The School of Rural Management, Xavier University, Bhubaneshwar, carries the excellence and heritage of a rich 25-year-old legacy and is the second-oldest Rural Management program in the country. It is ranked 15th in the world in the category of "Agribusiness / Food Industry Management" by Eduniversal Best Masters Ranking 2019.
During the course of 2 years, special emphasis is put on the skills and knowledge required to make future rural managers who are well motivated and equipped to bring about a much-required change in the rural areas.
The core courses provide the essential understanding and skills in all the functional areas of management, including Accounting, Economics, Finance, Organization Behaviour, Human Resource Management, Operations, Marketing, Strategy; also of development, such as Community Mobilization and Institution-building, Microplanning, Societal Analysis, and Development Alternatives, Managerial Analysis, Communications, Participatory Rural Appraisal, Natural Resource Management, Development Program Management, and Research Methods. Specialized subjects are offered in this program that makes the students have in-depth knowledge while being at par with the managerial abilities of their peers from other MBA courses. Students are introduced to intricate and important details with respect to Rural India, and special emphasis is put on increasing the geographical, sociological, economic, and livelihood patterns prevalent in these areas.
The lessons and learnings from the course on Rural Management extend beyond the classroom and textbooks. The knowledge that is transferred onto the students follows a special and unique pedagogue. It contains fieldwork, leadership talks from eminent personalities of the corporate sector, continuous assignments that test the concepts of the students thoroughly. A special environment is created where the teacher and student interaction is given a lot of priority so that the knowledge can be disbursed in a clear way.
One of the major components of the Rural Management course is the special 45 Day Fieldwork program called the Rural Living and Learning Experience, which is the flagship program of this course. Students stay and interact with villagers as they learn about their livelihood and production systems. The RLLE program creates a perfect environment for the amalgamation of theoretical knowledge and practical experience so that the students can implement their own ideas and skills.
Overall, the program offers a holistic experience for people willing to make a bright future in the field of management. The course on Rural Management makes students more aware of various sociological and demographic variables that make them more aware and empathetic to their immediate surroundings. In addition to the specialized skills that are honed, students also develop an understanding of society. Rural Management graduates serve in a variety of organizational contexts and are required to be competent in a number of substantive areas. The core segments are designed to enable all students to develop this multi-dexterity, which is required in almost every business sector.
Xavier University, Bhubaneshwar promotes free thinking and learning and is a pioneer in promoting and producing world leaders that can be an asset to the world and community they are a part of.