"MBA Back in Business"

Unlike historically, when MBA applications trend countercyclical to economic conditions, this year, data collected by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) suggests a significant change from previous post-recession patterns. Even as the global economy shows signs of recovery, applications to MBA programmes are rising after a slump of three years. According to the 2012 Application Trends Survey, 51 per cent of graduate business and management programmes surveyed confirmed receiving more applications than last year. Though the growth is displayed in applications across a variety of programme types, including part-time, online as well as specialised master’s degrees, it has majorly been fuelled by application gains among online and distance courses.

Region-wise, programmes in Asia-Pacific and Central Asia reported the strongest growth in volumes for full-time MBA programmes. Ashish Bhardwaj, regional director, South Asia, GMAC, elaborates, “Looking at different regions of the world, 32 per cent of full-time two-year MBA programmes in the US reported application increases, 37 per cent in Europe reported application increases, 80 per cent of all MBA programmes in China reported application increases and 83 per cent of all MBA programmes in India reported application increases. Clearly, the relatively stronger economic growth in India and China, the two most significant markets in Asia Pacific, builds a strong case for investing in management education.”

He adds, “Demand for MBA programmes in India is also driven by the financial, personal and professional development the degree offers. These multidimensional advantages were reported by Indian citizens in a separate survey by GMAC, the 2012 Alumni Perspectives Survey where 92 per cent of Indian alumni agreed their graduate management degree is personally rewarding and 88 per cent said their degree is professionally rewarding.”

This upswing in demand for MBA among Indians is witnessed across regions as worldwide Indians account for the greatest number of foreign applicants for 43 per cent of MBA programmes. Across Asia, 34 per cent of MBA programmes indicated that Indian citizens accounted for their greatest number of foreign applications. For Europe and US, this number stands at 59 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.

Another point to be noted is apart from showing the strongest growth in overall increase in applications Asia also reported the greatest growth in female application volume for fulltime one-year MBA programmes at 77 per cent. This compared with 32 per cent in Europe and 47 per cent in the United States. Says Bhardwaj, “In terms of women candidates, 73 per cent of management programmes in India surveyed reported more applications from women candidates than last year. While it is difficult to clearly pinpoint the relative contribution of the outreach efforts made by top schools in attracting women candidates and the 'market effect', what is evident is that schools and corporate recruiters are both working towards greater gender diversity in the management pool and women candidates in greater numbers are seeing the value in investing in management education.”

The survey also reveals special efforts made by programmes to recruit entrepreneurs (16 per cent), pre-experience candidates (13 per cent), and members of the LGBT community (9 per cent). The annual survey also indicates that specialised master’s programmes in management, finance, and accounting continue to show robust growth.

744 programmes, including 527 MBA programmes, 24 business doctoral programmes (PhD/ DBA) and 193 specialised master’s programmes, from 359 B-schools in 46 countries participated in the survey this year.

Source – Google / Education

"India: A Hub For Management Studies"

A recent GMAT report puts India on the global map as a fast growing hub for management education.

India, having created a niche for itself in IT education, is now the go to place for a substantial talent pool in the information technology sector. This trend might now be challenged as more and more management aspirants are choosing India as their preferred study destination.

As mores students opt for specialized management programmes, the Indian business studies sector has witnessed a drastic growth over the last five years. According to the recently published 2011 World Geographic Trend Report for Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) examinees, not only has there been a steady rise in the number of non-US citizens taking the GMAT exam, but Indian students have dominated this trend.

Even amongst Central and South Asian citizens, the report points out, Indians represented the largest citizenship group with the highest number of score reports sent per exam in 2011, accounting for 91 per cent of all exams taken for the year.

However, what is more remarkable to observe is that a multitude of these students are choosing India as their preferred study destination. The report states that, a large drop has been observed in the proportion of scores sent by Central and South Asian citizens to programmes in the United States and much of this shift is explained by increased interest among regional examinees to study in India, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.

The report also observes that in most cases, prospective students are increasingly interested in domestic and regional opportunities. And with Indian student dominating test numbers, it is obvious that Indian B-schools can expect more takers in the coming years.

Prime Motivators
Lower costs of education in India, could be credited as a strong influence for most Indian students who chose to study in India. Not just in terms of tuition fees, but the cost of living in one’s own country can prove to be quite economical. “Studying in India is affordable and also facilitates a curriculum that lays emphasis on practical as well as theoretical aspects of management education,” claims Ankita Sen, a recent graduate from Durgadevi Saraf Institute of Management Studies. She elaborates, “Although studying abroad may give you the global exposure, an Indian education prepares you for the rigours of industry.”

However, experts suggest that higher employment opportunities post the course is also a factor that plays an important role while choosing a study destination. “Most Indian management schools have a well structured campus placement programme with almost 100 per cent employment for all students. And jobs are, after all, an important reason for students opting for an MBA,” asserts Pratibha Jain, education counsellor specialising in studying abroad.

Flexible admissions criteria also boost the popularity of Indian management schools, “Institutes abroad often require you to have at least three to four years of experience. So for a fresher, Indian B-schools can be a viable option,” adds Sen.

Needless to say, of course, that with rising global competition, the quality of education in India has also risen optimally. Jain explains, “Reputed management programmes in India are delivering excellent quality by engaging highly qualified faculty and guest speakers from the industry. The curriculum, teaching material, case-study approach, and overall pedagogy reflect international practices. This, together with low cost of education and living, good placement and familiar environment, makes Indian B-schools very popular in Asia.”

In conclusion, it is the figures that stand as evidence to the fact that India is at the nucleus of an increasingly global sector of management education.

Source – Education Research

"Engineering" – In demand

In an era of choices, engineering still dominates as a favoured discipline. There are 3393 engineering colleges in India with a capacity of 14.85 lakh seats across 36 courses approved by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). Of the total number of colleges, 65% are in the south and 35% in the north. 

 
With the government adding new Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and National Institutes of Technology (NIT) to the existing list in tier II cities, and with the birth of more private institutes, are we witnessing the emergence of newer centres of engineering excellence in cities such as Indore, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Bhopal? Also, with newer streams like biomedical engineering, bioinformatics and environmental engineering being offered, are these unconventional combinations gaining in popularity?

RK Shevgaonkar, director, IIT Delhi, responds: “Actually, there are not too many new hubs in engineering education. When you look at non-IIT colleges, there are mainly cities like Bangalore, Pune, Mathura and Ahmedabad, which have clusters of engineering colleges. The situation is driven by demand and supply. These are IT hubs and, therefore, have many engineering colleges.” As for engineering courses, he says, “Courses like telecom and computer science have many takers. There are students who are inclined towards and opt for bio-informatics, biotechnology and bio-medical, but the numbers are not large.” Besides, he adds, students join traditional engineering courses at the graduate level and then those who are interested in bio-informatics or biotechnology or biomedical engineering opt for it at the MTech-level, where their engineering background comes of use. Shevgaonkar further says that students opt for environmental engineering but “it’s not top priority” as placements are better in other streams. 

S Sadagopan, director, International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, opines, “There was a time when the south had one-third the population and two thirds the number of engineering colleges in India. The skewed distribution is changing a bit with few colleges coming up in north India as well. However, good students still flock to the south.”

According to him, the last 50 years belonged to information technology and the next 50 years will belong to biotechnology. However, biotechnology does not yet have the scale and demand of IT. “Biotechnology needs infrastructure, facilities and deep knowledge. The wealth creation benefits are more indirect — new drugs, new medicines, new crops, preservation of food, and so on. On the other hand, IT translated business processes into a large number of jobs, less specialised, which required bright students with a couple of years of work experience,” adds Sadagopan.

Though the south remains the hub of engineering even today, SS Mantha, chairman, AICTE, feels it may be getting saturated. “There are colleges coming up in states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. While Bihar, West Bengal and the Northeast have few engineering colleges, and, hence, there is a scope for growth.” He also points out that in a new trend students are opting for civil and mechanical, while telecom and electrical/electronics engineering continue to be popular choices.

Source – Educationtimes.