The Higher Education Review

Aurora Group, which is widely known in the Southern part of the country for being a leading brand in the education arena offering quality Undergraduate and Postgraduate level professional courses, hardly needs an introduction. The Group since the last two decades has been raising the standard of education by adopting a unique way of teaching and learning. Today, the group has grown by leaps and bounds, welcoming more than 6,000 students annually in its various colleges which impart education in the fields like Engineering, Management, Commerce, Science, Education, Law, Pharmacy, Architecture and Information Technology. Notably, owing to the Aurora's Business School (ABS), which was established in 2005 under the banner of the Aurora Group, the management aspirants have been able to access to a world full of opportunities consequently allowing them to flourish in the business arena. The students at ABS are subjected to undergo a rigorous training throughout the programme and are ensured to earn a resume that is packed with relevant experiences and training.

The laurels and awards that the institute has received for its excellence over the years includes No. 1 ranking among Top Private stand-alone B-Schools of Telangana & Andhra Pradesh by All India B Schools' Survey - 2019 of Times of India, listed among India's Top 100 B-Schools 2018 by Dalal Street (India's No.1 Equity Research & Capital Investment Journal) and accorded A++ rating by Business India (Pioneer of Indian Business Magazines) in its Best B - Schools 2017 Survey, to name a few. Recognized by the AICTE, New Delhi and located in the heart of the city of Hyderabad, Telangana comprising state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities, ABS conducts a two-year full time Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (Core) with five specializations i.e. Finance, Marketing, HR, Operations, Supply chain along with offering two-years

full time PGDM (Rural Management), PGDM (Hospital Management) and PGDM (Executive) of 15 months duration and PGDM (Part Time) of 3 years duration.

Dr. Raghu N Pabhakar, Director, ABS, says "At ABS, we understand that most of the management graduates fail in cracking a job because of their lacking in communication skills which is one of the winning factors in getting placements. Hence, we from the very beginning of their course put a focus on enriching their LSRW (Listening, Speaking, Reading and writing) skills." On that account, the institute imparts excellent communication skills to the students, through the STEP programme of the Hindu Group, which conducts the classes for the prestigious Cambridge Business English Certification course in the first year. "In the second year we offer NISM certification by Ascend Academy for Finance discipline, Digital Marketing certification by Adonai Advertising for Marketing, Mission HR certification by HUSYS consulting Ltd for HR specialization," adds Dr. Pabhakar. These add-on courses greatly intensify the wholesome growth of the students.

"The institute imparts excellent communication skills to the students, through the STEP programme of the Hindu Group, which conducts the classes for the prestigious Cambridge Business English Certification course in the first year"

Keeping a Pace with the Change
Being a part of the Aurora Group of Institution which prides on alumni strength of 50,000 working in India and abroad with leading corporate, the students of ABS gets endowedwith lots of meaningful industry networks. The students further are encouraged to go for regular field work, which is evaluated for 75 marks, survey projects carrying 75 marks, research projects carrying 75 marks, internship which is conducted for eight weeks carrying 150 marks, industrial study tours which constitute a major part of the experiential ELTs, 4 week summer internship programme and many more. Dr. Pabhakar pinpoints, "Keeping experiential teaching and learning at the helm, we put every such effort which helps in making our graduates different than their counterparts. We also provide a unique Campus Recruitment Training for 100 days organized by Focus Academy for Career Enhancement where renowned professional experts are invited to enlighten the students on the latest business trends."

The students of ABS gets the opportunity to visit eminent companies such as Newater Plant, Singapore, International College of

'Financial, Technological and Management Sciences', Kaula Lumpur, Coco-Cola, Dubai, Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi, PepsiCo, Hyderabad, and the list hardly gets an end. "In addition to pedagogical aspects, our highly talented and experienced faculty members stress upon facilitating the students with productive interaction with CEOs, Presidents, Vice presidents, HR heads of various organizations, in association with versatile institutions like the Hyderabad Management Association, the National Human Resource Development Network and so on," proudly says Dr.Pabhakar. Given such robust training, the students of ABS emerge as the most sought-after professionals attracting giant recruiters such as Amazon, Deloitte, Wipro, Just Dial and many more.

ABS for smooth functioning of the
variety of activities going on inside the campus have tied-up and signed MOU's with reputed organizations such as TCS iON Learning Institution Partners, Oravel Stays Private Limited, Credofinn Management Services Pvt Ltd, Million Minds and so on. As ABS holds the mission of nurturing socially and environmentally sensitive global business leaders, it also encourages its students to participate in society developmental programmes coupled with boosting them to spend substantial time in extra-curricular activities. "Keeping in mind the increasing interests for entrepreneurship among students, we have tied up with prestigious start-up boosting organizations like Vagdan Foundation, ALEAP, Million Minds, NEN, and HMA," opines Dr. Pabhakar. Staying true to its mission and vision, in the future as well, the institute aspires to keep on offering the most relevant and demandable management education by going the extra mile and putting the extra efforts.

Dr. Raghu N Pabhakar, Director
Dr. Raghu N Pabhakar holds the prestigious position of the Director,
with Aurora's Business School. He received his doctoral degree in management studies from Acharya Naagarjuna University. In his Professional Career, he took up research studies in Marketing, Marketing Management, Management Information Systems, and Human Resource Management and so on. He presented a paper titled "Talent Development: A Strategic Approach", in a seminar sponsored by the AICTE and received applause from management gurus.