Conclave Inaugural Address

Dr. Bakul Dholakia
Former Director
Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad and Padma Shri awardee

“As a participant and keen observer of Indian MBA education sector for the last four decades, I feel that MBA education sector in India is at the cusp of a major transformation. Today, Indian B-schools are facing formidable challenges, but they have great opportunities as well. With focus on quality, we need to reinvent our MBA education”

Conclave Special Address
Topic: From Expertise to Excellence: Rethinking the Future of MBA

Dr. Debashis Chatterjee
Director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode

“Indian management education needs to focus on Excellence. We should not copy the western models, but evolve our own unique thinking process. Our education has to be rooted in our context”

Corporate Address

Mr. Manish Sabharwal
Chairman, TeamLease and Member of Prime Minister’s Skill Development Mission

Policy makers after Independence got many things right about human capital, particularly higher education. But our schools and vocational training system not only do not have the capacity to handle the massive demographic growth, they also do not prepare our youth to hit the ground running in workplaces.

Mr. Amit Agnihotri, Chairman, MBAUniverse.com

“Indian management education is in the midst of massive transformation. There has been a boom in the last decade, but in the last two years, there has been a massive churn. Many institutes are hutting shopdue to unmet stakeholder demands. Recruiters are unhappy with the average quality of MBA output. However, there are many positive trends too: India is emerging as the hub of global management practices and innovation, and progressive B-schools are changing to move forward. I, therefore, believe that the Indian MBA education can be a global brand, which attracts the best students, faculty and recruiters from the wo rld.”

Topic: Creating a World Class Admissions Test in India

Mr. Ramesh Nava
Vice President and GM, Asia Pacific, Japan & Africa, Prometric

“Indian Management Entrance exams like CAT, XLRI, MAT & SNAP have huge numbers, even by global standards. Indian management institutes should standardize their entrance tests and process. A world class admission test needs be robust on four key parameters: it should have the ‘Content’ right, it should be fair, and it should have wide availability & acceptance.”

Mr. Bharat Gulia
Senior Manager, Business Advisory Services,Ernst & Young

“There are four key trends that are changing the landscape of higher education in India: Focus on Employability, Globalization, New modes of Learning and Consolidation. MBA educators will do well to understand the implications and get ready for change.”