ISB Placements rise by 33%

MUMBAI: The 2010 batch of Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, saw a 33% increase in total number of placement offers and an 11% rise in average salary over last year, the institute said in a media statement.

“This year shows a significant improvement over last year,” said dean Ajit Rangnekar. The class comprising 568 students witnessed offers from top companies in technology, consulting and finance increase by 116%, 40% and 30%, respectively, over the last year, making them the largest recruiters on campus.

Citibank, DBS Bank, Accenture Services, Arthur D. Little Asia, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Amazon Development Centre India, United Health Group and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories are few of the 346 recruiters.

“Last year was a traumatic year, but we still matched compensation level of 2007,” said Mr Rangnekar. “2008 was a mad year, as companies were paying far too much money. There was gross over optimism in the market. Given that in 2009 there was undue pessimism,” he added.

This year’s highlight was first-time recruiters from the green energy sector like Schneider Electric India and Wipro Eco-business.

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Poor placements take sheen away from ISB graduation day

Hyderabad, April 5 The Board of Director of Indian School of Business (ISB) will take special measures to ensure placements to all the students who graduated this year, according to Mr Rajat Gupta, Chairman, Board of ISB.

Speaking at the eighth graduation ceremony of the Hyderabad-based business school here on Saturday, Mr Gupta asked the board members to ensure “a better placement experience for ISB this year”.

Over 100 students of 437 students of the Class of 2009 did not find placements due to recession. The high-profile business school was ranked 15 among the top 100 global business schools by the Financial Times.

Mr Ajit Rangnekar, Dean of ISB, said the year was a challenging time for placements and the prospects of experienced professionals were worst hit.

“Today, you may hate the experience. ISB had faced (the) same trouble during the first batch of ISB eight years ago. But those students are now industry leaders,” he said.

ISB would also be setting up a taskforce to identify right opportunities for the students.

EXPANSION

The school plans to introduce four specialist schools at its second campus at Mohali, which is getting ready. The Max India Institute of Healthcare Management, BML Munjal Institute of Manufacturing and Operational Excellence, Bharti Institute of Public Policy and Punj Lloyd Institute of Physical Infrastructure Management would be coming up at Mohali.

“The main campus here will also have a doctoral programme and an executive post graduate programme from 2010-11,” he added.

Mr Arun Sarin, former chief executive officer of Vodafone Group Plc, who participated as chief guest, said the emerging economies, led by China and India, would a play major role in the years to come. “You will see more meetings of G-20 nations rather than those of G-7,” he said.

In the time of economic slowdown, innovation and new business models would keep emerging, he said, adding that students should think of entrepreneurship.

GLOOMY MOOD

The general mood at ISB, which had seen jubilant graduation days till now, was dull as one-fourth of the students were not successful in campus placements.

“It seems that our timing was wrong. The students (and their parents) who had taken educational loans and quit good jobs to pursue studies are the main victims,” a student who did not like to be identified told Business Line.

ISB assured them to provide placement assistance by including them in the campus placement programme for next two years, he added.

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ISB placement season extended

For the first time since its inception, the Indian School of Business (ISB) has extended its placement season indefinitely. Only 250 of the 440 students (around 57 per cent) in the class of 2009 have secured jobs in the placement drive that began in early January.

Placements should have been completed by the end of March, and the campus would have been readying for graduation day in the first week of April. However, the slowing economy appears to have taken a toll on this prestigious B-school, which ranked 15 in the 2009 global MBA rankings released by the Financial Times. Over the years, the placement trends were analysed and results announced by graduation day, scheduled for April 4. This year, that is unlikely to happen. There are already hints of a fall in the annual average salary offers from Rs 18-20 lakh to Rs 13-15 lakh.

In 2007, 581 offers were made to 416 students. In 2008, 657 offers were made to 421 students.

The IT-ITeS, finance and real estate sectors combined made 280 job offers in 2008. This year, all these sectors have been hit by the slowdown. The school had, in fact, sensed this and started inviting new companies for campus recruitment around November this year.

Many students graduating this April will still have access to ISB’s resources and services over the next few months to find a job. The school will be in regular touch with students to help them find a suitable job that fits students’ profiles.

The school, however, has not fixed any timeframe for students to find jobs. “We will continue to explore avenues till all students find the right job in accordance with their qualifications and work experience,” said an ISB spokesperson.

The premier B-school had earlier announced that it would increase enrolments by 560 to 600 for the class of 2010. It did not, however, explain how it would raise the number of job offers if the job market did not pick up.

ISB has six months to plan for the placement of the new batch after collecting the profiles of the students, their preferences for a sector or function, location choices and so on.

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ISB placement season extended

For the first time since its inception, the Indian School of Business (ISB) has extended its placement season indefinitely. Only 250 of the 440 students (around 57 per cent) in the class of 2009 have secured jobs in the placement drive that began in early January.

Placements should have been completed by the end of March, and the campus would have been readying for graduation day in the first week of April. However, the slowing economy appears to have taken a toll on this prestigious B-school, which ranked 15 in the 2009 global MBA rankings released by the Financial Times. Over the years, the placement trends were analysed and results announced by graduation day, scheduled for April 4. This year, that is unlikely to happen. There are already hints of a fall in the annual average salary offers from Rs 18-20 lakh to Rs 13-15 lakh.

In 2007, 581 offers were made to 416 students. In 2008, 657 offers were made to 421 students.

The IT-ITeS, finance and real estate sectors combined made 280 job offers in 2008. This year, all these sectors have been hit by the slowdown. The school had, in fact, sensed this and started inviting new companies for campus recruitment around November this year.

Many students graduating this April will still have access to ISB’s resources and services over the next few months to find a job. The school will be in regular touch with students to help them find a suitable job that fits students’ profiles.

The school, however, has not fixed any timeframe for students to find jobs. “We will continue to explore avenues till all students find the right job in accordance with their qualifications and work experience,” said an ISB spokesperson.

The premier B-school had earlier announced that it would increase enrolments by 560 to 600 for the class of 2010. It did not, however, explain how it would raise the number of job offers if the job market did not pick up.

ISB has six months to plan for the placement of the new batch after collecting the profiles of the students, their preferences for a sector or function, location choices and so on.

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Slowdown affects placements at ISB

The simultaneous slowdown in the US and Asian economies is going to affect the placements at the Indian School of Business (ISB). Information technology and information technology-enabled services (IT, ITES) firms, finance and real estate companies are especially not expected to recruit large numbers this year.

These sectors combined made 280 job offers out of the total 657 made for the Class of 2008, which had 421 students. The Class of 2009 has 440 students.

ISB dean M Rammohan Rao said: “We do not expect the companies to recruit in large numbers, as they did last year. But that will not mean that the students will go job-less. We are inviting more companies to the campus this year for campus recruitment.”

The institute is asking its students to set realistic salary targets. Last year, 230 companies participated in the placement drive. The average cost-to company (CTC) package for an international offer stood at $ 144,812. For a domestic offer, it was Rs 19 lakh per annum. The financial sector made 95 offers last year, IT and ITeS sectors made 148 offers and real estate made 37 offers.

The dean added these sectors are in turmoil now and this year might see a spurt in offers from telecom, pharma and health sector companies, which are growing at a healthy rate. Airtel, the largest private cellular operator, has assured a campus visit during the placement season. “It is not just Airtel, but other cellular operators will also visit the campus,” Rao said at a strategic seminar held last week.

The IT and telecom sectors have been losing their position to other sectors in the last three years. For instance, if 56 per cent of the total offers made to Class of 2006 were from IT and telecom companies, it was 50 per cent for Class of 2007 and dropped to 36 per cent for Class of 2008. The trend is same with financial services. The number of offers from the sector fell to 14 per cent of the total offers made for the Class of 2008 from 17 per cent for Class of 2007. Both sectors peaked respectively for the Class of 2004.

Companies from real estate, which boomed through the years 2006-07, made six per cent of the total offers for the Class of 2007 and six per cent for Class of 2008. During the last placement season, 50 per cent of the students changed both function and the industry, 21 per cent changed the function and 10 per cent moved to the new industry. This year, there could be a shift in industry segment.

Though ISB has been promoting entrepreneurship, this year it further decided to place some students of Class 2009 in the start-up companies set up by the ISB alumni. “It would be easy for the start-ups to find people who would align with their thinking and business vision. Also, the students, apart from finding a job for themselves, would have the opportunity to learn from their peers,” said deputy dean Ajit Rangnekar.

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Life beyond IIMs

Three lakh students will be making the beeline to take the CAT exam this year. But with less than one out of 300 aspirants making it to the much sought after IIMs, here's a list that will lighten the load off your shoulders. There is a life beyond the IIMs.

Xavier Labour Relation Institute School Of Management

Top of that pile is Xavier Labour Relation Institute School Of Management the institute located in the industrial town of Jamshedpur. It's setting high standards with a separate entrance conducted in the first week of January.
It's an opportunity in wings for those who don't make the coveted CAT list, for some though it was a first choice.

Faculty of Management Studies

The Faculty of Management Studies in the Capital may not be such a bad bet. It's number two on the list after XLRI. Apart from full time MBA, it's known for it's part time MBA programme as well.
As far as specialsations go the best of marketing and finance are the on offer.

Indian School of Business

In Hyderabad, the youngest of the all B schools is Indian School of Business. It's barely 10-years-old but is rising in ranks globally and on the list. A globally accepted GMAT exam along with comprehensive interviews and Group Discussion are prerequisites. But along with that the excecutive MBA requires a two years of work experience.

SP Jain Institute of Management and Research

Also in line is SP Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai. For those with work experience both CAT and XAT scores work for its diploma.

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in Delhi closes the list of top five B schools in the country.

With percentiles above 95 giving you a fair chance of making it to leading B-schools, all's not lost if you haven't made it to the IIMs.

There are 99 other B-schools that accept CAT scores throwing open another gateway to your management dreams.

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ISB Students Learn Management Lessons from Sports

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 09, 2008 — (Business Wire India)
Students of the Indian School of Business (ISB) learnt key management lessons from the field of sports. Helping them understand this was Dr Richard Charlesworth, renowned international hockey player and coach from Australia. He spoke to the ISB students on ‘Leadership, Teamwork, Strategy & Motivation’. The talk covered strategies and systems for achieving success, both in business and the sports arena.

The students were deeply impressed with the talk. Speaking on what he learnt from this experience, Prashant Purushottam, student, Class of 2009 at the ISB said, “Not only do we get to learn from international gurus at the ISB, but also interact with such legends. Meeting these great minds helps me to constantly challenge existing beliefs and learn new ways of thinking. Whether it is business or sport, I learnt that the nature of competition is truly international and benchmarks are set at a global scale.”

This talk was arranged by Viren Rasquinha, student, Class of 2009 at the ISB and former captain of the Indian hockey team. The ISB has a diverse student body and this diversity provides a holistic learning environment in many ways. Students from different backgrounds bring fresh perspectives to issues and case studies discussed in the classroom and this contributes to stimulating and challenging classroom learning. Earlier, Prashanth Hariharan, another ISB student, organised a session on ‘Appreciating Indian Classical Music’. Prashant is an accomplished carnatic musician besides being a rocket scientist.

Speaking on an important requirement for a good leader, Dr Charlesworth said, “Understanding the team players is critical for a leader. A leader has to constantly listen to what his team is saying. Working with the team is a moral choice – it is about doing the right things at the right time for the right reason.”

While sports and business may appear to be different, they, in fact share several similarities and this made for a insightful learning for the ISB students.

A key learning from the talk was that a good leader is one who is able to create a ‘leader-full’ team instead of having one to lead the team. He should be able to appreciate the diversity in the team and allot roles based on their individual strengths. A leader should also be an active team player. A good team player is one who has faith in the team’s decision and is committed, even though it may not be his preference.

The ISB also organises the ‘Business & Arts’ programme every year, where students have the opportunity to interact and learn from eminent artists and learn alternate ways to think creatively.

About the ISB

The Indian School of Business is a premier management institution established in 2001. In a short span of seven years, the ISB has successfully pioneered several new trends in management education in India and has established itself as a leading B-school across the world. In both its Post Graduate Programme in Management and Executive Education Programmes, the ISB invites high calibre international faculty from reputed B-schools to teach and participate in collaborative research with the strong pool of research oriented, resident faculty. The ISB has academic associations with the Kellogg School of Management, The Wharton School, and the London Business School.

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ISB scouts for more intl students

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The Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, rated 20 in the global B schools league this year, is now looking to tap new markets - in terms of both student intake and companies that come for campus recruitment.

Towards this, the B-school is planning to conduct road shows in Moscow, Paris, Madrid, Zurich, and Milan among others in Europe. It is also visiting Australia for the first time this year in July.

Apart from these, it is also focusing on West Asia, particularly Dubai, where there is a high concentration of NRIs and international students.

Speaking to Business Standard, VK Menon, senior director (admissions and financial aid and career advancement services), ISB, said the institute was looking to tap new markets as it would increase the intake from the present 440 to 560 for the class 2010 (the admission will begin in 2009).

The exercise is in line with the efforts to have “a truly international mix of students.”

This year, at least a third of the batch comprises NRIs. There are 20 international students.

“We are looking to double the international students strength,” he said. The outreach programmes started three years ago but are now being pursued with renewed vigour due to the international ranking, he said.

The number of international offers is expected to increase to 150 for this batch from 110 in the last academic year, which saw as many as 60 companies from 23 countries.

According to Menon, ISB will also explore the Asia Pacific countries. There are students in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, who have academic qualifications and are looking for a value-addition to their careers. It will also conduct similar programmes in the neighbouring countries - Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.

“We will foray into the Chinese market gradually,” he said, adding some companies there too had shown interest in the ISB students.

The US, however, will remain a potential market. “The US, which has a large chuck of students is an important market,” he said, adding the H-1B visas though are a problem with the US companies.

Nevertheless, a significantly number of US-based companies offer employment to the ISBians. The admission process would be the same for all students except that the international students would be given more time to apply.

“We expect at least 1,500 students to apply for the ISB after we conduct the information sessions,” Menon said.