With 33 years of legacy, IMS Ghaziabad is one of the oldest and trusted Business Schools in India. IMS offers AICTE approved and NMA accredited PGDM programme. Dr Urvashi Makkar, Director of IMS Ghaziabad has more than 27 years of experience in academics, research, teaching, training and consultancy and is one of the few female directors leading a B-School. Dr Urvashi is a PhD, EPHRM-IIM Calcutta, MBA and is serving o the Governing bodies of various Delhi University and other Colleges.
MBAUniverse.com interviewed Dr Urvashi to understand her priorities, vision for the B-school and management education in India. Excerpts from the interview are shared below:
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Q: IMS Ghaziabad has long legacy. You were reappointed as the Director in December 2020. What are your priorities, and how is the progress so far?
A: For more than three decades, IMS Ghaziabad has been one of the premier institutions in the wish list of aspirants for quality management education. Our approval by AICTE; uninterrupted 20 years of accreditations by NBA and globally by ASIC, U.K; equivalence to MBA by Association of Indian Universities (AIU); certification by Management Systems for Educational Organizations (EOMS, ISO 21001:2018); membership of AACSB Business Education Alliance, USA; consistent impressive rankings and the success of our students in the business world in the form of excellent placements, are testimony to our commitment for excellence in management education.
During the course of our evolution, we have expanded the boundaries of our campus in terms of the focus being given to the learners in the Students Outreach Programs which have been recently initiated. Under this initiative, our students go outside the campus for participation in various academic as well as co-curricular activities.
Another very important change which has happened in the last 2-3 years is the focus on Skill Enhancement as per the changing demands of the industry. With this objective, IMS Ghaziabad has introduced a range of Value-Added Certification Programs (VACP) in each trimester in association with agencies like Microsoft, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (GOI) etc. All these certifications are provided in workshop mode so that students can have hands-on practice of the same. Some of the Value-added Certification Programs currently being offered to learners are Advanced MS Office Certification by Microsoft, Digital & Social Media Marketing Certification by MSME, Yellow Belt Six Sigma Certification by MSME, Financial Markets Product & Planning Certification by MSME, Google Analytics Certification by MSME, Sales & Negotiation Certification by MSME and The Super Power Job Seeker Professionals by MSME. Additionally, Value-Added Short-Term Training Programs (VA- STTP) like Placement Readiness Enhancement Program- PREP, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) Prowess, Student Development Program by GHRDC, SPSS Training, Tableau Training, Aptitude Training, Tally Training and many more are being provided to the learners for their skills enhancement, personality development and promoting self-belief.
Personally speaking, my dream, aim, passion & mission have always been to improve the quality of the management education system in our country. Choosing the education sector as a profession was never an alternative to me, it came naturally as my parents belonged to academic fraternity.
Q: How is business environment changing and how should management adapt to these transformations.
A: In the contemporary dynamic and turbulent times, the world is witnessing a sea change in almost all dimensions and the business landscape of today is not an exception. Rapid changes are visible in the 'businessverse', new jobs are coming up which require different kinds of skill sets. The ever-demanding job market is on the lookout for managerial talent that is equipped with new-age acumen, capabilities and skills. Consequently, management education, not just in India, rather across the globe is poised for a major transformation as what was hot selling cake in yester years is becoming redundant today.
As the world becomes more and more digital, embracing and encompassing technology is the essential key for progressing in almost every business. This means that management education across the globe must be adapted in line with the skill sets required for succeeding in an era of Industry 5.0 revolution. At IMS Ghaziabad, the focus is on imparting industrial training to the learners along with academic excellence & global exposure. One look at the global job markets and it becomes obvious that most of the top listed companies as well as the economic drivers of business are primarily in the tech industry. The success of the job aspirants in the future job market will be largely determined by their competence in managing technology and leveraging the phenomenal opportunities generated by technological innovations.
Being one of the trusted Business Schools in India with 33 years of academic legacy offering PGDM programme, we are aware that the modern-day manager must be capable of adapting to the expeditious inevitable turbulence and radiate confidently in a highly volatile and uncertain scenario replete with cut throat competition. IMS Ghaziabad has reinvented management education to reflect the latest ideas, thinking and practices in business.
Q: At IMS Ghaziabad, you follow a three-pronged strategy of Academic Excellence, Corporate Readiness and Global Interface. Can you please elaborate…
A: At IMS Ghaziabad, our major thrust area which is embedded in our pedagogy is a three-dimensional focus not only to achieve the highest standards of academic excellence, but also to achieve highly effective corporate interface backed with multi-dimensional development opportunities. A three pronged strategy with an all-encompassing comprehensive approach towards achieving Academic Excellence, Corporate Readiness and Global Interface is interwoven throughout the PGDM Program. With its internationally acclaimed faculty and teaching pedagogy, the Institute has an all-pervasive focus on teaching, training, research and consulting for crafting global business leaders for the 21st century workplace.
IMS Ghaziabad has undertaken the unique initiative of Skill Enhancement & Corporate Readiness (SECR) for continually enhancing the skill sets of the learners towards corporate readiness and employability. A plethora of novel and innovative endeavours such as Value Added Certification Programmes (VA-CPs); Value Added Short Term Training Programmes (VA-STTP); Global Academic Collaborations; Distinctive Talk Series; Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE); Corporate Interface Series (CIS); IMS Innovation Hub; Placement Readiness Enhancement Program (PREP); Student Peer Learning Initiatives, Pre-Placement Preparedness Committee (PPPC); Personal & Professional Skill Programs (PPSP); SMART (Social Media and Related Techies); Competency Mapping Programme; Psychological Counseling; Student Outreach Programme; Mentoring Programme; Language Lab; Versant Training for cracking the Big 4, Public Speaking Modules, Departmental Clubs; CSR Initiatives, besides many others have been initiated for the market readiness of the budding managers. We have entered into collaboration with IBM for certification courses on many contemporary subjects.
Additionally, one of the key focus areas of IMS Ghaziabad is enhancing the Global Interface. IMS Ghaziabad has kick started the reputed 30 Hours Global Swiss Certified Course on “Ethical Decision Making for Responsible Business” in the month of December. The elite certification course was delivered by experts from Switzerland under the prestigious Memorandum of Understanding for Global Collaboration with Humanistic Management Network, Switzerland. Very recently, the 30 hours flagship Global Talk Series on “Strategic Management” was organized for the PGDM students which was taken by the Managing Director of Morgan Franklin from Washington, USA. Prior to this, the Global Talk Series on "Management of Change, Innovation and Technology" was organized in order to extend maximum global and corporate exposure to students. A 15 hours Global Talk Series on “Marketing Management” was recently taken up by an expert resource person from Dubai. In the series of various platforms and opportunities provided to the students, Master's Class Certification Course in the domains of Marketing and Finance was also kick started.
Q: What specific steps are taken to make your PGDM program contemporary?
A: At the dawn of the twenty-first century, new and rapidly improving technologies are in the process of transforming higher education. At IMS Ghaziabad, the curriculum, which is based on higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, is constantly reviewed and upgraded in consultation with corporate experts, academicians and other stakeholders to be relevant for a data-driven world powered by digital technology and high flux business landscape. To develop in our budding professionals managerial skills which are relevant to the digital era, new age courses like Management of Change, Innovation & Technology, Digital Business Transformation, Marketing Analytics and Business Intelligence, Predictive Analytics using Python, Data Warehouse & Big Data for Business Intelligence, Web and Social Media Analytics, and many more have been included in the curriculum. We have signed the prestigious Memorandum of Understanding with IBM under which students will be tremendously benefitted from getting the prestigious IBM Certification. Additionally, they will get exposure to highly relevant corporate oriented courses like Project Management, Business analytics, Google Analytics, HR Analytics, just to name a few, which will be a phenomenal value addition to their career prospects.
Every year we have our Academic Council in which curriculum revision is the major agenda based on feedback received from our stakeholders. We have added 37 new modules in our curriculum and our flagship Skill Enhancement & Corporate Readiness module focuses on the skill improvements of the students as per the recruiter’s feedback.
Q: Going forward, what is your vision for IMS Ghaziabad?
A: It is really very important to understand the role of an academic institution in a society as well as in a country beyond the primary responsibility of giving knowledge and education to the students. Besides that, our contributions to the nation in terms of environmental sustainability, how we are trying to bend the minds of the learners towards the bigger perspectives which can change the future of earth is really very important. Hence, IMS Ghaziabad has been associated with important causes like, water conservation, tree plantation etc. since inception and has been striving that students enter into the market with this sensitivity, this is one of our major priorities in the coming years.
Another major focus area of IMS Ghaziabad is a strong global interface for which the Institute is providing many platforms to its students for interaction with the global experts. In coming years, we want to go beyond this with a stronger & in-depth global interface. We would be focusing on having the Students Exchange Program with foreign universities with which we already have tie ups. Similarly, we would be having training Programs for the students as well as Faculty Exchange initiatives. Skill Enhancement & Corporate Readiness initiatives are an ongoing thrust area of our teaching learning pedagogy.
Q: What are the initiatives to achieve these ambitious goals?
A: At IMS Ghaziabad, at the very outset, we focus on creating an awareness in the budding managers about their responsibility towards the environment. IMS Ghaziabad is having the socially driven ‘Aabhar’ Club in our campus, which is sensitizing the young minds about their responsibility towards the environment.
Providing platforms for global exposure is one of the key focus areas of IMS Ghaziabad. We have kick started the much awaited “Swiss immersion Program”, our flagship one week certification tour to Europe, as part of MoU between IMS Ghaziabad and Humanistic Management Center, Geneva, Switzerland. Under this collaboration, our budding professionals will be exposed to vital cross cultural sessions at the prestigious University of Lucerne, Switzerland.
To boost research & quality in the system of education, the institute has signed prestigious MoU with IBM; Northern Illinois University, USA; Fort Hays State University, USA; University of Fredericton, Canada; IGMA, Dubai; BRICS CCI School of Analysis; CSC Academy;; Jamia Hamdard University; MCX; Habitat; Mata Sundri College of Women; Qualytics Consulting, Act 21 Software and many more.
Recently, we have launched the Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) to harness the entrepreneurial streak of our talented students. Corporate Development and Excellence Center (CDEC) is the flagship training and consulting vertical of IMS Ghaziabad with intent to provide world class training and consulting services to the organizations by providing bespoke offerings.
Another very important area in which we believe IMS will be doing very well in the coming years is the research orientation.
Q: Coming to Placements, how were the Placements 2022? What were the key highlights?
A: In fact, one of the major outcomes of our focus on the skill enhancement of our students is that IMS Ghaziabad has been having a history of excellent placements since inception. In fact, I am really proud to share that in the year 2022, although the pandemic has had a lot of impact on most of the institutions throughout the world, the batch of 2020-22 has got stellar placements along with multiple offers. The Highest Package which was offered to the students was 26.17 Lakhs. IMS Ghaziabad has taken efforts together as a strong team in which our aim is not only to give placements to the students but simultaneously we focus on the qualitative component of the placements also in terms of better profiles and higher packages for our students.
Some Prominent recruiters who hired the PGDM 2020-22 students were Deloitte, Byjus, Wipro, Jaro Education, Cvent India, Pantaloons, Amul India, Gartner, ITC, Mondelez, Colgate, Amul, Dabur, Unicharm India, CP Milk and Food Products Pvt. Ltd, ICICI Group and many more.
Q: How are Placements 2023 progressing…
A: We are not leaving any stone unturned when it comes to supporting our students in their untiring efforts towards enhancing the career prospects and enabling them in getting their dream jobs. The cumulative efforts of the Corporate Resource Centre, the Pre Placement Preparedness Committee, faculty & staff along with the dedication, rigor, and resilience of the students of PGDM batch 2021-23 have reaped rich dividends. We are proud to share that till the end of December 2022, more than 75% students have already been placed in elite organizations like Deloitte, PwC, ANZ Bank, Mondelez, Amul, Colgate, Dabur, Byju’s, Gartner, Wipro, Accenture, Archer & Bull, Piramal Finance, Quadrant Knowledge, Gateway Distiparks, Bangmetric, StudioMosaic, Cyfuture, Anusha Group, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, CollegeDunia, UTI AMC and many more.
The institute is consistently providing Career Counseling, need based education and organization support to its budding managers. Industry Linkage through Seminars, Conferences, Symposiums, Live Projects, Summer Internships, Certification and Training Programs, Networking Events, Industry Visits etc. is an essential aspect of our teaching learning pedagogy.
Q: Tell us about your Alumni. How are they placed…
A: IMS Ghaziabad has 6000+ Alumni base who are well established at reputed positions in Industry. Our Alumni are currently associated with various prestigious international and national corporate houses as AT&T Communication Services Private Ltd., IBM, Deloitte, Amazon, Buoy Group, Total Oil Lubricants, Redington, Abbot Healthcare, Onsite Diagnostic Services, Citibank, Ernst and Young, S&P Capital IQ, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Kotak Life Insurance, Induslnd Bank, GE Grail Research, Bank of America, XL Dynamics, Capital, ICICI Securities, ITC, CRISIL, Onicra, Copal Partners, Ameriprise, Amul, Nestle, Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Britannia, Hindware, Unicharm, Balaji Telefilms, Pantaloons, Daffodil Software, Heinz India, Ceasefire, Tata Teleservices, Lenskart, Flipkart, Varun Logistics and many more.
Carrying forward the rich heritage of IMS Ghaziabad of contributing towards the alma mater, our Alumni support the institution in multiple ways such as assistance in internships & job placements, curriculum design & up gradation, outcome impact analysis, being an expert speaker in Alumni Expert Talk Series, Alumni Entrepreneurial Talk Series, visiting faculty, evaluating projects as well as being a jury member in various competitions organized by IMS Ghaziabad. Every year, our grand annual Alumni Meet elicits enthusiastic participation of alumni hailing from all across India.
Q: Finally, what is your message for MBA aspirants seeking PGDM admission…
A: I have been a very strong believer in the “Power of Dreams” and always tell my students that never confine their dreams to the limitations of boundaries, never define them, rather have very big wings to fly higher, that’s very important. I think that every single student is a bundle of so much potential and energy and if given the right ecosystem and avenues, they come up and flourish as best of human beings, best of the individual and best of the management professionals. Youngsters must also understand that learning agility is the burning need of the hour. This is very critical in current VUCA times wherein what is applicable and relevant today will very quickly become redundant in a flash of time. When the young professionals are empowered with this agility, they will start preparing for the future challenges in a more focused way.
IMS Ghaziabad Admission 2023-25 Open: Apply Now
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