The Higher Education Review

In 2006, with the inception of the International School of Management Excellence (ISME) in Bangalore, one of its founding members and the director, Nitin Garg was able to catch the attention of many. Remarked as one of the youngest directors of the Indian business education sector, he was often covered in the leading Indian media platforms. Having completed an MBA from Tepper School of Management, Carnegie Mellon University, USA, he has a very specific perspective regarding the MBA education in India. Garg says, “The biggest problem in the education sector in India is that the education is too theoretical and taught by faculty members who do not have the requisite qualifications

. With a visionary like Garg leading from the front, the ISME has been successful in creating a top-notch faculty team that is second to none compared to the new-age b-schools in the country. Most of the full-time faculty members of the ISME are alumni of prestigious institutes like IITs, IIMs, CMU, Purdue and Wharton. The ISME faculty members not only carry impeccable teaching skills, but also hold global experience, which they effectively utilize to groom millennial managers. Garg claims, “At this stage, we have a ratio of one full time faculty for every five students.

About 60 percent of courses are taken by full-time faculty members and even our team of visiting faculty comprises of people with exceptional academic, industry backgrounds with an experience in premier institutes of the country.” Following international teaching methodologies that include case studies, experiential learning, e learning and blended learning, ISME offers Post Graduate Program in Management (Full Time) with specializations in Marketing, Finance or Information Technology. For working professionals, ISME conducts Executive Post Graduate Program in Management with dual specializations in Global Business Management and Technology Management. “New industries like Digital Marketing, Analytics have come up over the years. ISME was among the first institutes in the country to introduce courses in these areas and get placement ready in these areas,” shares Garg.

The ISME’s curriculum has a number of unique features. The institute provides add-ons like Current Business Update that enables students to be updated about business and industry from across the world, Managerial Skills Development where students develop important skills like team building, leadership and time management. In addition that, the ISME also included Six Sigma Green Belt with a certification from KPMG, Business Strategy Game with a certification from Prof. Arthur Thompson, University of Alabama in its offerings. While the addon programmes enable the ISME students to develop a complete personality, making them ready for the industry, the focused Placement Oriented Value Added Term (POVAT), which covers interviewing skills, GD, Excel Training and Management Techniques Review, makes the students ready for doing well during the interview process. “Recruiters like students who not just have the knowledge but are also corporate ready in terms of skills and corporate culture. Our students do well in this regard and over 100 companies visit our campus every year with most students securing jobs between 4L to 8L with a 100 percent placement record,” states Garg.

ISME has a team of dedicated placement professionals who continually interact with the corporate throughout the year, which has resulted number of MoUs with companies in different sectors. These tie-ups enable industry institute interface and allow ISME students to interact and learn from the industry and allow the industry to identify talent for their growing organizations. “As our board members are industry leaders from across the world, we continuously adapt to the changes needed in management education. We have introduced an undergraduate BBA course from Bangalore University besides giving a global exposure to students through an immersive Singapore Internship,” says Garg. The institute has MoUs signed with Carleton University, Canada and Daffodil International University, Bangladesh and host international students every year.

ISME is on the path of increasing its global influence in management education through international tie-ups. Being located in Bangalore, a start-up hub, the ISME has given a lot thrust in grooming its students to become entrepreneurs. The skills and knowledge needed for entrepreneurship has been built into the programme.

The management game or the business strategy game developed at Carnegie Mellon University is an integral part of the ISME curriculum and helps the students to acquire skills like how to start and manage all aspects of company, work in a management team, develop strategic, marketing and operation plans, and report to the board of directors. The Students will be awarded a certificate of 'Academic Achievement' from Prof. David Lamont, Carnegie Mellon University after the programme. “We are well-connected to the complete ecosystem of start-up, from being a member of National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), entrepreneurial mentors and Venture Capital firms. There is also a provision of an incubation centre at the campus for students who want to start a venture just after their studies are completed,” concludes Garg.