Interview with Dr. Muddu Vinay (Pro-Vice Chancellor of IFHE Off-Campus Center/ IBS Bangalore)

In this exclusive conversation with Careers360, Dr. Muddu Vinay, Pro-Vice Chancellor of IFHE Off-Campus Center (ICFAI Business School Bangalore) shares his insightful experiences and perspectives. In this article, he talks about the vision, mission, admission, internships, international collaborations, and more.

IBS Business School (IBS) Bangalore is a private college established in the year 1995. IBS Bangalore is a constituent college of the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, Hyderabad, and IBS Bangalore courses include an MBA. For IFHE Bangalore admission students must meet the specific eligibility criteria for their chosen specialisations.

Careers360: Tell us something about the institute; when it was set up, its vision, and its mission.

Dr. Muddu Vinay: ICFAI Business School (IBS) Bangalore was established in 1995, by its legendary founder, the late Sri. N J Yasaswy, simultaneously along with five others in different parts of the country. The objective was to provide industry-oriented and high-quality post-graduate management education to the Indian youth. The vision of the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE) - of which IBS Bangalore is a part - is to emerge as an institution of excellence known for research, teaching and practice.

The mission is to develop a cadre of professionals possessing specialized skills having a sense of social and moral responsibility, and the ability to address problems from a broader perspective. In 2022, IBS Bangalore became an off-campus center of ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), a UGC-recognized Deemed-to-be-University, headquartered in Hyderabad.

Careers360: Tell us something about the admission process.

Dr. Muddu Vinay: There are nine campuses of IBS – at Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Dehradun, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Admission to the MBA/PGPM program at all these campuses happens through a common procedure. The prospective candidates go through an aptitude test called IBSAT, which is conducted in December each year. Scores obtained in other admission tests such as CAT, NMAT, etc., are also considered; and those who have missed applying for IBSAT can approach our marketing offices located at various places all over the country.

The shortlisted candidates are invited for a common selection process at Hyderabad during February, where they are evaluated further based on a micro presentation and personal interview. The marks scored during X standard, XII standard and graduation also carry significant weightage. The overall scores and ranking are arrived at on an objective basis, and the selected students are informed of the campuses they are eligible for, based on their overall merit.

Careers360: What kind of infrastructure can students expect at the institute? Please elaborate.

Dr. Muddu Vinay: All IBS campuses are well-equipped with the latest facilities, both academic and extra-academic. At IBS Bangalore, we have a 23-acre campus with an excellent academic building, extensive greenery, open spaces and several playgrounds. The classrooms are equipped with smart boards, wi-fi, projectors, multiple cameras and audio-visual facilities to conduct both offline, online and hybrid classes.

A Bloomberg Lab with financial & analytical tools, and an incubation center for nurturing start-up ventures are important features worth a mention. Needless to say that we have a large computer lab, Analytics lab, gym, music room, and canteens catering to different tastes, to name just a few of the additional facilities.

Careers360: There is a lot of stress that is being made about interaction with the industry as well as companies that recruit. What are the steps being taken by the institute in this direction?

Dr. Muddu Vinay: IBS Bangalore has built up a carefully nurtured strong association with industry over the 25 years of its existence. Our Corporate partners are part of committees like IQAC and syllabus/Program review for bringing industry relevance to the curriculum. We have the practice of inviting industry professionals for guest lectures as part of every course.

They are also invited as Practicing Manager to take up a part of the course load for bringing in the business perspective to the learning process. Industry professionals (including recruiters) also participate as resource persons for mock interviews, keynote speakers, panel members, judges, and so on, for various events happening on the campus. Some of them are also available as mentors to guide our students in their areas of specialization. The same applies to our strong and extensive alumni network, many of whom are now in very senior positions.

Careers360: Internships are now mandatory as per AICTE guidelines. Does the institute help students with this? If yes, how?

Dr. Muddu Vinay: A 12-week summer internship between the first and second years of the MBA Program is an integral part of our curriculum, and carries significant academic weightage. This is almost like a semester in itself, and each student goes through this without exception. The institute has a robust system for getting summer internships of good learning value for its students, through its network of industry contacts.

The three-month-long summer internship has been in vogue ever since IBS came into existence and serves to provide hands-on industry experience. Every year more than 150 companies provide internships to our students. CSB Bank, HDFC, ICICI, Iresh Consultants, ITC, Deccan Herald, BNY Mellon, Future Generali, Bharti Axa, Airtel, Akshay Kalpa, Lodha Group, Marriot, Holiday Inn, Taj Group, etc are some of the prominent recruiters for internship.

Careers360: Can you please share details if there is any collaboration with universities abroad?

Dr. Muddu Vinay: IBS Bangalore has MOUs with around a dozen organizations to strengthen its academic and research capabilities. Some of these are NASSCOM, CISCO, Soft Computing Research Society (SCRS), IWN CII, and CMS IT services. We are also in touch with several universities abroad to work out mutually beneficial means of collaboration and student/faculty exchange. Some of our students and faculty regularly pay visits to universities abroad as part of the annual global immersion program.

Careers360: Please share placement statistics with information on the average package, highest and lowest package, number of students placed, and details of companies that have recruited.

Dr. Muddu Vinay: We had a good placement haul during 2024. The average package was Rs. 7.40 lakhs per annum. The highest and lowest packages during the IFHE Bangalore placements were Rs. 13 lakhs and Rs. 4.5 lakhs per annum respectively. The number of students placed was 258. There are a large number of companies that recruit at IBS Bangalore, year after year. Accenture, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Deloitte, Oracle, Tata Capital, British Paints, Arvind Smart Spaces, No Broker, and MakeMyTrip are some of the prominent recruiters.

Disclaimer: This article is published as a marketing initiative between ICFAI Business School Bangalore, and Careers360.