The Higher Education Review

Living in an age where the only factor that can let big businesses survive is 'change', progressive businesses are now moving away from rigid, hierarchical structures to boundary-less and flexible structures. And this wave of change in the organizations calls for highly agile, deeply specialized skill sets in the leaders. Considering these leaders are nurtured in the ace business schools of the country, it has become essential for the students to select the right school where they can pursue a strong business base. An institute of repute which has gained lots of appreciation from the student community in the Northern part of the country, Lloyd Business School believes in imparting business courses which are extensively industry-oriented and up-to-date. Established in 2004, Lloyd is the outcome of Manohar Thairani's noble effort of providing holistic and relevant business education to the young dreamers.

A Chartered Accountant by profession, Thairani being in the corporates for the last 25 years, had realized that students are not given ample practical-based education during their college/University days. "Mr. Thairani believes that by upskilling and upgrading himself, he was able to achieve a successful career. This experience made him resolute to generate candidates who are job-ready from day one. And this is how Lloyd Group was born," elaborates Prof. (Dr) Vandana Arora Sethi, Group Director, Lloyd Group of institutions. Under the aegis of Lloyd, there are four schools, namely School of Pharmacy, School of Law, School of Education and School of Business. The institute also has placed 3 Centre of Excellence namely in Supply Chain Management, Human Resources, and Business Analytics.

Dr. Vandana says, "Lloyd Business School's uniqueness is its industry-integrated courses that are delivered by renowned faculty members and highly respected corporate professionals." Offering a PGDM course in three verticals viz.

IBM –Integrated Business Analytics, Supply Chain Management & Human Resource Management, the institute also conducts an MBA programme, affiliated by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam University. Business Analytics and Data Science are the top picks for
students from all backgrounds, where throughout the year, in parallel to in-house training; IBM experts visit the campus to disseminate knowledge on the latest industry needs amongst the students.

"Lloyd Business School's uniqueness is its industry-integrated courses that are delivered by renowned faculty members and highly respected corporate professionals"

Moreover, for the PGDM- HR course, the institute has collaborated with Manpower Group ensuring that the students get access to comprehensive education. On the research front, however, the thrust areas on which the institute is currently focusing on and boosting its students and teachers to indulge in is Data Analytics and Business Science. Dr. Vandana opines, "The current business landscape is looking out for a candidate who is versed with Data Analytics. Hence we at Lloyd, are looking forward to partner with at least 10-12 organizations for the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics and soon evolve as the pioneer in North India to offer Business Analytics in such a mega scale."

Creating Career Opportunities
As an institute which is determined to synchronize its offerings with the industry demands, Lloyd enables, students, to obtain on the job training right from their 5th trimester out of the 6th trimesters where they also get paid. Dr. Vandana pinpoints, "Keeping skilling as our top priority, we start grooming our students from the 1st day of their enrolment at Lloyd. Learning and get trained by the industry experts throughout, enables them to get into the job even before graduating." The institute is beatified with a robust and competent Training and Placement Cell which is headed by a very talented personality, Ms. Sonia Jaitly who holds a vast 20 years of experience. The cell goes the extra mile to make each student employable by training them the latest skill and conducting training in two phases. In the first phase, where the students are trained in varied skills, in the second phase, they are trained company wise and according to their subject interests.

The students, in fact, are helped by the trainer to understand their strengths and weaknesses through attitude and psychometric test followed by choosing desired companies for placement accordingly. Dr. Vandana says, "Every week mandatorily, our students have to go through 6 hours classes in which their skills are been hone by our trainer. Our students even get the opportunity to pursue shortterm essential courses and earn certificates during their tenure at Lloyd, by industry experts without paying any extra fee. The courses are conducted based on the interest of the students; for example, we tied up with Bombay Stock Exchange for offering a Certification in Banking. The faculty members as well as stress on 360-degree approach and embrace the innovative way of teaching including encouraging students to take up live projects.

"We pride on organizing a job fest annually where around 2000 students from different institutions across India attend campus placement drives. It's been 3 years we are conducting this welcoming around 35 top-notch companies," shares Dr. Vandana. Additionally, the institute every month organizes Conclaves at big level engaging each of the students. "We have got 8 clubs here- from CSR club to entrepreneurship club, under which the team of students along with their mentors has to keep on perform varied activities," adds Dr. Vandana. On the flipside, for cultivating an entrepreneurship habit among the students, the institute has initiated a Centre of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development, where students are motivated to work on out-of-the-box ideas. While numerous B-Schools are still struggling greatly to acknowledge an updated curriculum, Lloyd by preparing its students to grow into an asset to the industry and nation at large is setting newer benchmarks in management studies.

Dr. Vandana Arora Sethi, Group Director
Dr. Vandana is a Gold-medallist from Delhi University in M. Pharm. and holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics with work experience of more than 15 years, including industrial experience at Ranbaxy Research Laboratories, Gurgaon and at Smart Analyst Inc., Gurgaon. She is emphatically motivated, self-starting, versatile and strongly committed to progressive and innovative methodologies.