IMT Ghaziabad applications up; GDPI starts Feb 12: Dr Banerjee, Director, IMT Ghaziabad

IMT Ghaziabad closed its application process for MBA admissions 2014 on its pre-declared last date - January 31, 2014. According to institute, the number of applications has increased this year and it will be starting the GDPIWC process on February 12. Talking to MBAUniverse.com, Dr. Bibek Banerjee, Director, IMT Ghaziabad, shares the key trends in its applications, its new admission process and USPs of the B school.

Excerpts from the interview with Dr Bibek Banerjee:

Q. What are the expectations of IMT from the students in the final admission round?
Ans. IMT is looking for students with sound academic background, excellent oral and written communication skills, strong domain knowledge and analytical skills. As in previous years, in the 2014 admissions cycle, IMT has been able to attract an excellent mix of candidates with strong profile and background. It may be noted that we would be using a rigorous selection process to select the best amongst them.

Q. Please share the key trends in applications. How many students have applied for admission 2014?
Ans. We are extremely happy that the number of applications eligible for admissions at IMT in 2014 has exceeded last few years numbers.

Q. Does it imply that despite the decline in number of CAT/XAT applicants, admission seekers to IMT Ghaziabad are on the rise? What could be the reasons for this increase?
Ans. When we compare this to the overall decline in the numbers of aspirants writing CAT, XAT and GMAT, it means that aspirants with stronger credentials are more than likely consider IMT Ghaziabad as ever before. This robustness in application numbers (and more importantly, profile quality) is because of the diligent and all-round hard work that the institute has put in over the last few years, in making IMT Ghaziabad one of the most pedagogically unique and prospect-wise relevant management institute of the country today.

Q. When would the GDPIWAT process begin and what will be the major components of the process?
Ans. We are starting the GD PI process on 12th of February 2014. The major components are Group Discussion, Written Communication and Personal Interview.

Q. What would be the key criteria in evaluation process?
Ans. We would be evaluating the aspirants on their oral and written communication skills (including listening skills), behavioral and analytical skills, quality of work experience and their depth of domain knowledge and overall maturity and profile.

Q. Any unique thing about the selection criteria regarding admission 2014?
Ans. The GD PI part of selection process has been enhanced in terms of value and importance this year, much more than previous years. Students will be evaluated very thoroughly if they are IMT ready. They should be very diligent and conscious of their performance during all the components of the GD-WC-PI process.

Q. How do you propose to find IMT ready candidates?
Ans. Very high CAT/XAT/GMAT scores will not suffice. They should be very diligent and conscious of their performance during all the components of the GD-WC-PI process.

Q. IMTs GD PI process has a component called caselet discussion. Could you throw some light on it for the benefit of admission aspirants?
Ans. In the GD round we have a discussion on a short caselet. You are aware that caselets are not meant for solving, but rather for a coherent discussion around issues with social, cultural, political, economic, managerial import, that students will be expected to discuss within groups. We judge the student on his/her oral communication, listening skills, analytical skills, body language, behavior in a group, effective leadership skills and ability to present his/her thoughts, ideas and point of view with clarity.

Q. What are the USPs of IMT?
Ans. We have innovative engagements with our industry partners that allow our faculty and students to work in close collaboration with marquee companies. We have created vibrant collaborations with some top companies in ANALYTICS, FMCG and BFSI sectors. Our faculty, students and domain experts from these companies work together on live projects with real data to augment and guide course curriculum.
We have more than 100 research active faculty teaching across four of the IMT campuses. They all have excellent credentials, not just in terms of their academic scholarship, but also in terms of their industry experience. In addition, research-oriented faculty from top foreign universities spends substantial time at our campus teaching various courses to students, as also working to develop our resident faculty members.

Q. What is the International exposure of IMT Ghaziabad? How does it help the students in career building?
Ans. We work closely with some of the best universities across the globe to give our students and our faculty genuine international exposure and experience. About 50% of our students study abroad; about 20% of our scholarly faculty teaches at various universities around the world every year; 10-15 scholars from foreign universities visit our campus every year. This brings in a unique blend of breadth and depth in the academic experience of the students in a curriculum that gives them flexibility to specialize in careers of their choice.

Q. Has IMT Ghaziabad partnered with any foreign Institute or University to award a management degree?
Ans. There are dual degree options in our partnership with Arizona State Universitys (ASU) WP Carey School Business, in which students have the ability to earn degrees from both institutions. There is a 2+1 model wherein students spend 2 years in IMTG followed by 1 year in ASU. In the 1+1 model, selected students spend 1 year in IMTG followed by 1 year in ASU. Our students get access to some of the worlds best specialized Masters Programs at ASU, regarded widely as one of the worlds top universities. These Masters Programs are in niche domains such as Business Analytics, Sustainable Systems, and Environment & Resource Management.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more news and updates on IMT Ghaziabad