With a full blown crisis in the American and European financial sector, and a resulting slowdown in the Indian economy, fear and uncertainty is looming large at elite B-school campuses. A survey conducted by staffing company TeamLease and management portal MBAUniverse.com, reveals that nearly 60 per cent of second year MBA students at top B-schools like the IIMs, XLRI, MDI and JBIMS fear that the Wall Street meltdown will have “some impact” on their final year placements. In fact, 37 per cent of the students polled said there will be “a lot of impact” against the 3 per cent who believed there will be no impact. 

Among other things, the survey noted reduced expectations in terms of salary amongst MBAs, when compared to last year. The survey reveal that 42 per cent of the MBAs expect their salary to be in the range of Rs 6-10 lakhs, while 36 per cent say that they expect their salary to be between Rs 11-15 lakhs. Only 10 per cent of the MBAs say are expecting the salaries to be between Rs 16-20 lakhs. 

The prevailing belief is that with marquee brands like Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley collapsing, recruitments in the investment banking and financial services sectors would take the most severe hit. Prospects in the FMCG, Telecom and Retailing sector in contrast would remain stable, believe the MBAs. 

Says Vivek Mandhata of IIM Kozhikode, “There would be companies freezing recruitments, reducing costs, trying to adjust to the new developments but this will be a short term phenomenon and things may settle down later.”

Sushant Thappa of the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi says, “Alternative areas such
as Private Equity, Carbon credits etc. would start becoming more popular among finance students.” 
Other findings of the survey were: McKinsey & Co is the most coveted company for placements, followed by Hindustan Unilever Limited and the Boston Consulting Group. Diversified Indian companies like the Reliance Group and the Tatas are also attractive. Tata Group, in fact, moved up four places on the 'Top 25 Most Coveted MBA Recruiters — 2008’ list. It was ranked as 6th most coveted company
last year.  Last but not least, interest in entrepreneurship has begun to pick up among the Indian MBAs with nearly, 81 per cent of second year MBA students nurturing plans of launching their own business ventures some day.

Now the approximately two million students studying at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in India as well as overseas will be able to select the examination date of their choice. According to IANS reports the newly proposed walk-in exam will give students the “liberty to decide the dates of their exams as  per their own suitability and convenience.”

Said an official from IGNOU, “Students can walk in to the exam hall as and when they choose to take an exam thereby reducing the pressure and bringing down the failure percentage.” IGNOU — that has a huge presence across the globe — officials stated that instead of waiting for the six-monthly term end exam, students could now walk into any identified test centre. Results would be processed on a monthly basis. Initially selected regional centres of the university would conduct the exam once a week on Sunday. However, the frequency could be increased depending on the need. The flexible exam pattern will also reduce the possibility of malpractices as each student will get a different set of question papers and examinations will be conducted with camera surveillance.

In yet another attempt to make life easier for its students, IGNOU has started an SMS service which will be a pilot in the run up for disseminating study material and conducting limited objective tests on mobile phones. The service, which was inagurated by the Vice Chancellor of IGNOU, Prof. VN Rajasekharan  Pillai at the university campus, will enable the university to see that students get SMS alerts from time to time about various developments including the results of term exams. The university would like to harness the power of SMS to support students. IGNOU officials stated that future SMS services will enable students to check their marks, information in their profiles etc.

Yale University, Conn-ecticut, USA has announced major plans to bolster its India connection. For starters, the Yale-India Initiative boasts a US$75 million endowment dedicated to the growth of faculty and curricular programmes in Indian studies at the university. The university will also step up its efforts to attract students and scholars from India, all in an effort to accelerate its India-related programmes, comparable to those it has with China and Japan. The initiative will also intensify student recruitment efforts, faculty and student exchanges, research partnerships and leadership education.
Apart from new faculty appointments, the initiative will also support an increase in the number of visiting faculty and post-doctoral fellows in South Asian studies.

 “The rise of India since the 1990s into a nation of global economic and geo-political consequence compels us to provide a deep and rich curriculum covering all aspects of Indian civilisation - its languages and literatures, religions, history, politics, economics and society. We also need to engage with the problems — such as equitable and sustainable economic development and public health — that confront contemporary India,” said Yale University President, Richard C Levin.

As Yale aims to expand its focus on developing leaders in and from India, Levin said, it is also building on the smaller, existing programmes that the university has initiated in recent years. “The foremost one to mention here is the India-Yale Parliamentary Leadership Program that has brought members of India’s parliament to Yale in the past two years to engage in programmes organised by the Yale faculty,” he said. 

The university is, however, not keen to build a campus in the country. The primary reason being the lack of a strong faculty to run the show, said Levin. Speaking at a session at the trade chambers of FICCI in New Delhi, Levin said, “Ultimately, the reputation of universities is measured by the impact of their graduates and the contributions to knowledge made by their faculties. There is no shortage of smart students in India, China and Korea.  But attracting and developing world-class researchers is a slow process.” Levin went on to add, “as much of the associations happen through active faculty initiatives, we also aim to bolster our associations with universities in India through them.”

 
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom entered into partnership for academic collaboration. Both universities have strategies to develop a small set of core partners for meaningful international collaboration. Said Professor Michael Whitby, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Teaching, Learning and International Affairs, University of Warwick who signed the MoU, “The new partnership will provide exciting international insights and opportunities for UK and Indian research teams already regarded as leading lights in legal and cultural studies.” 

Professor Ramadhikari Kumar, Rector, JNU averred, “JNU is looking forward to an academically driven collaboration matching the academic interests of the JNU faculty and that of the Warwick faculty and it is hoped that the collaboration will be beneficial to both the faculty and students of the two universities.”  

The MoU commits both institutions to a three year programme of active collaboration, through their respective Institutes of Advanced Study in six academic areas namely, Language, Litera-ture and Culture Studies; Social Sciences including Philosophy; Arts and Aesthetics including Theatre Studies; Law and Governance; International Studies including International Legal Studies. The collaboration also envisages special short-term academic programmes, the exchange of students as well as faculty members, joint research activities, participation in seminars and academic meetings and the exchange of academic materials and other information.

 
Education is the most important element for growth and prosperity of a nation. India is in the process of transforming itself into a developed nation by 2020. Yet ,we have 350 million people who need literacy and many more who have to acquire employable skills to suit the emerging modern India and the globe.

Children who belong to weaker sections of our society are under-nourished and only a small percentage of them manage to complete eight years of satisfactory education. We need to think specifically about them. Education is indeed a fundamental right of every Indian child. Can we allow the situation to continue in which millions of these children are forced into life long poverty?

The requirement is that parents should be able to go to any school nearby and admit their children and happily come back home with the confidence that their children will get a good and value based quality education in that school. The conditions of differently-abled children require equally important attention. In view of such critical issues and their importance and also to break out of our historical mindset, an effective and self-renewing education system is therefore fundamental to the survival and growth of civilizations. 

Technology enhanced education
Constraints of time and space together with the rapid obsolescence of knowledge in some areas of science and technology, have created a huge demand for different courses from different institutions in the distance mode. There is a need for a working digital library system that alone can, in the long run, provide the kind of access required for a Knowledge Society. Technology Enhanced Learning is a solution. It attempts to exploit the rapid developments in Information and Communication Technology.

As the communications bandwidth continues to increase and the cost of computer power continues to drop, Technology Enhanced Learning will become an economically viable solution. Virtual classrooms of the future will have students from many locations taught by a team of geographically distributed instructors through the tele-education delivery system.

Ultimately, education in its real sense is the pursuit of truth. It is an endless journey through knowledge and enlightenment. Such a journey opens up new vistas of development of humanism where there is no scope, nor room for pettiness, disharmony, jealousy, hatred or enmity. It transforms a human being into a wholesome whole, a noble soul and an asset to the universe. Universal brotherhood in its true sense becomes the sheet anchor for such an education. Real education enhances the dignity of a human being and increases his or her self-respect. If only the real sense of education could be realised by each individual and carried forward in every field of human activity the world will be so much a better place to live in.

It is reported that 39 per cent of children, drop out from school after studying 5th Class and 55 per cent drop out after studying up to 8th Class. This situation needs remedial action, especially since assent has been accorded to the 86th Constitution Amendment Act - Right to Education Bill for children between the age group of 5 and 14 years.

But an Act alone cannot achieve the goal, unless education is delivered in a manner, which will take into account the socio-ecnomic reality and perception of the people to whom it is addressed. Apart from attracting children to schools, the education system should be able to provide nourishment and inject creativity among them. The aim of the education system should also be to build character, human values, enhance learning capacity through technology and build confidence among children to face the future.

I have seen an education model implemented in Karnataka, which provides accelerated learning using computer aids so that children can have creative learning with the tools of creative animation through computers. Dropouts are identified and brought to the school. This holistic phenomenon of learning once ingrained in the primary stage, where there is a happy learning process and non-threatening evaluation, has led to voluntary learning by the participants.

Mobilising resources for the mission of education Over the last 50 years, successive governments have been committed to achieving the national goal of universal education and has steadily increased the budgetary allocation for education.

However, 35 per cent of our adult population is yet to achieve literacy. The expenditure on education as a percentage of our Gross Domestic Product has a direct impact on our literacy. Today our expenditure on education in India is little more than four  per cent of our GDP. If we have to achieve nearly 100 per cent literacy, it is necessary to increase expenditure on education to about six to seven per cent of GDP. This 2 to 3 per cent increase has to be sustained only for a few years. Thereafter, a lower percentage of GDP allocation to education will be adequate to sustain the high degree of literacy in this country for all time to come.

Clearly, public expenditure alone from governments at the Centre and in the States might not be able to meet the challenge of mobilising an additional two to three  percent of GDP for the mission of education. It is here that we have to generate additional resources for this noble mission.

There are lakhs of students, who come out of India’s engineering colleges every year. But a mere 18%  are employable while a good majority of them  opt for IT related jobs.  What ails our engineering education?  To find an answer, DC Education interacted with Ray Almgren, VP - Product marketing and Academic Relations, National Instruments and Mr. Jayaram Pillai, Managing Director, InDRA, National Instruments, who organize Educators’ Day every year for bringing changes in engineering education.

Excerpts:
 
QWhat is the theme of this year’s educator’s day?
Ray (R): This year we have tried to focus on nurturing innovation and creativity. We want to encourage more students to pursue opportunities in core industries of engineering. They should become job creators and not mere job seekers.

QWhy are students who pass out of our engineering colleges not employable?
Jay (J): There are limited resources available in colleges, when it comes to imparting engineering education. The curriculum needs to be constantly upgraded; to ensure that the gap between industry and academics do not widen further. Besides professors should be given an opportunity to suggest changes in the system.

QHow necessary is creativity in engineering education?
(J): Creativity is necessary in every field. There is a need to motivate students constantly about opportunities available. India’s engineering students are very good in theoretical concepts. All we need to focus on is make their education more practical based to attain success and give them training in all fields.

QWill the global meltdown force students to look beyond Information Technology (IT) jobs?  Will other fields  gain significance once again?
(R): It is true that the percentage of students who go into core engineering jobs is less. The economic crisis will be influential in changing perceptions to an extent. Also, after a few years we all might thank IT for atleast creating initial interest in technical jobs, from whereon students start nurturing creativity by doing something on their own.

QIs the fear of becoming an entrepreneur greater among Indian engineering students?
(R): We need to avoid bringing in them the fear of failure. We might not be able to create 100 Einsteins, but we will definitely create an environment that is conducive in letting students explore their instincts. Allow them to start company and fail. That will motivate them.

QHow does National Instruments help colleges in doing that?
(J): We have different approaches towards different colleges and there is no fixed framework. We are trying to bring in graphical system design based teaching methodology in institutes, wherein training will be multi-disciplinary. It is building of different systems with graphical programming so that images convey the meaning. We are also giving training to the faculty so that they stay updated on industry requirements.
 
QMany schools these days have contests like Robotix, to arouse the interest of students in hard core engineering subjects. Do you think it is necessary to tap their interests at that age?
(R): It is a great move ahead to sensitise students right at the early age. At times they discover certain things which even experts can’t. Such things will definitely take India way ahead in changing the face of engineering education.

The need of the hour are analytical and integrative skills, technical and functional skills, and integrity and ethical leadership. The thrust of the CFA programme is on improving the skill-sets of students to enable them build successful careers. The CFA course is considered an ideal qualification in finance as it is investment focused and employers today rely more on executives possessing additional qualifications preferably professional accreditations like the CFA module.

There is also no dearth of opportunities for CFAs. Openings exist across all sectors of financial markets-credit, debt, foreign exchange, money and capital. Employment opportunities are available with investment banks, private equity companies, KPO’s, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, mutual funds, wealth management firms, rating agencies, equity research firms, consultancy firms, pension funds, foundations, investment companies, research firms, insurers, personal financial planners, wealth managers, universities, colleges etc. Government, regulatory agencies, commodity exchanges and stock exchanges also provide openings. Students could also become credit analysts — those who rate the credit worthiness of different companies. Opportunities are also available to work independently as investment advisors and consultants. Valuation experts are also in great demand. 

 Phenomenal changes have taken place on the business and economic front, post economic liberalisation and globalisation. Understanding developments like interest rate volatility, fluctuating exchange rates, high levels of inflation, oil prices as well as structured financial products (the new weapons in the market), are a must for the finance and investment professionals of tomorrow. The finance function has gained in significance as global markets have become demanding in terms of performance and disclosure requirements.

The gap between learning and doing needs to be bridged. The student needs to appreciate the magnitude and dimension of the changes taking place in the financial environment. The CFA programme believes in developing 21st century finance professionals and this requires three types of skills: basic, application and integrative. The programme recognises the need to impart additional inputs as future careers are certain to place analytical skills and integrative skills at a premium. 

In order to apply to the programme, a candidate must be a graduate in any discipline with 45 per cent and above marks. The duration of the programme is 24 months and it is also available in the accelerated mode for CAs, CWAs, CSs and MBAs with finance as their major. MBAs should have secured 70 per cent marks or a CGPA of 7 with a minimum of 4 finance elective subjects. The duration of the programme for them is 12 months.

The CFA Programme is developed to cater to the present and future needs of the investment industry. The programme has five focus areas - Financial Markets, Analysis and Valuation, Portfolio Management, Mutual and Other Funds and Code of Conduct. ICFAI University also offers Dual Degree Programmes like CFA-MSF, CPA-CFA and MBA-CFA.  Once qualified a CFA’s average salary starts at Rs. 3 lakhs per annum and it can range up to Rs. 6 lakhs per annum depending upon various factors.

Responding to the changing demands of a slowing market, NIIT has rolled out a slew of fast-track, industry-friendly programmes that, the trainer claims would make graduates job ready in 99-200 days.   The six new programmes launched under the fast-track banner for final year students are in Java, .Net developers, Web 2.0., Creative Publishing, Systems & Networking, Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing. Designed as Postgraduate Diploma level programmes, these short courses are geared to make students immediately deployable in the market. Experts also content that when a market begins to slow down, the best option for entry level professionals is to up-skill themselves. 

“Instead of entering the market when there are fewer tech jobs, this is ideally the time for graduates to opt for postgraduation, or for a BCA to enroll in an MCA programme,” remarked a career counsellor. “However if there are shorter courses available, so much the better,” she adds. 

The duration of the seven new NIIT programmes is anywhere between 99 to 200 days. This implies that these students would be ripe for the picking when the market rebounds in a few months, as analysts hope it would. Announcing the launch of these new programmes, G Raghavan, President, Global Individual Learning Solu-tions, NIIT Ltd. remarked, “The designing of these programmes reflects our commitment to the industry and to the student community.” 

Priced between Rs. 25,000-  Rs. 40,000 and to be made available at all NIIT centres, the programmes might help students reskill or upskill themselves when there are fewer jobs going around.

Its not just management students who opt for exchange programme with foreign universities,  students from premier law schools in the country too are heading to foreign shores to study the legal system in those countries. To provide a wholesome education, many educational institutions offer exchange programmes to its students, who may opt to spend a semester in a foreign university that their home university is in partnership with.  Interestingly, both private and national law schools have incorporated this programme into their academic options.  For instance the National Law school of India University ( NLSIU), Bengaluru and NALSAR, Hyderabad have partnerships with many universities in countries such as United States, Canada, Australia and Singapore.

The best part of the exchange programme is the flexibility for  students. They have the option to choose any of the subjects that the law schools provide during that semester. For instance, a third year law student can opt for a first year course, if the subject appeals to him.  International experience at a foreign law school has become exceedingly important for law students.

While students from India who can afford to spend on this trip are more than willing to go, students abroad are a little apprehensive about opting for an Indian exchange.  “One of the major problems faced is that exchanges are not properly coordinated. There is no separate department, or staff that is equipped to deal with visa queries, or language problems. Simple information is hard to find. Currently, not many are keen on coming to India . There isn’t much exposure, they are not aware of how things function in India,” says Manav Kapur of NALSAR University of Law.

Yet many students concur that meeting new people from different backgrounds and cultures really helps one look outside your own little well and have a better understanding of the world.  Besides, studying different legal perspectives broadens the student’s perception of the different ways in which the same subjects can be approached.

``And being so far away from friends and family works both ways- it teaches you to adjust and become a more self-reliant person. But homesickness is something that can rarely be done away with.” Says Pavini Emiko Singh from NALSAR University of Law.  Such an experience is not limited to an academic understanding alone.  “It gave me a brand new perspective on things. The entire experience changed the way I looked and felt about many issues.” Says Manojna Yeluri of NALSAR, who had recently been on an exchange with Griffith Univeristy, Australia.

Unlike popular misconception that a semester abroad would be a vacation of sorts, the experience will not be all fun and games.  The trip may prove to be an expensive one for some students; who will be forced to do part-time jobs to pay their rent or that take-away meal that qualifies for dinner.  All said and done these exchange programmes have a lot more to offer than just principles of law and the like - it is a lesson that you carry with you for life.

Students of the International Programme in Management for executives (IPMX), the 1-year MBA at IIM Lucknow Noida Campus, interacted with Dr. J. J. Irani, Director, Tata Sons, through a half-day workshop on Business Ethics on their campus. 

 Dr. Irani, who is also the Chairman, Board of Governors at IIM-L, presented an overview of the values and belief systems that have built and sustained the Tata image and philosophy till today. He identified trust, vision, integrity, credibility, relevance and compatibility as values ingrained in the Tata’s philosophy of conducting their business.
He  demonstrated through various examples and personal experiences how values are not a handicap but an advantage to businesses, the benefits of which may not be immediately visible. He gave examples from the recent past of successful entrepreneurs in India who have displayed some of the core values that Tata has stood for.

On distribution of wealth, he strongly emphasized that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be built on a sustainable model.  He illustrated the point through certain failed businesses that had generated consistent losses despite government backing and yet chose to be philanthropic, in effect using tax-payers’ money and not self-generated profits to promote public causes. 

 Dr. Irani was however  of the view that what comes from people should go back to the people. Ethics are about making choices that may not always feel good or seem like they benefit you, but are the “right” choices to make.