About PGPX and IIMA debuting at #11 on FT.com’s Global MBA Rankings 2011

On January 31^st, 2011, FT.com released their 2011 Global MBA Rankings (Read Here). IIMA made its debut in these rankings at #11. This is the best ever debut, but more on that later. 

When an iconic business school that has, over the last five decades, defined its contribution to the society through leaders who have led big changes in the Indian and international arena debuts on the MBA ranking scales in this manner, there is a lot of surprise. Why? Because owing to technicalities in ranking processes of international MBA billboards, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad never qualified for the rankings before. For the record, no other IIM has qualified, so far.

There is no doubt that MBA rankings recognize the School and not just the Programme. Because the school is what makes the ecosystem for learning; made possible by best in class faculty who do top of the line research, and using tools and pedagogy honed over years of research and student feedback, enable learning in their unique ways. Alumni of the institute keep the flag flying high and attract larger numbers of aspirants to the school. The students thrive in this environment and later as alumni themselves, through their real contributions and progression in their careers carry forward the alma mater’s glory and contribute to it.

In the context of rankings the change began when IIMA started to redefine the IIMA class, in more ways than one, with the PGPX programme. (Read about PGPX here)  PGPX, the 1-year full time residential programme, attracts applicants with substantial work experience. A PGPX student, on an average, has 10 years of work experience, before he or she joins the full time residential programme. Additionally, international experience is recommended, though not mandatory. Now, the international MBA programmes in other countries, typically, admit students having about 4-5 years of work experience. Over the last couple of decades, while the IIMs have seen large growth in student numbers for the PGP batches (the 2-year full time residential programme), the classes continue to have substantial number of students with nil or minimal (by international standards) prior work experience. This constitution is what prevented IIMA from getting qualified for the MBA school rankings, all these years. The much needed, much deserved recognition in the world of MBA schools was left much awaited for IIMA.

At IIMA, FT.com ranking was sought since the qualification criteria were met in 2009, when the third batch of PGPX graduated. Now, FT.com ranking process includes a mandatory survey of graduates who have been working for 3 years after completing the programme. But that requirement changed when FT.com clarified that they needed the 4^th batch out before IIMA could qualify. Therefore, the evaluation of the IIMA for the ranking was made possible only in 2010.

The debut of IIMA at #11 is the ‘best ever debut’ (Read the release here) and it is no simple achievement for a business school from India to do this. Right behind IIMA, on the FT.com rankings is Indian School of Business (ISB, Hyderabad, India). They were quick to clarify in their press release (Read ISB's press release here) that it was the PGPX programme that qualified for these rankings. They have enough reason to make this clarification.

But, as should be well understood, the ranking belongs to the entire Faculty, the Alumni, the managers and administrators and students of IIMA who’ve made possible the millions of aspects that go into building an iconic institution. A great way to begin a year when IIMA celebrates its Golden Jubilee!

The Big Bang Theory

Like many of my friends, I was a day scholar at engineering school.I have been told that there had been a part of engineering school (not people, but life) that was not known to me, or for practical reasons out of bounds to me. I am talking about the world of "hostel-ites", as they were called.

Confined, OK, let me add 'by choice', to the palisades of Vastrapur New Campus, I am now a part of a camaraderie of hostelers.I had been variously told that I had missed out one some part of growing up by not living in a hostel. I was not so sure at the time. OK, sour grapes. I now think that the fact that we sit together and debate over 'business decisions' into wee hours of the evening and rub (all) our noses to the ground over frustratingly ambiguous case studies, weaves around us an invisible thread of fellow feeling.Slowly but surely we are building up a repertoire of stories that we will recall in future.

An unforgettable would be that of the Midnight Blast.

Post dinner, bogged down by an 'Analysis of Data' assignment, we were in the abyss of confusedness when, suddenly, there was a "Bang!". In day time, we've heard rare air-gunshots fired to scare away the hundreds of pigeon that think it is their right to deface, with natural elements, the ornate facade and modernistic walls of The Institute. But an air-gunshot in the middle of the night? There was a perplexed expression on several faces that were peering out of different syndicate rooms. On the hallway were PK and SP who had no idea what had hit them. The others were wondering what had come upon these two. It took the duo a few seconds to understand what had transpired. We thought it was excusable for them to be perplexed, since it was as real as it was unbelievable.

Turns out that PK had asked SP for a match and SP threw a butane lighter in PK's direction. PK missed the catch and the projectile exploded on contact with ground causing the big bang. What PK and SP were looking for, not realising all this had happened, was the missing blue plastic lighter. Obviously, neither of them had any background in using ammunition of this kind. So, it took a golden few seconds to understand that the heavy odour was that of sublime butane and the blue pieces of plastic were remnants of SP's cigarette lighter.

A wave of comic relief spread over the present crowd as dawned on them an unpleasant side-effect of playing catch with a lighter. Lighter as SP was of a lighter, our minds were lighter from the monotony of the post-dinner discussion. Somewhat like during the aftermath of the big bang, our ideas started crystalising (read as some progress on the case) all the while shaking our heads at the un-impossibility of what has just happened.

For the record, no one was hurt!

Get Set...

Third day, also day minus three, on campus came with a lot of surprises- some pleasant and some otherwise.

The pleasant suprise came in the form of an executive bag with our names and an inscription of the IIMA logo. The not so pleasant one came in the form of twelve spiral bounded proprietary study books and half a dozen text books.The size of the stack made me think that this should be manageable, until I learned that the stack would need to be devoured over the next ten, only, weeks that make up the first term. People were hoping that carrying the books from the office to the apartment would remind us to make time for fitness. We also found out our study groups and got alloted our syndicate rooms, where we will be found most of the times after class hours.

Next on the cards is the selection of representatives as well as committees for various functions that will be driving the batch the entire year. Some of us have taken up the initiative to drive the larger group toward the thinking process for this and set the ball rolling. Those who want to nominate themselves ought to find time to reflect upon their strengths and the roles they want to play.

After much deliberation, at about 7 PM, we decided that we should have a pre-term party tonight. Securing permission to host it in the terrace-lawn, arranging for musical tracks, getting the in-house caterers to make an assortment of pakodas, buying cold drinks, snacks and cake, planning party games and finally setting up the venue with lights and tables was organised with fervour in a matter of two hours. That iPod with a Bose docking station/speaker system is a DJs next best friend was quite evident when the beauty of a system kept pumping high decibal sounds all throught the party right over the chatter and laughter of a the hundred strong crowd.

We just retruned from the party. It could have gone on for longer had the rain gods relented and had we not been required to get ready for the formal inauguration as well as dissect a communications management case study with our syndicates.

This is a sign of things to come. Work hard and party often. The group is seriously considering buying a low-end sound system just for parties over the next twelve months. We will get the ROI when parties happen frequently and we will have parties frequently to get the ROI.

The program gets formally inaugurated tomorrow. Then, it's just "Go!".

Global B-School rankings: Good news! And then some

Business school fraternities across India should be proud of the recent development in the MBA world. One of the best Indian B schools, ISB, Hyderabad, a path breaker in several ways has made it to the top 20 ranks among global B schools.Read the rankings here.

This development should add more shimmer to the 'India Inc shining' picture. Global investors are progressively looking at emerging markets for better returns. If experts are to be believed,the sole hope over the next year (with imminent US recession), lies in BRIC and other emerging markets, the only ones that can deliver least 18% returns. This, combined with the fact that an Indian B school has been ranked with the top league should make prospective international students think whether studying in an Indian B school and spending a part of their career in Asia is the way to go. The relative cost of education is low and opportunities aplenty.

ISB ought to be in the top schools list for several reasons, despite being young- the program structure, the composition of visiting international faculty, the corporate backing the school has, international alliances, the placement percentage (100%), and not in the least, the five-star facilities in the campus.

The article in The Times of India, read here, has quoted the methodology of computing the remuneration figure. Apparently, the average salary of $169,000 was arrived at by using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Now, the PPP between INR and USD is between 6 and 8, for such purposes as calculating remuneration and, well, spending power. This means that at ISB, the average Indian Salary is between INR 10.5 Lakhs and INR 13.52 Lakhs using the limits of PPP.

In general, however, the average salary is mostly misleading, for any school. This is because,by nature of average, a few distinguished top grossers will even out (or skew?) the impact of the many more at the lower end of remuneration scale. Median ought to be more representative but again may not comprehensive. But hey, all schools use the same logic, so we are on level ground here.Are we really, if we use PPP? Because, back home, when top schools report highest-salaries, they convert an international 'USD package' in INR by simply using the forex conversion rate, thereby launching the package into unbelievable stellar heights. That's another story altogether.

In any case, using average ,the numbers in other top Indian B-schools would be in similar range viz.IIMs- A, B and C, FMS, XLRI, SPJIMS. Barring IIM-B and FMS, other schools have a new 'international' one year program. The PGPX program at IIM-A and PGPEX at IIM-C for 'students with substantial experience' have reported 'average' INR 25 Lakhs and INR 20 Lakhs respectively. In terms of PPP, this will translate to an average minimum of USD 315,000 and USD 250,000 using a PPP of 8 (Obviously, 30% higher using 6). Like other aforementioned schools, IIM-A and IIM-C have a legacy of about 40 years and a wide international acceptance of their students and do not lack anything; except a five-star living, perhaps. So, why are these schools not in the list? Did they not participate?

This makes me wonder that in these schools, the people who teach marketing to the people who eventually run the businesses of the world ought to know better.So, why are they not telling? In fact, back home, in the more popular 'BusinessWorld' rankings, IIM-A and IIM-B have been only intermittently participating for the last 3 years.Most ranking sheets, nowadays,in India are based on student responses rather than statistics provided by schools and rarely, if any, by industry.

At the end of the day, the bottom line of any business school is as important as the lessons on bottom line they teach their students. ISB's marketing has left no holds barred. An example is the fact that even I, a prospective student of the past, have received an email from the dean of ISB about this successful ranking.

Nevertheless, with this success of ISB, the top B schools of the world will wake up to the challenge of Indian B schools. Congrats ISB!

Update: Read Rashmi Bansal's view point here. Something I noticed: Ms.Bansal's research has used PPP in a forward-count. This post used a backward-count. Hence, a small difference.

Further update: The reason that the other B Schools mentioned herein do not yet qualify at that level is the fact that in their programs, students with zero experience are also included. Programs exclusively for experienced students have not been running for 3 years.

Find PPP Conversion tables here

2007: A Year of waitlists - Part 3 of 3

Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Those were annoying waitlists. Here are some that will impact life in a big way.

The year began with great expectations to join one of the top business schools in India; in full time business (Exec) programs offered by IIMA, IIMC and ISB; in that order, for my own reasons.

By the time Ahmedabad opened its online applications in April, I was ready to register; was among the first few of 1350 to do so. But the journey ahead would prove to be a long one.

In the next three weeks, I had to complete the forms for IIMC, get recos from across multiple time-zones and send the docket out to Calcutta. "If things have to go wrong, they will. If they do not have to, they still will". Cutting the long story short, my application reached on the day after the last date. Between the time I sent out the application and I was shortlisted to the interviews, I moved back home. In mid-August, the interview happened. It went well, by most standards. Regardless of that, the bottomline was that I was not yet in. I was on the fourth waitlist this year.

Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad application was submitted and interview date announced. As luck would have it, the interview was in the same location as the Calcutta interview has been. I put aside any thoughts of destiny around the coincidence of interview location. If the interview has opinions flying back and forth , a few moments of laughter and a smiling panel at the end, I think I am allowed to think it went well. But I would not know for another month.

While waiting for the Ahmedabad results, the most practical thing to do was to apply for Round 2 of ISB. ISB application process is perhaps the most technologically mature one, much like that of INSEAD and a couple of tier-1 schools in the US (I have filled my share of recos for a few folks). Every part of the process, including recos is online. It makes life much easier in one way. But automation also requires you to follow the instructions to the T. It would be a cakewalk I had been told, by a friend of mine who had studied at ISB. So, I was taken aback when ISB sent me a regret mail a few weeks after that.

Since then, I have thought a little more about it. What stood out is the fact that I was not even shortlisted for the interview. (Without leading you to any conclusion, I would like to add that later I was to find out that many others with my profile or more experience had been in the same predicament). So, while this did not put me in a waitlist, my being on the waitlist of Calcutta gained more significance. More so because it was a little over a month before the term at Calcutta would begin. Chances were getting slimmer by the day.

So, while I was nursing the regret message and the vacuum of Calcutta waitlist and IIM Ahmedabad results, I started making enquiries about the waitlist mechanisms in the latter schools. It turned out that Ahmedabad waitlist had gotten fully used last year. That was good news, but each year is different. So, I braced myself just in case some surpise were to be awaiting around the corner.

No surprise (not no regret) then, that Ahmedabad put me on the waitlist. Those were undoubtedly the most harrowing days of the year. Much of November was not sweet at all. Fifth waitlist of the year had me in its grip.

No one said life was easy, but one has to be ready. It was I then sent out my scores to INSEAD, the first school I thought about outside India, in such case that the India story did not work out. I had already sent my scores to another British school earlier.I was getting reminders from them about application deadlines. I repeat, those were the most harrowing days of this year.

In the middle of the last week of November when the first set of waitlisted folks were bumped up by Ahmedabad, came the most gratifying email I have received this year, or life maybe? I think I need not say more.

Looking back, all's well. But this has been a year of waitlists, down to the penultimate month. With this, I will end this note, this year, and the waitlist saga.

Wish you a very Happy New Year 2008!