Know About S P. Jain Institute of Management and Research Mumbai: Interview with Mr. Ramessh Misshra, Director

SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) Mumbai, was established in 1981, by the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s group. In an exclusive webinar with Carrers360, Mr. Ramessh Misshra, Director of Marketing and Admissions at SPJIMR, Mumbai has shared various details about the S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research courses, admission and selection process, international exposure, internships, placements, etc.

SPJIMR Mumbai offers courses at the postgraduate levels in Management and Business Administration streams. SPJIMR, Mumbai courses include Post Graduate Diploma in Management, Post Graduate Programme in Management, Post Graduate Executive Management Programme, Post Graduate Management Programme for Women, Post Graduate Programme in Development Management, Post Graduate Programme in Family Managed Business and Fellow Programme in Management. According to the SPJIMR, Mumbai placements 2023, the highest International CTC offered to students is Rs. 77.88 LPA, while the highest domestic CTC is Rs. 67.50 LPA. Additionally, students have the opportunity to apply for various scholarships, including Merit cum Means Based Financial Assistance and others. To know more about SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai go through the complete interview of Mr. Ramessh Misshra with Careers360.

Careers360: Describe the journey of SPJIMR since its inception?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: SP Jain Institute of Management and Research is popularly known as SPJIMR. The institute was established in 1981 by Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s group with a mission to create global business leaders which will be required for society. Initially in 1981, for a few years, SPJIMR was associated with Mumbai University to provide an MMS degree. In 1992, the institute parted ways with Mumbai University to have its own identity as ‘SPJIMR’. Gradually, the institute got approval from AICTE and started offering the first programme- PGDM. And eventually, we started coming up with other programes depending on the student's requirements. We have PGPM (for students with work experience), Post Graduate Executive Management Programme (to cater to executive education), a management development programme, we have a programme for women who took a career break, and now want to start their corporate life once again, called Post Graduate Management Programme for Women (PGMPW). We have only 1 campus in Mumbai and 1 centre in Delhi (for part-time courses).

Also Read: SPJIMR Mumbai Courses and Fees

Careers360: Could you please elaborate on the eligibility of the courses offered at SPJIMR, and if there are any restrictions depending upon the chosen course?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: To be eligible for the PGDM course which is equivalent to an MBA, students who are in their final year of graduation can apply, graduates can apply and those who are working can also apply to the offered courses. Talking about the restrictions for PGDM, people having work experience of up to 5 years can apply for the 2-year, full-time residential programme. For students having experience of over 5 years, SPJIMR has different sets of programmes to offer. In 2022 SPJIMR started with an extended version of the PGDM programme called PGDM (Business Management) which caters to the general management track, where students have a choice to prepare their own module of specialisations. In PGDM, currently, we are offering 4 specialisations- Marketing, Finance, Information Management, and Operations and supply chain.

Careers360: Does SPJIMR accept only CAT or there is any other entrance examination accepted by the institute for admissions?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: For both programmes- PGDM and PGDM (BM) students can apply through CAT, but GMAT scores are accepted as well. Candidates have the liberty to apply through CAT or GMAT. Right now admissions are open for the academic year 2024-26, so SPJIMR is accepting CAT 2023 scores (conducted on November 26, 2023), and not CAT 2022 scores. For GMAT- last 5 years valid score will be applicable. Since the last date to apply for SPJIMR admissions is November 24, students applying through CAT may edit their application form and submit their CAT score as and when their results are out, and students applying through GMAT, can submit their scores by December 31, 2023.

Careers360: Most of the time, it's seen that engineering graduates do well in exams like CAT. What do you have to say about it?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: Majority of the time engineers are participating more in the CAT exam and other such exams so as their population is higher, chances of clearing the exam are also high from their end. So, I will not say that because they are engineers that is why they are cracking even the B.Com graduates do crack, it is purely based on the preparation from the student's end. Students just have to focus on their concepts and basics and they will be able to crack the exam.

See Also: SPJIMR Mumbai Admission

Careers360: Does experience matter when it comes to admissions? What parameters does SPJIMR use to evaluate students?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: We have clearly listed on our admission handout as well that there are certain parameters to evaluate students like- academics, work experience, extra-curricular activities, co-curricular activities, versatility, and achievements. So these are the things that will be tested by the admission panel.

Careers360: Could you please describe the admission process followed by SPJIMR Mumbai?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: We have two kinds of shortlisting methods. One shortlisting is done purely based on the profile of the applicant, based on academics, work experience, etc., excluding the student's GMAT/CAT scores. The second shortlisting is 'profile-cum-score-shortlisting'. Then there is two round of interviews- one interview will be completely talking about the specialisations students choosing, academics, work experience, etc. The second round of interviews will be to understand a student as a person in psychological terms. This year we have decided to hold both rounds of interviews in a physical format in four centres in India- Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Bengaluru.

Careers360: Are there any new initiatives that SPJIMR has introduced to make the admission process more robust?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: I will not say new initiatives, but there is a change, compared to last year that we brought up. Earlier there were two parts of an application form- Part A and Part B. The Part B section was supposed to be filled by the shortlisted candidates in the next stage but last year we merged Part A and Part B, and later found, it was time-consuming for applicants. So this year we brought back the earlier format of Part A and Part B in an application form.

Also Read: SPJIMR Mumbai Placements

Careers360: How does one choose specialisations?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: Sometimes or many times, students have a mindset, for example, a student with an Engineering background would think to go with information management or operations and supply chain management because these subjects are near to Engineering subjects, and they might think that they would do better in these subjects, but in my opinion, students should not choose like this. But students should think, about what kind of career role they want to have, and what kind of profile they would want to have after completing their MBA, and based on that profile they should think about what kind of specialisations would be required for that particular role. So, I would suggest students that they should not look at their past but plan their future.

Careers360: What are the benefits one gets after opting for PGDM (BM)?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: The PGDM (BM) is not a dual specialisation course but about general management. Nowadays many corporates need a general management person and not someone specialising in Marketing or Finance. Students will learn everything in the first year, like marketing, finance, organisational behaviour, operations, and supply chain. In the second year, students will be allowed to choose different modules that they would require in general management, they will not be a specialist but can build their own profiles as general managers, and that's the advantage. They can choose 2 modules, 3, or 4 it's up to students.

Other Links: SPJIMR Mumbai Cutoffs

Careers360: What could be the SPJIMR cutoff for the CAT exam, if you could give us an indicator about the cutoff?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: We have been addressing this question on a day-to-day basis. It is really difficult for me to predict what will be the SPJIMR cutoff. So we encourage students to check the basic minimum eligibility we have kept, like 85% marks, and to apply first for admissions. We have seen that there are students who have good work experience for like 2-3 years in an MNC, have been toppers, been in extra-curricular activities and so have a good profile but their score might be 90%, so in such cases, I would encourage students to try it out and submit their application, SPJIMR team will be evaluating the application, profile, score, and everything, and based on this evaluation an individual person will be shortlisted for the next round. It is a myth, that students with 97% - 98% scores would have a chance to get shortlisted because we do have students who scored 90% but they have a good profile and work experience and we do have students with 99.8% and 99.9% percentile in our batches. I would encourage students to apply for the course and let the panel decide whether they could be a good candidate for SPJIMR or not. All I can say to students is to perform well in the CAT/ GMAT exam because that's something that is in their control right now.

Read Also: SPJIMR Mumbai Facilities

Careers360: How does internship benefit students?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: Internships do play an important role during MBA days. It deals with whatever students studied during the course and how they would be able to apply it practically in the field. Most of the time paid internships are offered at SPJIMR, Mumbai. Also, we have seen that students get a PPO (pre-placement offers) from the companies as they have seen the work of the students during the internship period. Additionally, we have a dedicated placement cell to take care of student's internships and final SPJIMR placements. S P Jain Institute of Management and Research also provides international exposure to students where they are provided 3 weeks of international immersion. Students go to top B-Schools in foreign countries like the USA, UK, etc., and be a part of their learning process. S P Jain Institute of Management and Research Mumbai also have a student exchange programme.

Careers360: Is there a certain kind of eligibility to fulfill for students to get international exposure?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: Yes, there is a certain kind of eligibility, like the student's interest, the requirement of the student's exchange programme, CGPA, internal marks, etc.

Careers360: Tell us about the available scholarships at SPJIMR Mumbai?

Mr. Ramessh Misshra: SPJIMR Mumbai has scholarship facilities available for students based on the merit of the students. Scholarships details are available on the official website. The total amount for scholarships is up to Rs 1.5 - Rs 2 cr after fulfilling certain conditions. 3 categories of scholarships are available that one can find on the SPJIMR official website. However, students must note that these scholarships are not fee waivers, they will have to complete the due process at the time of admission. After the admissions, a committee will evaluate the eligibility of a student who applied for scholarships, based on certain criteria, S P Jain Institute of Management and Research scholarships will be awarded to meritorious students. So, scholarships at SPJIMR are not waivers but an award.

Disclaimer: This content was distributed by S P Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, and has been published as part of Careers360’s marketing initiative.