MICA Ahmedabad: Dream campus for MBA aspirants; crafting big future plans

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
November 9, 2015
MICA is the only residential institute in the country, and perhaps the Asia-Pacific region, dedicated to creating Leadership in Strategic Marketing and Communication
By 2020, anywhere in the world, if a prospective student, a recruiter, a policy maker, or a professor is interested in strategic marketing and communication, MICA should be in the top 5 Dr Nagesh Rao, President and Director MICA

Established in 1991, MICA is the only residential institute in the country, and perhaps the Asia-Pacific region, dedicated to creating Leadership in Strategic Marketing and Communication. MICA’s core belief — that communication, creative thinking, consumer centricity and community outreach form the building blocks of grooming future leaders who focus on the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit — combined with recruiters’ propensity to hire MICAns makes the institute a dream campus for B-school aspirants.

Vision 2020
MICAhas big plans for the future. President and Director Dr Nagesh Rao says, ‘By 2020, anywhere in the world, if a prospective student, a recruiter, a policy maker, or a professor is interested in strategic marketing and communication, MICA should be in the top 5 of their list. Their search should begin and end with MICA.’

This is reflected in the institute’s newest specialization — social change leadership — being offered to PGDM–C students, beginning with the 2016–18 batch. The mission of this new specialization is “to empower the next generation of socially conscious, value-driven leaders who integrate the principles of management, business, marketing, and communication for positive social impact,’ says Dr Rao.

Not just another MBA
MICA’s Dean Dr Atish Chattopadhyay feels the institute is ‘probably India’s best-kept secret’ among management institutions. ‘The quality of education, the degree of industry interaction, and the passion that connects alumni and the student body — in all these, MICA ranks on par with the best in the country,’ he says.

For one, it is the only institute promoted and supported by a pioneering professional group with a global name in marketing and advertising.

Second, MICAns learn to put their money where their mouth is, right from day one. For instance, in addition to its in-house community radio, MICAVAANI, MICA’s unique location gives students plenty of access to a cross-section of socioeconomic groups. This means that community outreach is more than just a byword on campus. Consumer centricity is an integral part of the programme architecture; students spend two weeks in a rural environment interacting with grassroots-level consumers. Similarly, from the “Chhota” canteen to the creative lab — the campus is rife with evidence of creative thinking and communication.

MICA also has a very strong alumni network, a fact that gains importance when you consider the institute’s position as the alma mater of several industry leaders in marketing, brand management, research and analytics, advertising, media, digital and other strategic marketing and communication-driven businesses, both in India and abroad.

Admission to Highly rated academics Open
PGDM–C: MICA’s PGDM–C has been adjudged the equivalent of an MBA by the Association of Indian Universities. The PGDM–C programme is very different from other conventional MBA/PGDM programmes. The proposed intake for PGDM-C 2016-18 is 180 students.

In addition to analytical competence and integrative capabilities, MICA graduates are creative, consumer centric, sensitive to the needs of the community and can communicate across stakeholders.

The programme offers unique specializations in Advertising, Media Management, Market Research & Analytics, and Brand Management, which are not available in conventional B-schools.

MICA has always kept pace with the changing needs of the industry. The new specializations in Digital Marketing & Communication and Social Change Leadership reflect MICA’s agility and nimbleness, which differentiates it from other B-schools.

The programme offers students the chance to specialize in one of six areas of interest:

-- Brand Management
-- Marketing Research and Analytics
-- Digital Communication Management
-- Advertising Management
-- Media Management
-- Social Change Leadership

FPM–C: The Fellow Programme in Management – Communication (FPM-C) is a 3 year doctoral-level interdisciplinary programme in communication and marketing.  It is aimed at research-oriented post-graduates who are inclined to advance communication theory and practice, and enhance the contributions that communication can make to the larger community.

Intake for FPM-C 2016 is limited to 8 best chosen candidates.

CCC: Crafting Creative Communication is a one-year programme that helps creative individuals grow into highly skilled professionals, sought after by the advertising industry. It offers specializations in crafting copywriting and art direction. MICA will admit 24 candidates for the programme in 2016.

In addition, MICA also offers several online certificate programmes aimed at professionals looking to improve their skills.

Select achievements
Smriti Srivastava (PGDM–C 2015) was chosen as one among 19 Young Leaders from various B-Schools across the country by the Economic Times – Young Leaders Edition 2014, while Anu Radhakrishnan (PGDM–C 2015) was selected to represent MICA at the HUL Premier 30 League Tree 2014. This apart, MICA students shone at blue-ribbon national competitions, including Google Online Marketing Lab, COMSTRAT by FCB Ulka, Mahindra War Room, P&G CEO Challenge, Tata Jagriti Yatra, and LIME Season 6, organized by Hindustan Unilever Limited and CNBC TV 18.

MICA hosted TEDx 2015, which featured eminent personalities like Piyush Mishra (actor, lyricist, and singer), Akshai Abraham (founder of Project KHEL), Nirali Kartik (classical vocalist), Moji Riba (filmmaker), Rishad Saam Mehta (travel writer) and Sarbani Das Roy (psychotherapist).

Alumni Network
One of MICA’s biggest strengths is its network of alumni, several of whom occupy CxO positions at key organizations in the marketing and communication. The Institute actively engages its alumni, throughout the academic cycle, right from the selection process to the final placements.

Here’s a glimpse at some of the achievements of MICA alumni (listed in alphabetical order) over the past year:

-- Divya Agrawal (PGDM–C 2013) was selected for the elite group of Photo Boite’s ‘30 Under 30 Women Photographers’ for the year 2014.
-- Kunal Jeswani (PGDM–C1996) was promoted as CEO, Ogilvy & Mather, India.
-- Priyanka Sharma (CCC 2014) bagged two awards in the 5th edition of exchange4media Radio Advertising Awards.
-- Priyanka Sharma (CCC 2014) bagged a bronze in the category Best Special Event: India at the New York Festival for World's Best Radio work.
-- Rathi Gangappa (1995) was promoted as Chief Operating officer at MediaComtra.
-- Sanket Avlani (CCC alumnus) launched www.taxifabric.org — a unique platform for designers in Mumbai to showcase their work on taxi seat covers.
-- Saurabh Srivastava (PGDM–C 2002) was appointed as Chief Marketing Officer by MobiKwik.
-- Shiladitya Bora (PGPCME 2008) was appointed as the CEO of Drishyam Films.
-- Sonal Narain (PGDM–C 2001) was appointed as Chief Strategy Officer by Cheil India.

Life beyond the classroom
Campus life becomes an important aspect, given the PGDM–C’s nature as a two-year residential programme. If students from varied academic and cultural backgrounds are expected to live together as a harmonious community for that long a period, it is essential that they make the most of their time on campus. With this in mind, MICA has a robust culture of student activities, across a wide range of areas from sports to theatre to music to literature, and the in-house community radio station, MICAVAANI.

MICA also hosts its annual showcase of managerial and creative talent, MINCANVAS, where students from across B-schools meet, interact and compete in challenges that help them learn from both industry stalwarts and each other.

Other avenues where MICAns learn outside the classroom include MICAMINDS, the student-run research and consultancy cell and the MICA Lecture Series, where students and industry professionals and eminent personalities from diverse fields get to interact and understand each other’s perspective, and Team Interface, MICA’s media and PR wing, in which students channel a significant part of communication pertaining to the institute.

All of these events fall under the purview of MICA’s officially recognized student body, the three-member MICA Council for Student Affairs, which liaises between students and the administration.

Career opportunities
MICA graduates have, all along, found their preferred roles in the sectors of their choice. The confidence that recruiters place in MICA graduates is reflected in the institute’s 100 percent placement record over the years.

MICA, as a school, focuses on a different approach to grooming leadership, which is aligned with its mission and the requirements of those who recruit from MICA. For the current batch of 160 students, it is more about the role, the sector and the joy of creativity and contribution. The average annual pay package offered to a MICA graduate last year was INR 11, 50, 000.

Top recruiters
In the words of Dr Chattopadhyay, ‘MICA graduates are typically recruited in different roles in advertising, media management, marketing and sales, digital marketing, and market research and analytics. The key recruiters of 2015 include names like Amazon, Google and Snapdeal among the new-age companies, in addition to FMCG-majors, such as Procter & Gamble and L’Oreal, who have always been regular recruiters at MICA. I don’t need to take names from the advertising and media sectors, as it is a well-known fact that all the big names find MICA to be their happy hunting ground.’

The last date to register and apply for admission to PGDM-C 2016-18 batch at MICA is December 4, 2015. The admission and selection process for PGDM-C 2016-18 batch of MICA has been changed and the B-school has introduced computer based MICAT 2016. The exam will be held on December 20, 2015 in 14 cities and MICA proposes to conduct GE-PI in Bangaluru, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai by mid-January 2016.

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