The Higher Education Review

Today, the biggest problem in the education sector is the theoretical approach taken by most management schools, taught by faculty who do not have sufficient and relevant experience. Recognizing this problem in the education sector, International School of Management Excellence (ISME) started with the premise of being an industry relevant education imparter. Established in 2006, this management school in Bengaluru has its faculty bringing with them several years of international exposure. The faculty have relevant industry experience having worked in top MNCs. Some of them have pursued higher education in leading Universities abroad. They follow international teaching methodologies that involve case studies, experiential learning blended with e-learning approach. The management school focuses on constructing students' entrepreneurial thinking aligned with industry work procedures in a multifaceted, dynamic and global business environment. Over the years, ISME has been an outstanding management school that has produced business leaders with well-trained business minds. It has also delivered to the management education fraternity, quality academicians who strive hard to transform every student and prepare them for challenges of the industry.

ISME's PGDM Program is approved by AICTE, accredited by NBA and is also recognized by AIU as an equivalent to MBA.

Why Learn At ISME?
There are several advantages of studying at ISME. It includes among others, faculty with international experience and a learning environment which incorporates global business practices in the teaching-learning approach. The teaching-learning paradigm includes world-class curriculum and has won many laurels for the institute. The learning environment is corporate-centric, follows a unique experiential learning process where every course is integrated with practical assignments. A number of guest lecturers are also invited which adds impetus to the learning approach. Moreover, ISME is an institutional member of Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC), National Human Resource Development (NHRD), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and several others. It has a number of MoUs with companies in different sectors. These tie-ups enable an industry-

institute interface, allow ISME students to interact and learn from industry leaders.

"In order to groom the students to be future entrepreneurs, the Entrepreneurship Cell guides the students towards setting up businesses on their own"

The Faculty Development Program (FDP) at ISME provides opportunities to the Faculty to stay ahead of the curve by imparting the latest trends in research and teaching at the end of every term. Faculty Development Programs like Intellectual Property Rights, Bloomberg's Taxonomy and Advanced Excel are some of the Programs. ISME also sponsors faculty for the Faculty Development Programs at other institutes for their personal growth. This equips them to present their research papers at national and international conferences.

In order to groom the students, ISME has instituted an Entrepreneurship Cell (E Cell) which facilitates students' in setting up startups. E Cell enables students to initiate interactions with corporate experts, entrepreneurial mentors of venture capital firms and has connected the students to the complete startup ecosystem by making them members of the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN). The venture capital firms train the students, prepare them to draw business plans, give them opportunities to interact with the heads of VCs aiding them to map out the thought process to become successful in the business arena.

ISME's curriculum has a number of courses ranging from Current Business Updates (that inculcates updated business and industry works in the students), Managerial Skills Development (in which students learn important skills like team building, leadership, time management) to Innovation Management, Six Sigma Green Belt with KPMG certification, Business Strategy Game with certification from Prof. Arthur Thompson, of the University of Alabama. These courses develop the personality of the students and make them industry ready. Apart from these courses, ISME has added Digital Marketing and Analytics. It is the first among the set of management institutes in the country to do so.

Alluring Career Development Opportunities
Even more fascinating is the placement oriented value-added term that makes students entry into the industry easier. This course includes group discussions, excel training, interviewing skills and management techniques. Besides academics, ISME students participate in fun-filled and interactive activities monitored by the faculty. The

faculty guide them in Social, Literary, Academic, Entrepreneurship and Sports Clubs. They also encourage students to attend industry meets for their holistic development. "The courses enhance our knowledge and the Placement Committee helps us to exhibit them at professional platforms," says Nikita Banerjee Bose, student of 2011 batch who was placed in Essar Steel. Irshad Ahmed Siddiqui from the 2010 batch working in Flipkart says, "ISME's infrastructure has international standards. The classrooms and business class auditoriums made me feel, I was studying in a global corporate environment." "On a personal note, I'm doing excellent work at Morgan Stanley due to the efforts put forth by my faculty," explains Sushovit Rout, class of 2017 working at Morgan Stanley.

These successes came as a result of skill-building workshops conducted by ISME that amplified the students' creative skills. The student's ability to display comprehensive skills at workplaces is also due to the competitions they take part in. "We arrange competitions like Advertising Premier League, where students are asked to develop creative videos and print commercials for their business ideas. There is a Short Movie Competition, where they are assigned to make short movies and showcase their creative talents," says Dr. Rony G Kurien, Dean, ISME. Furthermore, for the sake of increasing students' creativity, ISME faculty involve students in discussions on emerging research happening in contemporary businesses.

ISME's PGDM Program is approved by AICTE, accredited by NBA and is also recognized by AIU as an equivalent to MBA.

ISME also has undergraduate courses in BBA and B Com under the aegis of Bangalore University. These courses also gives global exposure to the students through a week long global experiential learning program in Singapore. As ISME board members are industry leaders with experience in different parts of the world, they bring a global connect to management education.

Dr. Rony G Kurien, Dean
Dr. Rony G Kurien has three decades of experience in leading successful businesses. He has worked in Education, ICT, Agribusiness and International Trade. Apart from this, Dr. Kurien is well known in academic circles and is associated with Trade Commissions, Export Promotion Councils, NASSCOM, CII, FICCI, and Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is the Joint Secretary of NHRD and member of ISTD.