“An increase in 2.18 lakhs applications in CAT 2015 was not for nothing,” says Dr. Kamal Ghosh Ray, Director VJIM 

Talk to him about the opportunities for management professionals in the future and pat comes the reply, “Two industries are experiencing major business disruption; publishing and teaching. They are seeing the impact of digitalization, which I have seen closely being a part of these industries. As management education evolves, the brick and mortar B Schools will thrive as long as they make the most of the technological advancements and use them to create an experiential learning environment for students.” Dr. Ray also believes the trend of working executives joining management programs in large numbers will also be prevalent in the near future.

As far as the placements are concerned, Dr. Ray reminds aspirants that Finance and Operations functions are becoming more focused and specialized. While these streams dominate placements, offers from start-up companies have also increased. But he believes one area that needs to catch up with the West is Indian Management Journals. “They are still in nascent stages and thus don’t attract best papers. That’s why top B School professors choose to publish in international journals. But that will also change after Indian journals start getting listed in internationally recognized databases,” he ends on a hopeful note.