The Higher Education Review

Incepted in 2007, GL Bajaj Institute of Management and Research (GLBIMR), which is established under the umbrella of the prestigious GL Bajaj Group of Institution, is an excellent platform where efforts have been devoted in maximum utilization of the two-years that the students invest in the campus. Going beyond the approaches followed by other B-Schools since ages, GLBIMR has created a perfect combination of everything in the curriculum relevant to the present management education scenario. GLBIMR has a modern, eco-friendly, fully networked campus instilled with the goal of achieving long-term development of the students, instead of focusing on their short-term development, nurturing the codes of good governance in the minds of business graduates. "We are more concerned about the holistic development of the students, as we believe that we are accountable to prepare them as a long-run player in the business arena by enhancing their skills and qualities," says Dr. Urvashi Makkar, Director General, GLBIMR. It will be an understatement to mention that the institution offers conventional two year PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) with dual specialization.

Indeed, the PGDM curriculum of the institute is tailored to boost the practical learning and experiences of the students. Adding values to the resume of each student of GLBIMR, the institution has initiated the tie-up with the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) where it is compulsory for all the students to undertake three certificate programmes. Digital Marketing, Yellow Belt Six Sigma and Financial Modeling.

To impart these programmes, MSME team conducts the workshop and consequently certifies the students after the rigorous training session. To match up with the current VUCA environment, the students also participate in various conventions and conferences at AIMA, Ph.D. Chambers, ASSOCHAM, CII, and many media houses like Aajtak, Business World, Zee Media and many more as part of Corporate Interface Series.

Accommodating New Models of Teaching Based in Greater Noida, GLBIMR stands out as one of the few institutions in India that has a genuinely participative and transparent teaching-learning system. The pedagogy embraced by the institution revolves around roleplays, case study analysis, group discussions and team presentation, which are conducted in a supremely interactive format. "We are trying our best to impart education, in the most innovative manner. We have tied up with Bombay Stock Exchange Institute, which further facilitates the Finance specialized students to get access to the 30-hour module on a course of stock exchange," shares Dr. Makkar. As an integral part of the curriculum, every student, irrespective of their specializations, is encouraged to take up individual live projects, summer training and dissertation to gain practical insights into the realm of pure management. Additionally, the institution also has associated with renowned global faculty members who are invited to visit India for two to three weeks according to the need of the modules. These experts conduct relevant sessions on different perspectives of the business. In the academic year 2016-17, the students attended two modules (30 hours each) viz. Strategic Management and Management of Change, Innovation and Technology. "The constructive 60 hours our students are devoting with the renowned faculty members, is stimulating their confidence level and helping execute productively," claims Dr. Makkar. The institution is blessed with an organizational environment that keeps a watch on developing the students into skilled manpower. Hence, the institute has embodied two more courses as a part of soft skill development programme.

While, the Placement Readiness Enhancement Program –PREP, helps the students to develop skills like public speaking, interpersonal skills, the art of self-branding, art of excelling at interviews, the Professional Excellence for Corporate Readiness – PECR, Workshop focuses on building communication and presentation skills through mock interview sessions conducted with the help of senior professionals from corporate, who are invited as the panelists. These activities are primarily performed by the external faculty members, which in turn give ample time to the internal faculty members to concentrate on the classroom and research part.

Striving for Academic Excellence
Over the year, GLBIMR has been able to establish itself as the research-oriented institution. The ‘Optimization Journal' published by the institution is an international journal listed in the UGC's best journal list. Research papers are invited from across the country and based on the comments of the review body, the selected papers are published. Annually the institution also publishes two books grounded on the international conference held in the institution. Enhancing research orientation among faculty members and encouraging them to publish research papers in reputed refereed journals is of utmost importance for GLBIMR, clubbed with Faculty Development Programs (FDP) for continuous development of skills and knowledge of faculty members. "As we are an emerging institution, we are still in the process of achieving the missions we had set while founding the same and are profoundly determined to meet those in no time," claims Dr. Makkar. Recently, the institution collaborated with National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) to instill entrepreneurial spirit among the student. With rigorous skill enhancement programs and learning experiences, the students of GLBIMR are one of the most demanding candidates in the job market today. Moreover, the Corporate Resource Center (CRC), at GLBIMR looks after employment possibilities of students in business, trade and service organizations. Last year, the institute had companies like Airtel, HCL, HSBC, HDFC Bank, Genpact, Bisleri, Oppo Mobile, HSBC and more on conducting their placement drives in the campus picking its students with salary packages ranging between Rs. 4.2 lakhs to Rs. 12 lakhs. "We are sure that with all the efforts we make in bringing out the best in our students, they will make a positive impact and contribute fully to society as globally engaged citizen leaders", concludes Dr Mohanty.