The Higher Education Review

Gone are the times when higher education institutions were only ranked on their ability to impart quality education. Now the ability to offer holistic education along with the capacity of the institute to help the students get employed has climbed up to the top of parents' and students' wish list while looking for a higher education institute. If we look at institutes offering MBA and other business-related courses, most of them are primarily ranked on the strength of their placement cells and industrial tie-ups. One higher education provider thriving in this current scenario is the Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance.

Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance (SSBF), Pune is a constituent of Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU). As Banking, Financial and Insurance industry is growing by leaps and bounds. There is a huge demand for skilled and employable human resources and acknowledging this situation, SSBF focuses to transform the students into industry-ready professionals. The institute has always kept itself abreast of the latest changes in the industry. Along with providing quality education to the MBA students, SSBF also acts as a distinct training partner for various private and public sector banks to upskill and reskill the skill sets of their existing employees. Domain knowledge is imparted along with soft skills to the Human Capital to achieve greater heights in the career.

Leading the League
Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance (SSBF) is a reputed business school that offers a two-year full-time residential MBA program in Banking and Finance, which exclusively caters to the needs of Banking, Finance and Insurance sector. This encourages candidates to join the Institute who aspire to make a career in this domain. In order to cater to the requirements of the dynamic finance sector, SSBF tunes its curriculum by soliciting inputs from the industry stalwarts. Hence, it is not surprising that SSBF has eminent and experienced people from the industry on the advisory board and alumni who provide inputs to keep their curriculum relevant and updated as per the demands of the industry.

"Students from PAN India aspiring to build a career in the BFSI sector enroll in our institute. Our curriculum of the MBA-Banking and Finance program is robust and one of the best in the country. This specialized degree provides in-depth knowledge to the students in the area of Banking and Finance along-with basic management skills right from day one. In order to understand the expectations of the industry, the curriculum has been developed by benchmarking

it against national and International Universities/Institutes offering similar courses. This has made our program comprehensive and well-defined catering to both the national and international needs of the BFSI domain. We regularly revise and update our curriculum making it futuristic based on the comments from industry experts", avers Prof. Dr. Manisha Ketkar, Director, SSBF.

"SSBF acknowledges the importance of having expert faculty members and strong industry tie-ups in order to stand apart in the industry"

Apart from regular subjects of Banking, Finance and Insurance, the institute also offers subjects like Corporate Governance and Ethics, Legal Aspects of Business, Advance Excel, Business Analytics, Digital Marketing, and Financial Product Design to enrich students' knowledge and increase their probability of getting placed.SSBF is also planning to incorporate subjects like Python, SQL, Artificial Intelligence tools, Machine Learning, and Tableau in their curriculum to provide an extra edge for its students to get placed. Under Institute Social Responsibility (ISR) the students visit nearby villages and conduct classes on English speaking for high school students. To provide practical knowledge and first-hand experience to the students, SSBF conducts banking drive for people from financially humble background and conducts financial literacy workshops at other institutes which are organized by their students.

Scaling Unprecedented Heights
SSBF acknowledges the importance of having expert faculty members and strong industry tie-ups in order to stand apart in the industry. SSBF firmly believes that classroom faculty is also a mentor to the students and effective mentoring results in a rewarding experience for both faculty and students. Most of the faculty members have also served in the industry and they are committed to ensuring excellence in teaching and research and many of them have their researches published in Scopus and ABDC category journals. They regularly present papers at prestigious national and international conferences and have also won a number of awards. The institute has a healthy student-faculty ratio. The faculty of the institute along with its students is planning to undertake research projects in collaboration with CRIF High Mark.SSBF has signed an MOU with CRIF High Mark for research projects and the same partnership is responsible for giving a scholarship of Rs. 1,00,000/- for needy students based on their academic performance and the family's financial condition. Faculty Development Programs are also conducted at SIU level by Symbiosis Teaching Learning Resource Centre (STLRC) where faculty members participate in relevant programs in order to develop their teaching and non-teaching skills.

SSBF has maintained a harmonious relationship with its

existing recruiters and the industry tie-ups maintained by SSBF further helps in facilitating the academic delivery. SSBF is an educational partner to Bajaj Finserv, as a part of which, they offer a certificate program in Banking, Finance, Insurance and Business Communication (CPBFI) for fresh graduates and final year students who are seeking jobs after their graduation. SSBF has also collaborated with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to develop content for National University Student's Skill development, a project initiated by TISS to increase the employability of the university students by imparting knowledge and skills. In addition to this, SSBF also has a collaboration with BFSI Sector Skill Council for content development.

The alumni of the Institute have high praise for SSBF and the part played by the institute in their development both in the personal and professional front. Once the students are graduated from the institute, they are placed with various organizations like J. P. Morgan Chase, CARE ratings, CRISIL, ICICI Bank, Ujjiwan Bank, Federal Bank, etc. under various profiles such as Research Analyst, Management Trainee, Relationship Manager, Wealth Management, Product Management to name a few.

"SSBF ensures overall development of a student and its curriculum is designed and structured in such a way that it enhances the overall horizon of an individual academically as well as helps the students in the skills of management through the various events within the academic structure", says Miss. Drishti, alumni, SSBF. One of the many noticeable alumni of the college, Mr. Hardik Mehta has joined as a Manager in Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

For the future, SSBF is looking forward to providing more industry-relevant certifications to the students and will continue the up-gradation of program structure based on technological changes and industry needs and organizing sessions with industry experts. SSBF is also in the process of signing an MOU with the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF) and other corporate for conducting training programs for aspiring minds and up-skilling existing human capital in the BFSI industry. The institute is also planning to design and develop Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for effective dissemination of finance knowledge across varied segments.

Dr. Manisha Ketkar, Professor and Director
Dr. Manisha Ketkar is a Commerce graduate and a Fellow Cost Accountant (FCMA). She has also done her Master's in Business Studies (MBS) from the University of Pune. She has also done her Ph.D. in 'Study of supply risk management practices' with Symbiosis International. With her 29 years of industry and academia experience, she is leading the line for SSBF in its quest to become a world-renowned higher education institution.