Interview with SIBM Hyderabad Director Dr Ravi Kumar Jain “We design every aspect of MBA programme”

Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Hyderabad (SIBM-H), one of the youngest yet leading B-schools in India has positioned itself as a preferred destination for students aspiring to become a seasoned Business Management Professional. Pursuing MBA at SIBM Hyderabad gets you the right academic environment to learn management in a competitive conducive and a contemplative setting at the campus to become industry ready to shoulder the leadership roles.

SIBM Hyderabad started its operations in 2014 under the aegis of Symbiosis International University, Pune. The B-school is situated amidst the upcoming Educational Hub and in the vicinity of Industrial Corridor in a 40 acre Campus at Mamidpally, Ranga Reddy District, Telangana. It is a 30 minute drive from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad.

The admission process at SIBM Hyderabad is open now and the mandatory entrance test for admission to 2 years MBA 2018-20 is SNAP 2017 which is going to be held on December 17.

MBAUniverse.com took the opportunity to have an interview on the various aspects of MBA programme at SIBM Hyderabad with its director Dr Ravi Kumar Jain. An Accomplished Teacher, Trainer, Prolific Researcher and an Able Academic Administrator, Dr. Jain is a Doctorate in Business Management with Masters in Business Administration (Finance) and PGD in ICT management. He has rich experience of more than 17 years in the area of family business management, teaching and training, research & consulting and academic administration.

Important links:

• Don’t depend on CAT 2017 only: Apply for XAT, SNAP or NMAT and choose the best
• SNAP 2017: 5 Key changes in Registration process; 1st online SNAP in 102 cities on Dec 17
• SNAP 2017 Exam Pattern

Dr Jain is the founding Director of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Hyderabad Campus. He has more than 100 international and national publications to his credit. He has conducted executive training programs at various organizations including Indian railways, Canara Bank, SBI, IDBI, Corporation banks & several other banks and IT services companies, Indian armed forces. He is an expert trainer in case method teaching and is a resource person for several AICTE sponsored faculty training program at various universities including Hyderabad central University.

Dr. Jain is presently serving on board of directors as Vice President of Asia Pacific Decision Sciences Institution Division, headquartered in Huston, U.S.A (2017-19).
Talking to MBAUniverse.com in regard to the vision and distinctive features of MBA at SIBM Hyderabad, Dr Ravi Kumar Jain, Director, SIBM Hyderabad shares the Institute USPs, Placements, selection process, admission criteria to MBA 2018-20 programme. Below are given the excerpts of the interview  

Please share USPs of management programs offered at SIBM Hyderabad. How the MBA at SIBM Hyderabad is different from other B-schools?
SIBM Hyderabad offers a two year fully residential MBA program. We look at the management program as more of a ‘management training program’ rather than an ‘academic degree program’ and this orientation guides us to design every aspect of the program with a clear focus on all round development of our students.

Student driven programme
The culture that we have developed on the campus is totally student-centric, meaning students decide what they want to do, how they want to do and when they want to do. Therefore, apart from a standard business school curriculum, we have introduced few components that take care of all-round development of students and promote greater student centricity in their day-to-day curricular and co/extra curricular activities. The curriculum is inclusive with interwoven co-curricular and extracurricular activities from special workshops or field based training to self-learning module, where the students actually engage in activities by themselves. They plan everything, they conceptualize ideas and execute them. Being a fully residential campus, the student activities happen virtually 24X7. So, we see a lot of activities championed by students which help them in learning and applying management theories and models.

‘Learn as you Do and Do as you Learn’
Our role as administrators is to provide the necessary infrastructure, resources, and facilities to enable them to work and execute on their plans. As far as curriculum delivery is concerned, we have chosen learner centric activity-based learning with a bouquet of world class pedagogical tools and techniques powered by business case studies from Harvard and Ivey league B-schools, movie based sessions, book reviews, survival games, role plays, simulations, live market labs, event management, etc. to name a few. ‘Learn as you Do and Do as you Learn’ is the central theme of imparting management education at SIBM-Hyderabad.

Student engagement
Apart from these, we have a concept called "shramdaan" where our students engage in a lot of outreach programs. Again, the students decide, design and execute all these programs where they connect with the nearby villages and rural area. Whether it is learning social marketing, community marketing or rural marketing by going into villages or helping the villagers to overcome certain challenges in their business, education or in terms of their overall well-being. For example, improvising sanitation facilities, work on conserving water resources and promote green initiatives.

Students have engaged in a green initiative called ‘Haritha Haram’, a flagship program of Government of Telangana, by planting more than 5,000 saplings in and around our campus. They have also contributed in activities like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and recently they have done a ‘mega cancer screening and cancer awareness camp’ at our campus and have partnered with the Indo-American institute of cancer to carry out preventive tests and diagnosis for more than 95 villagers.

We see this as our institutional and curricular strengths that help students in all round development in their life on our campus.

Who is the ideal candidate for SIBM Hyderabad? What are the qualities that SIBM looks for during admission process?
As already mentioned that the rigour of academics and experiential learning demands a lot of commitment and attention from the students hence the ideal candidate is the one who is willing to undergo the rigour and the grind of learning and assessments during the program.

Candidates possessing leadership traits carrying high values, having clarity of thought, willing to work in teams and are good at communication are ideal candidates for SIBMH.

Who is eligible to get admission? What are the deadlines?
A Graduate from any recognized University/ Institution of National Importance with a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent grade (45% or equivalent grade for Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes) is eligible to for admission to the program.

The important dates for admission process are as under

What will be the admission process?

The admission procedure is as under: Candidates aspiring to join MBA at SIBM H will have to take the common, mandatory Symbiosis National Aptitude (SNAP) Test. A candidate needs to register for SNAP Test & also register for SIBM Hyderabad. If shortlisted, based on the SNAP score, he/she would then need to attend the GE-PIWAT process conducted at our campus.

GE-PIWAT process includes personality profiling using psychometric test, group exercise, written ability and a personal interview.

The registration process for SNAP and the institute can be done online at www.snaptest.org

Please share fee structure at SIBM Hyderabad
Fees for the 2-year MBA program for the class of 2018-2020 would be around Rs. 13.5-14 lacs inclusive of Hostel and mess charges.

How are the MBA placements at SIBM Hyderabad?
SIBM Hyderabad has a very excellent record of placements for its very first batch of MBAs. 93% of the eligible students were placed through campus selection and the remaining 7% were also given assistance post the placements season.

Today, I see all my students well placed and doing very well in their jobs. The second batch, that has graduated this year in March, we see a 100% campus placement for all eligible students. We could create more than 120 opportunities for a cohort of 67 students in 2017. The student to opportunity ratio stands at a healthy 1:2. Further, in cases where students could not crack interviews, we assist them and support them for even a dozen interviews till they crack it.

Further, I am happy to share that the prep for the ensuing placement season for the class of 2016-18, a cohort of 122 MBAs, looks very exciting with several companies already lined up confirming their dates for campus visits. I am sure, by the time your readers get to read this piece, several of our students would have already got placed.

Your message for the SIBM Hyderabad aspirants
I keep saying to my students that while SIBM-H provides you with infrastructure, diversity, and opportunity on the campus, they have to bring in the ability to take the risk, a lot of passion and willingness to learn.

I would say in simple terms, to quote our beloved founder Dr. Prof. S B Muzumdar, that ‘you bring innovation in mind, compassion in heart, and fire in the belly and you will never be denied of success’. Shape up your personality and career such that you will be able to contribute to the growth of not only your own family and self but also to the country. This message is not just for students aspiring to join SIBM-H, but for all those aspiring to pursue a management programs anytime in future, anywhere in the world at any B-school. Always remember to Celebrate Life and bring Cheer around. Best of Luck to all MBA aspirants.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on SIBM Hyderabad

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