B-school admissions are in its full swing now that the CAT results are out. A lot of B-school aspirants will now have to undergo the most difficult process in their B-school journey. Selecting the right b-school. But, how do you do that and what are some of the factors you keep in mind while making the decision. We
asked Dr. Monica Khanna, Director and Marketing Professor at K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai, and Dean – Faculty of Management Studies at the Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai who gave us a perspective on the management education offered at the institute and the prospects of students who decide to join the business school. Here are the excerpts:
1. Dr. Khanna, having spent 6 years now as the Director of K J Somaiya Institute of Management, what change do you see in the institute and in the impact it has created?
During my tenure as Director and Dean of K J Somaiya Institute of Management, there has been a marked difference in the B – School ecosystem in the form of many new B – Schools being set up, the social media revolution, the disruption due to the COVID – 19 lockdown and the focus towards online/hybrid education. The Institute has handled all these disruptions with a lot of agility, focus, and teamwork.
As Director, I have endeavored to build a positive research output-based organizational culture where faculty have the freedom and flexibility to build their own research profiles and continuously enhance their knowledge base to teach new evolving management subjects. The Institute invested in building technology-based pedagogical tools like the Bloomberg, Media Analytics Lab, Coursera for Campus, Simulation Softwares, Harvard Case Studies, several e databases, and also invested in the use of technology for improving our internal processes. As a result, the Institute has grown in its reputation and rankings and is now among the leading private business schools in India. The Institute has been consistently delivering quality education through its various accreditations like the ISO 9001:2015, NBA, AIU Equivalence, NIRF Rankings and is now in its final stage of the AACSB accreditation.
The Institute has kept with the times and launched multidisciplinary MBA programs like the MBA – Healthcare Management, Sports Management, Data Science & Analytics, Human Resources Management and recently launched its Case Research Center for strengthening industry-academia connect and developing case studies with a focus on the local and global context.
2. As an industry expert and academician in the field of Marketing, what do you think makes for a successful marketer? What are things students must keep in mind when attempting to enter the field?
The marketing function has been completely redefined by technology - both from the company’s side and the consumer’s journeys and perspectives. The entire value chain being delivered to the consumer has technology embedded into it. As a result, a lot of routine marketing and sales functions are being carried out by technology and further undergoing change due to artificial intelligence, machine learning, voice and visual-based technologies, etc. Along with this, one can find the fast integration of the urban and rural markets in India due to smartphone penetration and building of roads, railways, electrification, and other facilitators of business and economy like the fintech revolution.
In such a scenario, a successful marketer would be one who would necessarily have a good power of observation, ability to spot opportunities or create opportunities and be a good listener. The characteristics of empathy, sincerity, warmth, and being tech-savvy would help to create successful marketers. Students who wish to enter the highly competitive and exciting field of marketing should be ready for a business world full of disruptions, challenges, surprises, and opportunities.
3. What have the placements been like in the past 5 years? Have you seen any drastic changes due to the pandemic or other factors?
We are recording about 98 to 100% placements YOY even on increased intake of students. The pre-placement offers (PPOs) numbers are now consolidating at over 50 per year from the 27 that was recorded 6 years ago. We have introduced about 35 to 45 new companies every year to factor in the aspirations of the students.
Some of the key highlights of the current ongoing placements for the MBA 2020 Batch are as follows:
The final placements process is ongoing
Highest salary: Rs. 26.50 lacs pa.
Average salary: Rs. 10.66 lacs pa.
Median salary: Rs. 10.21 lacs pa.
114 recruiters visited our Campus for Final Placements so far.
29 new recruiters were added to the pool for final placements.
The average salary of top 100 offers: Rs. 14.57 lacs pa.
The average salary of top 200 offers: Rs. 12.79 lacs pa.
The average salary of top 300 offers: Rs. 11.91 lacs pa.
4. What have been the career trajectories of some of your best alumni? And is this the right market to judge a B-school?
The Institute has a legacy of 40 years and many of them have gone on to become industry leaders and CXOs. And this tells you about the rich legacy this B-school has built for itself. Typically, the graduating students start their career as management trainees in their respective organizations, and over years they have risen through the ranks to become CXOs. The list of our illustrious alumni and our engagement with them is available on our website link
https://simsr.somaiya.edu/en/alumni-overview
The younger alumni batches are also proving their mettle by holding significant positions in their organizations. To name a few, Sonali Chakravarty, an alum from 2014 International Business programme is heading Communications for Lenovo ISG APAC; Priya Pendharkar, an alum from part-time HR programme, heads International Mobility for Atos Group; Sameer Sharma, heads Connected Cars for Mercedes Benz India; Vikas Chauhan is former Co-founder of 1mg.
The Institute is proud of all its alumni and their achievements and felicitates them through its annual Superstars platform.
5. What does the ONE MBA programme that will be introduced from 2022 at K J Somaiya Institute of Management have to offer to the upcoming batch? What plan do you have in store for the upcoming batches at large?
The Institute lives by the “Knowledge Alone Liberates” motto of Somaiya Vidyavihar. The ONE MBA programme that will be introduced by K J Somaiya Institute of Management from AY 2022 will create a vast canvas of opportunities for the students - and they can pick and choose their areas of study and create their unique permutations and combinations from the several Major and Minor options being offered at the Institute.
These Major – Minor combinations will help the students in developing distinctive skillsets for charting their own career paths. Therefore, keeping in tune with the changes, from the upcoming MBA Batch 2022-24 onwards, the Institute will be offering an MBA with 5 Majors (Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Data Science & Analytics, and Operations Management) and 11 Minors (Data Science & Analytics, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Financial Services, Human Resources, Integrated Marketing Communications, International Business, Management Consulting, Marketing, Operations Management, and Retail Management) specializations.
India is among the fastest-growing economies with a heterogeneous and second-largest population base in the world. There is a need for professionally qualified and well-trained human resources - and the Institute plan for the upcoming batches of MBA is to make them ready to be able to avail all these upcoming opportunities and challenges.
6. What does a B-schoo aim to instill in its student body? How have you designed the entire student experience at your institute to meet that goal?
K J Somaiya Institute of Management aims to instill an aspiration to be engaged and motivated to become lifelong learners in its student body. We believe in nurturing our talents to become profound thinkers with unique skills and a sense of responsibility towards society. We empower students with a variety of valuable learning experiences in order to transform them into future leaders.
The Institute provides a wealth of opportunities and challenges, which prepares students for careers in the palpable industry. The Student Body hosts events and conferences which are focused on experiential learning. These experiences promote and foster problem-solving, negotiating, and budgeting skills, as well as multitasking and networking. Working on distinct verticals like Infrastructure & Amenities, Health & Safety, Academics & Digital, and Initiatives & Treasury provides a platform for students to express and communicate their ideas and make efforts towards completing them.
K J Somaiya Institute of Management believes in a pedagogy based on experiential learning aided by a world-class digital setup. It offers a comprehensive program that focuses on all the facets of the business world. Our esteemed faculty also includes guest faculties from various other institutions, thus enhancing our teaching methods. The institute focuses on enhancing the student experience with the help of case studies, resourceful databases, a wholesome summer internship experience, and plenty of opportunities for publishing research papers across various domains.
In addition to this, there are over 29 student-driven committees that help in contributing to skill and overall personality development. These committees are grouped into several categories that focus on enriching students across academic and non-academic verticals. Round the year events and conferences ensure that students are constantly engaged throughout their academic journey to enrich their functional knowledge with some practical knowledge.
7. What does a B-school look for in its students? Any specific traits that you look for?
K J Somaiya Institute of Management seeks highly proactive students who can liaison between the management and students for cohesive development. It looks for leaders who value personal and community development by bringing together a diverse group of 29 campus committees and ensuring their smooth and growth-oriented operation. The student body strives to develop relationships with all university stakeholders based on mutual respect and trust. It supports the staff and management in creating and maintaining an environment conducive to students' academic and personal growth. It also places a strong emphasis on encouraging creativity and innovation to ensure students' holistic development and provide them with a hands-on learning opportunity to improve interpersonal skills.
Leadership qualities are judged while screening the students for MBA program at K J Somaiya Institute of Management as they are considered to be vital for nurturing them as future leaders. Apart from clearing the cut-off of entrance exams, possessing impeccable communication skills and teamwork is considered in all aspirants. In other words, aspirants must walk a fine line or strike a balance between their leadership traits and teamwork to get the most out of their team. The Institute also seeks students who are eager to learn and who seem proactive and willing to take the initiative, with the ability to adapt to the ever-changing world quickly.
8. Any message you would like to share with our MBA aspirants who are confused about their preferred B-school choice?
When choosing a business school, look for an Institute that gives you an opportunity for holistic development and growth along with experiential learning and entrepreneurial incubation opportunities. The world needs professionals who can lead with sincerity of purpose, the ability to learn continuously, be able to handle ambiguities and black swan events, ability to visualize opportunities where seemingly none exist – all this with courage, character, conviction, and calm confidence.
Each one of you must endeavor to be all of this and much more.
To know more about KJ Somaiya Institute of Management and its exciting B-school life, click here!