The Higher Education Review

Located in Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, St. Francis Institute of Management & Research (SFIMAR) inspires management aspirants to be the world’s future leaders of business and society. Established in 2002 under the aegis of The Society of the Congregation of Franciscan Brothers, the institute with a state-of-theart infrastructure has provided the environment to foster innovative and entrepreneurial thinking, resulting in groundbreaking ideas that unlock business opportunities.

“Our MMS, PGDM and Part-time programmes are affordable and accessible to the students who are looking for quality MBA programmes. Besides the conventional classroom teaching, we focus on teaching-learning through case studies, role plays, management games, internships at reputed companies, research projects and live projects,” says Dr. Subhransu S. Mohanty, Director, St. Francis Institute of Management & Research. SFIMAR’s management programmes are not just about theory and practice. Through various clubs, forums, events and employment-readiness activities conducted by the Placement Department, the institute takes care of the overall grooming of the students. SFIMAR has a corporate on-boarding programme through which companies come to the campus and train students according to their jobspecific requirements and organizational culture.

“We have created an energizing and empowering environment on our campus with excellent infrastructure, where student success is central to everything we do. Faculty and students are encouraged to develop creative thinking and ideate in this era of fast changing technology and an uncertain business environment, so that they are well equipped towards expectations of the industry at the global level and even embark upon their own ventures,” claims Dr. Mohanty.

An ISO-certified and NAAC accredited A-grade institution, SFIMAR is bestowed with talented students and faculty, many of whom have competed against and won awards over their peers from other well-known institutes, at inter-college and national level events. “Our faculty are highly talented individuals, steeped in the knowledge of their core specialization and adept at understanding and working with others from different fields. They are supported by capable staff who put their full energy and passion into their work and our mission,” shares Dr. Mohanty.

At SFIMAR, the faculty members and students are involved in research across areas such as investments and capital markets, corporate social responsibility, digital marketing, human resources. The institute annually hosts Research Conferences - Pathh and Anveshi - for the faculty members and students. “We have started a concept of Research Development Value Chain whereby our faculty and students are encouraged to get into collaborative research and work together on projects,” mentions Dr. Mohanty. The SFIMAR’s faculty members act as coaches guiding the students through the entire process, welcoming their input, helping them develop their ideas, benchmarking to best practices and assessing their progress. This fosters openness to new ideas, encourages both faculty and students to stretch beyond their current experience or comfort zone, besides unfolding the interests and strengths of students in their longer term career planning.

Dr. Mohanty adds, “We have many forums and club activities in order to foster innovation. Students are encouraged to think laterally, out of the box and more importantly on how to keep pace with the changing dynamics of business environment. By doing so, we provide our students with the knowledge and experiences that equip them for their future roles as leaders.” Industry Oriented Learning With a specified industry linked curriculum, SFIMAR offers two-year full-time MMS Programme (affiliated to Mumbai University), two-year full-time PGDM Programme (AICTE & DTE approved) and three-year parttime Master’s Degree Programme (Financial Management and Marketing Management streams).

“We examine the most up-to-date concepts in all major business areas at advanced levels through a well-qualified and dedicated in-house faculty. Additionally, we also invite guest faculty from various industries in order to provide an insight into the practical and concurrent issues challenging businesses and the corporate world,” says Dr. Mohanty. The curriculum of SFIMAR is supplemented with various certification courses that are linked to industry needs, which include Advanced Excel, Digital Marketing, Alternate investment industry, Financial Markets, HRM Automation, Project Management and many more. These add-on certifications would give the students an edge in their placements and a better understanding of the practical aspects of various theoretical areas.

“Industry requirement specifically in management has shifted from a generalist role to very focused and specialized recruitment. We train our students accordingly,” claims Dr. Mohanty. SFIMAR conducts a welldefined ‘Student Skill Development Programme’ as a pre-placement activity wherein various training sessions are organized by the institute’s Placement department based on inputs from Human Resources industry professionals. They conduct regular group discussion sessions, mock interviews, arrange for guest speakers and mentoring by alumni. “We have built very strong relationships with industries through our participation in various industry and academic associations, placement initiatives, and also through our strong alumni network. We are a member of 20 such national level industry associations,” shares Dr. Mohanty.

In addition, SFIMAR facilitates the academic and non - academic exposure required for MBA aspirants through its participation in major events organized by top national associations such as BCCI, BMA, IMC, EPSI, CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, WTC and many more. “Quite important to our success, is also the fact that our alumni have established a good track record in the companies that employed them and are regularly connected with us through Alumni Connect, Sampark and other regular academic activities. These factors, coupled with our location advantage of being in the business capital, have made us an institution of choice for employers,” claims Dr. Mohanty.

SFIMAR has been maintaining 100 percent placement for the past several years. For the past three years, the compensation package of the institute has grown by 25 percent per annum on an average and around 50 percent of the students are placed with top multinational and national companies. An Ambitious Future SFIMAR has already introduced emerging topics like big data, cloud computing, IoT, data analytics to make the students aware of the challenges industries face in a digital era, while transitioning from traditional manufacturing, and the need for developing solutions that support sustainable growth. Dr. Mohanty shares, “We have also initiated networking with incubators, accelerators and sectors that are most likely to attract investment or grow export-oriented companies in the future.”

At SFIMAR, entrepreneurship activities are at an early stage of development. The institute is facilitating networking opportunities through interaction with fund providers- VCs, PEs, Angel Investors and so on. SFIMAR’s Prerana Club has already started interaction with entrepreneurs, legal, finance, marketing and other business experts to provide a better understanding of the challenges and rewards of establishing and running a successful business. “We have started a Business Incubation Centre recently, wherein some startups are currently working. We have earmarked 2.5 acres of land a few miles from our institute, for promoting start-ups, innovation and incubate them,” shares Dr. Mohanty. At present, SFIMAR has plans to enhance their engagement with universities, industry and entrepreneurs to improve the quality and impact of the programmes in the areas of innovation, research and entrepreneurship.

In the near future, the institute will create partnerships locally and internationally to achieve specific outcomes that support economic growth, job creation, business sustainability and broad-based prosperity. “We also have a strong culture of giving back to the society through various social outreach and extension programmes by following our Founder- ‘The Congregation of Franciscan Brothers’ motto of ‘Service Through Enterprise’. We hope with all the efforts we make in bringing out the best in our students align with our institutional vision and mission and ensure that our students can make a positive difference and contribute fully to society as globally engaged citizen leaders,” concludes Dr. Mohanty.