Indian students, like their global counterparts, are realising the importance of having significant work experience before applying for any MS program especially for MBA.
Realising this trend many top-ranked B-schools in India have opened their doors to working professionals who can pursue their MS without sacrificing current jobs or may take a study leave.
Many students now-a-days are applying to various executive programs offered by the B-schools after they have gained 3-5 years of professional experience. Armed with latest management strategies these programs find higher demand in the industry and students are offered best-in-class career opportunities.
In fact, many companies prefer to have their professionals enrolled for executive programs as these programs will sharpen their skill set. Moreover, getting an admission to a top notch B-school is difficult and undoubtedly a costly affair.
“Hence, we are seeing a larger number of working managers opt for executive-level management courses. It’s a good way to get a top-notch brand name after a person has gained sufficient work experience. And since the manager has worked for a few years, he or she can dip into the savings to pay for the programme,” says Nitish Shah, director, Splash Publication Pvt. Ltd.
In order to meet the demand of the market, business schools are responding with enthusiasm.
For example, the Indian School of Business (ISB) prefers students with two years prior work experience along with a ‘good’ GMAT score for admission to the one-year full-time post-graduate programme in management. Seeing the overwhelming response to this course, ISB accepted 577 students in its last year’s batch and also opened a new campus at Mohali in order to meet its current demand.
Similarly, there are other institutes in India which are offering courses likewise. Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) offers a part-time MBA to students who have at least three years of work experience and Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) offers a part-time Master’s in management studies, (MMS) to students with at least two years of work experience.
Interactive Onsite Learning (IOL) , a revolutionary approach adopted and promoted by DirecWay Global Education (DWGE), an education initiative of Hughes and one of the world’s leading broadband service provider, through which it has tied up with premier management schools like IIFT Delhi; IIM Bangalore; IIM Calcutta; IIM Kozhikode; IIT Delhi; Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal; NMIMS Mumbai; and XLRI Jamshedpur to provide educational programmes to fresh graduates and working professionals.
This is not e-learning or a distance-learning programme, in fact, more than that. Through this program a student can interact with teachers online via satellite, sitting far away and have their doubts clear instantly.
“So even if you feel like out of the race just because you could not pursue your MS right after graduation, life does not end there. In fact, it is a blessing in disguise,” says Shruti, a student of XLRI, with IOL platform.
It is better to have one enrolled for such programs as 3-5 years of work experience will make one more matured in terms of course selection and industry demand. Moreover, this gives a professional an added advantage over students who are coming into the market with their MS program right after graduation.
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