approved by the AICTE, Govt. of India, since 1996 and has been declared MBA equivalent, both by the Association of Indian Universities and the AICTE, since 2008.

Over the years, more than 1000 companies of repute have recruited at NDIM and given 100% finest placements year on year basis with more than 250 companies recruiting at its campus every year for the past 5 years.

NDIM was set up in 1992, not as a business venture but as a humble pay back to the nation, by former bureaucrat & freedom fighter, J.R Bansal. With the Mission of reviving centuries old rich educational heritage of India, the founders conceived NDIM to be a catalyst for limitless learning with human values providing equal opportunity to one and all.

NDIM's PGDM is known for its 'Case Based Learning' and 'Skill Based Curriculum' which is regularly fine-tuned to changing global requirements by 93 recruiters across different sectors of industry, who constitute its  'Academic Advisory Council'.  

NDIM has completed a legacy of 25 years with many milestones achieved during its glorious journey towards excellence. In a fiercely competitive Indian B-school marketplace, where IIMs, ISB, XLRI and a few other elite institutions are competing for attracting the best student talent, NDIM has marked Global foot print in its placements.

NDIM is led by Mr Vishwa Mohan Bansal, the Chairman of Board of Governors, New Delhi Institute of Management . Mr Bansal has been a senior civil servant and served Govt of India, several State Governments and a number of Public sector Undertakings of Central as well as State Govt’s, for 40+ years at highest levels. He has been the youngest and the longest serving Secretary, Collector, Commissioner and Principal Commissioner of country’s biggest urban statutory authority, DDA, Govt. of India, for 17 years. He was the youngest Director of DDA for 11 years, General Manager of all ISBTs of Delhi and all the 4 International Airports of India. He has headed several public sector undertakings and has been behind the success of biggest national and international events starting with Asiad 1982, CHOGM, CWG 2010. He was also the Advisor to DDA and the Lt. Governor, Delhi and has led India’s delegations to more than 15 countries including Japan, China, Korea, U.K., Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam. He is the President of India’s 50 year old Sainik School Rewa and 50 year old NIT Kurukshetra alumni associations.

With his long and wide area of experience, Mr Bansal has taken  many  initiatives aimed at improving curriculum, industry connect and student career growth that befits the changing corporate demand.

MBAUniverse.com spoke to Mr V. M. Bansal to find out more about the choice of right B-school for the students, thought , vision, USPs of NDIM and future of Management education.

Edited excerpts from the Interview follow-

MBA aspirants are in search for good B-schools. In your view what should be the key criteria to choose the right B-school?

One of the key criteria for choosing a business school should be whether the institution is running several different programs or has specialized only in PGDM/MBA. Choosing a B-school is like choosing a heart specialist for heart surgery. Institutions teaching a single program automatically ensure that the entire Alumni and the Industry Connect supports only their MBA/PGDM program rather than supporting several other programs by the college which helps the students immensely.

MBA aspirants must also give high priority to check the background and the commitment of the management of the Institution and whether the management is fully at it 365 days of the year or is mere visitor to the institution and have several other activities/businesses to attend to. Academic background and industry connect of the management of the college matters a lot as they have to guide the faculty of the institution.

Students must check whether the institute promotes innovative thinking, entrepreneurship, flexibility, openness, learning beyond the classrooms, and whether the institute has enough corporate connect to make its students attend highest forums and interact with the industry stalwarts, business captains and future leaders of the world on regular basis. Student exposure at these forums should be one of the key criteria.

Also important is whether the students are being groomed to be global leaders and whether global opportunities form part of the vision of the institute or not.

Regulatory approvals and the number of years an institute has proved its credentials to the Industry is extremely important essentiality of any institution.

Number of alumni belonging to PGDM/MBA and the extent to which they stay connected with the campus on regular basis is another important criteria which the students must keep in mind.

Students must also check on the faculty background, international learning of the faculty and whether they have been drawn from industry or not.

Number of ‘Industry Stalwarts’ visiting any campus on regular basis is another important criteria which cannot be missed out.

Candidates going for post graduate management courses find it difficult to choose between the MBA and PGDM courses. Please share the difference between the two. What are the advantages of doing PGDM.

In MBA,Degree is awarded by some university, whereas the PGDM is a Govt. of India, Ministry of HRD, approved Post Graduate Diploma in Management which is declared and accepted to be equivalent to MBA degree by the Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India. While there is a difference in their name, both MBA and PGDM (if approved by the AICTE) enjoy the same status and are treated at par for all purposes at all forums worldwide. All IIMs award PGDM and not MBA as they are autonomous institutes and are not controlled by any university.

In India, most of the top ranking institutions are PGDM institutions. Entry to PGDM institution is through national level entrance examinations exams like CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT etc. conducted at All India Level whereas entry to MBA program is as per the requirements of the concerned university.

PGDM institutions are known to have lot more flexibility in terms of curriculum improvement, new initiatives, faculty recruitment, adding new programs, industrial linkages etc. and are run only by the autonomous institutes which are monitored and supervised by the AICTE.

In the changing scenario, how MBA/PGDM would be better to make a career?

In the current world scenario every person needs to have the basic art of management and must be good at basic principles of managing different activities. Management Skills have become essential for success in every field. This learning has become a basic necessity for the future generations if they have to grow beyond a point. Be it the hospitals, engineering institutions, government departments, agriculture or environment, politics or education; failure or success of any institution and individual depend upon the management behind the wheels thus making Business Management as an essential Basic Requirement for every individual to prosper in their respective fields.

MBA/PGDM open up wide range of opportunities in every field including General Management; Marketing; Operations Management; Finance Managers or Finance Analyst; Accounting Management; Corporate Controller; Cash Management; Management Consultant; Investment Banking; Credit Management; Investment Sales; IT Management; Data Analytics; Digital Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Human Resource; Executive Assistant; ERP Consultant; Hospital Management.

MBA education in India is yet to make strong global foot print. Please share how it will help MBA aspirants and B-schools to achieve their goal in management education in future?

Learning at the hands of global faculty and global leaders is being promoted by some of the institutions in India and the same is extremely necessary for students and Indian b-schools to make global foot print.

As we know the world has become one stage. Indian business schools have to ensure students’ and faculty exchange programs and cross cultural learning at global level which is extensively happening at NDIM. With the immense global reach provided by internet and with tremendous learning/exposure happening“online” in the digital format there is no reason why students or business schools in India should be lagging behind at the international level any more.

Students searching for good colleges must therefore check the extent of international connect/learning provided at the college and the additional cost thereof, if any. A number of Indian B-schools have already made their mark at International level with their faculty teaching at International Universities and by being on the Boards of MNCs as is regularly happening at NDIM.

Some forward looking colleges of India are also being chosen by overseas’ faculty for teaching courses/modules at their campuses which is a very healthy opening up for key B-schools in India. Senior faculty from number of prestigious colleges & universities of USA and Europe regularly take full courses & modules at NDIM for the last 2 years in addition to the visiting faculty from several other Ivy League Colleges across the globe That B-school should be preferred which has an International Accreditation. This is the biggest USP of NDIM and very few Indian PGDMs or MBAs enjoy International Accreditation recognition.

- How do MBA placement trends impact MBA aspirants? What are the key placement trends at NDIM? What are the key steps taken up to improve industry and corporate interaction?

MBA in India is the most distinguished and pursued course. India is second only to US for its sheer volume of job opportunities for MBA graduates.  With the increase in GDP, services and manufacturing MBA job opportunities across various sectors are multiplying in a big way. Placement is an important yardstick of any program and the placement trends for sure impact the MBA aspirants.

As far as placements at NDIM are concerned, NDIM has been rated 15th best among all B-Schools in India-Business World, 24 best in India by National HRD Network, 1st in Pvt B-Schools of Delhi-Business World, 3rd in India in A++ Category of B-Schools-Business India.NDIM’s Highest International Placement has been Rs 32.5 Lakh and Highest Indian package at Rs 15.0 Lakh.  About 230+ companies come for campus placement at NDIM every year for the last 5 years.

200+ global projects were offered to NDIM students across South Africa, Russia, China, Italy, Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Kenya & Mauritius in the last 2 years and all the students take up industry based projects from semester 1 itself. In fact most of the NDIM students are placed with reputed companies by end of 3rd semester which makes NDIM a highly sought after PGDM institution in India.

Rare Highlights of NDIM

  • The World’s Greatest Brands 2015-16 – India by PwC
  • Among the “Fastest Growing Business Schools of Asia” by KPMG
  • 15TH Best Placements and 15th Best B-School in India – Business World
  • Industry Connect Rated Best in India, Bracketed with IIMs at 1st Place

Live Projects – In addition to 2 months Summer Internshipsat the end of 2nd semester of PGDM, which is 100% ensured by NDIM; unique concept at NDIM ensures that every student works on a Live Project in the 1st semester itself. In the last year over 600 live projects were offered to our students by sought after recruiters.

Corporate Mentors: Each student at NDIM for full one year is assigned a Corporate Mentor in the 1st semester itself. NDIM chooses Industry Mentors from reputed business houses who prepare & guide students for better careers.

NDIM has one of the best Industry Interface in India and has been ranked at par with IIMs in this regard. Presidents of FICCI, PHDCCI, IOD, DG NHRDN are on the Board of NDIM. This has ensured 200+ Industry professionals regularly mentoring NDIM students,80 Industry professional guiding NDIM on its PGDM Curriculum. Additionally, NDIM faculty is heavily drawn from the Industry and has remained associated with 241 industrial & business houses. Not only this, NDIM faculty continues to be on the Boards of 5 MNCs and its Board Members are on the Boards of IIMs and more than 25 top companies.

Please share 5 important qualities that NDIM expects from the admission seekers. Who is an ideal candidate for NDIM?

Selection Process at NDIM lays strong focus on:

  • Leadership Qualities and Goal Clarity
  • Innovation & Risk Taking
  • Commitment, honesty and Ethical
  • Analytical Skills
  • Work Experience and Excellence in any field

IIMs and other B-schools have started awarding low weightage to MBA entrance exams like CAT/XAT/CMAT/MAT. In your view what should be the key weightage parameters in admission process? What changes does NDIM propose to make in its admission process.

Ideally the admission process in a B-School should be a blend of several considerations which go to make global leaders. Scores of entrance exams like CAT/XAT/CMAT/MAT etc. should only be one of the criteria.

NDIM’s admission process basically gives weightage to the following parameters:

  1. Score in 12th Standard
  2. Graduation Percentage
  3. College & University the candidate is pass out from
  4. Performance in CAT / XAT / CMAT / GMAT/MAT Exams
  5. Performance in Group Discussion and Interview Processes
  6. Extracurricular Achievements
  7. Work Experience
  8. Female candidates get preferential treatment if they have same score as male candidates.
  9. 2% Seats are reserved for the wards of serving /retd. defence/paramilitary forces/police personnel.
  10. 5% seats reserved for applicants from J&K, Northeast, Naxal affected areas, wards of defence/police/para-military services personnel who laid down their lives in any operation.
  11. Reservation for SC/ST/OBC and other categories is as per AICTE directions.

NDIM looks for overall performance of the student instead of focusing on only the entrance exam score. It looks for aspirants who can be groomed & nurtured for top positions in their careers.

Many aspirants look for placements as the only admission criteria? What should be the other important USPs of the B-School that the candidates should look for?

Most of the students/parents want to settle down immediately after their professional qualification and for this reason placements continue to be important admission criteria for them.

However, Indian students are gradually becoming aware of the importance of the Name Brand that they will wear throughout their life. This is now merging as important criteria for choosing a B-school. Additionally, the industry is looking for newer skill sets and hands-on learning of various facets of management education at the time of job offers. So the students should look for the reputation that the Alumni of a B-school enjoy in the companies where they have been earlier recruited.

Whether the college promotes an entrepreneurial thinking and has successful industry leaders holding their hand, whether it promotes risk taking capabilities and leadership qualities should be the number one criteria for the students because only these skills will take them to the top of the ladder to become industry leaders.

For achieving these goals the students need to have global thinking, international learning and regular interaction with global leaders of eminence and the students should therefore check whether the B-school actively promotes these attributes in addition to placements.

Students should check if the college draws top Industry Leaders and Top HR Heads at the campus on regular basis or not. The students should see the quality and commitment of the faculty and the management and above all the seniority of the Industry Stalwarts on the Board of any B-schools.

Your message to the candidates who wish to pursue MBA/PGDM
MBA/PGDM has become a basic requirement for understanding the world of business, the world of competition and survival, both for being an entrepreneur and a serving professional in any sector.

While MBA/PGDM has become an essentiality, students should analyse and evaluate their bent of mind and their strengths so that they can take correct call on the MBA/PGDM specialization subjects. Specialization or b-school should not be chosen merely on an expectation that it will open up doors of a particular company. It has to be chosen based on one’s liking and aptitude, strengths & weaknesses and the commitment of the b-school to the students’ career.

Students should look for a business school which ensures regular interaction with corporate professionals both at the campus and outside the campus at national & international platforms. In my view lot of learning of business management happens when students interact with senior professionals at major platforms on continuous basis in an open environment. Students should therefore look for a college which provides avenues of regular interaction and encouragesinnovation & entrepreneurship, and has been in MBA/PGDM field for a long time.

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