Applying a Touch of Distinctiveness to Modern Management Education
There is an increasing thought that the redundancy associated with engineering regarding the method of training is manifesting itself into the field of management education too. This can be observed from the lack of an industry-oriented focus and placing excessive stress on theoretical concepts rather than practical applications. Aiming to curtail this trend is the Heritage Business School. \"Our pedagogy is the same as in several leading management institutes across the world such as IIMs and Harvard,\" says Malay Kumar Banerjee, Dean, Heritage Business School. The business school uses case-studies from National and International sources other organisations to train students. This feature ensures that students participate actively in discussions after conducting extensive research.
Banerjee asserts, \"We have had 100 percent placement results for the previous three years. This is due to the emphasis that we place on the pre-placement training of our students.\" There is a dedicated industry mentorship scheme in which an industry member mentors two students across diverse aspects. The students participate in several projects completed by those companies. This helps students in gaining an in-depth analysis of functional areas of the industry. These mentors also send a few of these students to external companies so that they can gain exposure in other industries too. These industry intensive programmes prepare students for the placement process in an efficient manner. The institute conducts unique programs for the prospective students and grade them into 4 categories based on domain knowledge, communication skills, personality and English speaking skills. Experts conduct multiple sessions of personality development, aptitude test, group discussions and personal interview to train the students for placement sessions. These group discussions are recorded and played back in front of the students which allow them to rectify errors. The aptitude and psychometric tests are conducted by specialists related to those particular fields. Consequently, this has resulted in a substantial improvement relating to the performances of the students during placement interviews. The companies which visit the campus send the preliminary list of potential candidates to the institute. Subsequently, the management ensures that the selected students are aware of the unique features such as strategies, operations of every recruiting company. As a result, the students are at an advantage when compared to their peers.
There are several faculty-development programmes in which external members from India and abroad train those selected lecturers in different domains. The teaching staffs are also assisted by the presence of numerous industry-intensive programs which are an integral part of the class schedule. For example, eminent corporate leaders such as Nabanita Khan, Director of IBM, Sougata Mukherjee, Regional Director of CII and Mohit Kampani, Head of Spencer Retail, are invited to either speak on a particular topic or share their experiences with the students. The students receive a variety of inputs from these people which help in disbanding preconceived notions regarding different specializations in the field of management. The students pose questions pertaining to different fields such as media, healthcare and hotel management on a one-to-one basis. These mandatory sessions help them in choosing their specializations. The institute covers different specializations such as Marketing, Finance, HR and Systems. The students are allowed to only choose the specializations which correspond to their background. This ensures that students develop a precise and vivid vision regarding their career goals.
Endorsing and Enriching the Entrepreneurship Skills
The Entrepreneurship Club which also includes a faculty member is hugely beneficial to aspiring entrepreneurs within the institute. The membership committee sends proposals for various projects to the management. Banerjee explains that a student wanted to promote the artefacts and paintings of West Bengal. She had done all the essential preparatory work and completed a report on the project. Subsequently, the management recommended this project to the board members who examined it and gave a part of the capital for this venture, which eventually went on to become a financially profitable one.
The future ahead seems to be very promising for Heritage Business School. Banerjee concludes by saying, \"We have been shortlisted by Larsen & Toubro for conducting Executive Development Programmes on their employees. We are also in talks with overseas educational institutions in UK and the US for tie-ups regarding student exchanges and other features.\" The track record of the institute proves that these goals are eminently attainable.
Malay Kumar Banerjee, Dean
After completing his engineering from BITS Pilani and MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, he joined TATA Steel. After finishing several projects related to construction in 11 different countries successfully, he decided to shift to the field of education. As a PhD holder, he has been actively involved with teaching for almost 11 years.
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