Dr. Manisha Ketkar,Director Mr. Hardik Mehta, an alumnus of Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance (SSBF), who aced the prestigious RBI Grade B exam 2016 by achieving All India Rank 1, is an inspiration for the bank-exam aspirants around the country. Even today, he will not forget to mention the immense efforts and hard work that the SSBF faculty members had put in grooming each of the students in the campus, while sharing his strategies he used while preparing for the banking examinations. Commenced in the year 2010 under the Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU), SSBF has emerged into a dream destination for those who aspire to shine in the banking and finance arena. Offering the students an exclusively designed MBA program in Banking and Finance and equipping them with demanded skill-sets, the institute has also extended associations with reputed organizations for manifold benefits of the students.

"Job-ready from day one is not only a concept at SSBF, but a reality, where students throughout the academic year are braced to match the requirements of the recruiters of BFSI industry"

The MoU with Axis bank stands out among the several valuable collaborations that SSBF prides on. As a part of this MoU, the students will be selected by Axis bank to undergo a specialized tailored summer internship program with them. Post the internship, the Axis bank would recruit our students for various roles. Another notable association is 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. Dr. Manisha Ketkar, Director, SSBF, pinpoints, "Additionally, SSBF has collaborated with HDFC AMC to provide a focused summer internship program and has signed MoU with Indian Institute of Banking and Finance and Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF) for various campus engagement and training activities.
SSBF is also an educational partner with Bajaj Finserv, as a part of which we offer a joint certification program in Banking, Finance, and Insurance for fresh graduates and final year students who are seeking jobs after their graduation."

Being an institute that precisely looks after preparing its students according to the growing challenges of the BFSI sector, SSBF always strives to set the highest standard of education and training. Given this, SSBF has signed MoU with one of the reputed credit rating agencies for a research project and has undertaken a research project with renowned Asset Management Companies on "HR practices for promoting employees" coupled with initiating research collaboration opportunities with faculty members from Macquarie University, Nuremberg Tech University, and other foreign universities. "These kinds of activities greatly help our students and faculty members to stay abreast the latest knowledge and changes of the industry," adds Dr. Ketkar. The eminent awards and recognitions earned by the institute including a position in top 100 in Outlook-Drshti B-school 2018 ranking and awarded of the Best Institute in Banking and Finance by Dewang Mehta National Education Awards 2017. Hereby are the testaments of the quality and reliability of the degrees that the institute has been extending.

Interactive Teaching Approaches
Job-ready from day one is not only a concept at SSBF, but a reality, where students throughout the academic year are braced to match the requirements of the recruiters of BFSI industry. The two years comprehensive MBA program has been crafted strategically to instill in-depth knowledge, encompassing the multiple aspects of the BFSI field and develop the students as lifelong learners. "SSBF's qualified and experienced faculty-members impart theoretical knowledge as well as emphasize on experiential learning, making sure the students are groomed to leave a mark in the BFSI industry. The classroom environment is interactive where participative learning permits a free flow of ideas between faculty and students," claims Dr. Ketkar. Teaching and learning at SSBF is also enriched with the assistance of experts and guest faculty from banks and other financial institutions, who conduct interactive learning sessions to provide a practical perspective to the students. Bloomberg terminals available for students help them stay updated with the financial markets. Students get the guidance from the faculty for Bloomberg Market
Concepts (BMC) certification.

"Learning takes place beyond the curriculum at SSBF, as we indulge our students in various extracurricular, ISR activities, cultural and sports events coupled with motivating them to participate in entrepreneurial practices that are organized by our dedicated E-Cell," shares Dr. Ketkar. SSBF conducts an annual event "Impressa" which encompasses diverse intercollegiate activities such as Business Plan competition, Panel Discussion and many more. Dr. Ketkar adds, "We have a list of set goals associated with our E-Cell with a motive of embracing innovativeness among the students." The institute is also beatified with a Corporate Interface Team that arranges activities to fill the gap between academia and industry through extending association such as a partnership with Association of International Wealth Management of India (AIWMI) to offer the prestigious global certification- Certified Credit Research Analyst (CCRA).

Being an institute that takes an explicit interest in providing its students, the maximum exposure and experience, SSBF encourages the students to take part in Semester Exchange Program, Summer School and Winter School programs with the foreign universities. "For this purpose, SIU has signed MoU with Macquarie University, Australia and 6 students till date has been a part of this exchange program for a semester under their M.Sc. in Banking and Finance program," shares Dr. Ketkar. Additionally, the students also attended programs at Berlin School of Economics and Law and Leibniz University, Hannover, Germany. Confirming to always stay in tune with industry experts for yearly changing its curriculum as per industry needs and generate industry-ready professionals, SSBF till date has been able to place its students in varied top positions like Channel Officer, Credit Officer, Relationship Manager, to name a few.

Dr. Manisha Ketkar, Director
Dr. Ketkar, Director Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance is a Commerce graduate and a Fellow Cost Accountant (FCMA). She has also done Master's in Business Studies (MBS) from the University of Pune and Ph.D. from Symbiosis International (Deemed University). Dr. Ketkar has presented papers in International Conferences and also has some published papers to her credit. Having 28 years of experience, her areas of expertise are Cost & Management Accounting and Supply Chain Management.
Management Institute of the Year - 2018