The Higher Education Review

Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) is managed by Jesuits well known for their contribution to education. The Jesuit tradition of education has a distinguished history spanning more than five centuries. Jesuits started their first school in 1548 at Sicily and today there are hundreds of institutions worldwide and there are quite a few prestigious institutions in India which include Loyola College, Chennai. One of the main reasons for Jesuits to get involved in business education is to form ethical, principle-centred and socially responsible leaders with a global perspective and entrepreneurial spirit.

What LIBA is and what it stands for can be explained in two words – Excellence and Ethics. “We - all of us, faculty, students and staff are here in pursuit of excellence and ethics, I believe, we need to evolve an atmosphere and programs which helps us to develop these attitudes, values and beliefs that form managers’ world view and professional identities,” says Fr. P. Christie,SJ, Director, LIBA.

LIBA offers primarily a two-year full-time PGDM course, approved by AICTE, accredited by NBA and recognized by AIU. It also offers other programs: Part-time PGDM (AICTE approved), Ph.D. (affiliated to University of Madras) and one-year executive diploma programmes. Management Development Centre offers various customized programmes (short-term and long-term) with a focus on skill development. The Institution works with an undeterred zeal to offer its students the best of the education, blending classroom and experiential learning.

LIBA has established various Centres of Excellence: Centre for Business Ethics and Corporate Governance (2005); Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management (2007); Prof.C.K.Prahalad Centre for Emerging India (2011) focusing on social innovation and social entrepreneurship; Incubation Centre (2016) mainly promoting social enterprises and a new centre of excellence in collaboration with TCS – Centre for Business Analytics and Insights is proposed to commence this year.

LIBA since its inception in 1979, has seen great enthusiasm from the industry to recruit some of the brightest minds of the country.

Located in Chennai, the institute is indeed resilient to recessions and has constantly achieved 100 percent placement throughout its journey. The highest salary offered over the past five years at LIBA has been ranging from Rs. 14 lakhs to Rs. 21 lakhs per annum and it is a definite reflection of the quality of teaching offered by the expert faculty members. LIBA is privileged to have highly competent and qualified faculty, visiting scholars, both inland and overseas, and adjunct faculty. Their outstanding qualifications, long exposure to industry, international exposure and rich experience in executive functions substantially contribute to shape competent managers. They share with the students in the form of case studies, personal experiences and anecdotes. Fr. Christie, proudly emphasizing on the caliber of the faculty members adds, “21 out of 22 of our faculty members hold PhD and 16 of them have an adept industry experience.” While, the success of a business school is also influenced by the strength of its ties with the corporate sector, LIBA is privileged to have continuous support and goodwill of many leaders in the corporate world. The institute has constant interaction with industry and commerce associations and is a registered member of CII, FICCI, MMA, MCCI and TiE. The Governing Council, Academic Council and Advisory Committees have many industry doyens as members.

Senior corporates are regularly invited to offer courses and to give guest lectures.“A major driver in our quest for better relations with industry has been our ever-growing Management Development Centre (MDC),” mentions Fr. Christie SJ. The MDC has fostered close ties with the industry through their customized training programs.

“During 2016-17, MDC conducted training programs for major companies, namely a one-year executive diploma in logistics and supply chain management for TVS Logistics, a two-year postgraduate program in Business Management for FORD India and Royal Bank of Scotland and a two-year executive postgraduate program in Financial Services and Software Testing for Maveric Systems,” adds Fr. Christie.Faculties are also involved in training and consultancy activities with various industries. LIBA has started a new specialization in Business Analytics for the full-time program, a part-time one year executive program in Business Analytics in collaboration with TCS and an Executive Certificate Program in Automotive Quality Management in collaboration with Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India (RNTBI). “We have also fostered linkages with more than a dozen foreign universities across five continents –Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Europe for student exchange, faculty exchange and research collaborations.At present, there are 18 students from NEOMA Business School and KEDGE Business School, France attending classes at LIBA. LIBA is also a member of the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools (IAJBS), Jesuit Social Entrepreneurship Network and AMDISA to train our students as global leaders. LIBA with a view of promoting entrepreneurship has started an incubation centre - Loyola Inclusive Innovation Impact Centre (L3iC), which is an open inclusive innovation startup eco-system, established under the aegis of Prof. C. K. Prahalad Centre for Emerging India. The centre provides space, funds and mentorship for startups. The emphasis is on promoting social enterprises. “We have 5 startups progressing well through the stages – pre-incubation, proto-typing, market fit, registering a legal entity, production and marketing. Another six startups, one with traction (early stage), and another five in the advanced stage of proof concept are being incubated off-site at their respective locations,” mentions Fr. Christie SJ. Although, qualifications have a high advantage, a vital element satisfying the entrepreneurial and managerial abilities is the right skills and knowledge integrated with ethics and excellence. With this perfect understanding in molding management graduates, LIBA continues its journey to be one of the top ten business schools in the country.