Know All About IBS (ICFAI Business School) - Admissions, Programmes, Placements and more.

In this candid interview, Careers360 discusses all about ICFAI Business Schools with a panel comprising of Prof S.C.Sharma (Senior Director, IBS Gurgaon), Dr Shweta Jain (Dean and Program Head, IBS Jaipur), Dr Vivek Ranga (Director, IBS Ahmedabad) and Mr Jatin Tandon (Vice President-Marketing at IBS Business School). Read more about the IBS mission and vision, admissions, pedagogy, placements etc.

About: Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) was established in the year 1984 as a not-for-profit society to empower citizens through quality education. ICFAI Business School Hyderabad was established in 1995. IBS Hyderabad is a constituent of the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), and was declared a Deemed to be University under section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956. It is accredited by Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Careers360: Describe the journey of ICFAI Business School since inception.

Prof S.C.Sharma: ICFAI Business School (IBS) was set up in 1984 by a great visionary Professor N.J. Yasaswy. He thought that management education should be made accessible to every nook and corner of the country. The result is that today we have 12 universities, 9 IBS Schools, 7 ICFAI Law Schools and 7 ICFAI Tech Institutions. His vision was that education must become relevant to the industry and that the students we produce should be industry-ready even while they are receiving education at ICFAI Business Schools.

Prof. N.J. Yasaswy ensured that the faculty at IBS were 50% from the industry. There is a very close interface between academia-industry. This proves beneficial when an institute has professionals drawn from the industry as regular faculty, visiting faculty, guest speakers. Today we have an alumni base of more than 65,000 students who are working in some of the best companies in India in top positions. This is a strong point because our students will go to work in the industry where they already have our alumni established.

Careers360: What are the unique features that set IBS apart from the other BSchools?

Dr. Vivek Ranga: There are three unique features - “Teaching, Student Activity and Industry Interface”.

Teaching: The basic objective is of how we remain relevant and contemporary as the business world is changing very fast. For every course, we first look at what is happening in the industry and incorporate it to make teaching very engaging. Our focus also remains to ensure students can apply what they learn from the field projects, internships and placements.

Student Activity: This is important if we consider that students spend a lot of time beyond the classroom. Learning also happens outside the classroom.

Industry Interface: ICFAI Business School is known for its strong industry interface. Industries not only come during the placement time but they are present during the admissions process, induction, practising sessions. As a result of this interaction, placements and internships happen.

Dr. Shweta Jain: I would use one word to describe us and that is ‘Culture’. What makes us stand apart is the IBS culture. Practices can be copied but culture can never be copied. At IBS, we establish a culture that starts right from the time when we take the students. We pick students with the right attitude, aptitude, aspiration and identify that they are developable and trainable so we can make a difference and shape their lives.

The second one is teaching methodology or pedagogy. Experiential learning or action learning is not talked about but implemented because we impart totally case study-based teaching methodology.

In IBS we believe that diversity is a fact and inclusion is a behaviour. We attract students from across the country from all academic and socio-economic backgrounds. The assimilation and the cultural amalgamation that we impart prepares the students for the global scenario. The way we bring inclusion into the practices sets us different from other institutions.

Careers360: The courses offered are MBA/PGDM. What is the difference between the two programmes?

Mr. Jatin Tandon: Yes, we offer both programmes. We offer PGPM at five IBS campuses and MBA at four IBS campuses namely Hyderabad, Bangalore, Dehradun and Jaipur. At all the other five campuses, we offer a Postgraduate Programme in Management. There is no difference other than the structure of the programmes. The choice of PGDM or MBA always depends on the intent after the course completion. The industry however treats both on par.

Last year the highest national placement for IBS was Rs. 21 LPA. This year, IBS Gurgaon bagged a placement of Rs. 25 LPA which is the national highest package. Coming to the IBS Dehradun campus, the highest international package for this year is more than Rs. 35 LPA. Because the kind of input that IBS gives irrespective of PGPM or MBA are same across the centres.

Careers360: What are the various MBA/PGDM programmes offered at IBS? Please elaborate with eligibility specifications and campuses they are offered at.

Mr. Jatin Tandon: The admission eligibility is that the student has to be a graduate with 50% aggregate marks with an English medium background. If the student does not have an English medium background, we accept TOEFL scores as well as others. Candidates in their final year are also eligible to apply for admission. The proof of passing must be submitted by November.

Prof S.C.Sharma: Each campus offers a different set of specialisations. For eg. IBS Gurgaon offers Marketing, Finance, Analytics and HR. We offer Operations as an elective. Finance, Marketing and HR specialisations are offered at all the campuses.

Mr. Jatin Tandon: In addition to these specialisations, we have got eight strong electives. The eight electives are unique in nature and all the segments in the industries are covered under these electives.

Dr. Vivek Ranga: Students are guided, counselled in 2nd semester about the specialisations to choose. In the 2nd semester, we get alumni to talk about their career journeys. We also have recruiters coming in and talking to students. We also hold a few counselling sessions and roadshows so that when students have to choose the specialisation for 3rd and 4th semesters, they can do so easily. They have to take 4 electives in 3rd semester and 4 in the 4th semester.

Our advice to students is to look at their interest areas, the aptitude that is required and finally at the opportunities existing in the field and the trends as well as growth.

Careers360: Scores of GMAT, NMAT by GMAC, CAT and XAT are accepted for admissions. In such a case, why IBSAT? What are the benefits?

Mr. Jatin Tandon: Yes, we accept the scores of CAT, GMAT, NMAT and XAT scores in addition to the IBSAT scores. In one line if I say why IBSAT?: If you are interested in reducing your fee by around Rs. 2 lakhs then IBSAT.

Last year, we introduced scholarships worth Rs. 10 crores. The top 500 rank holders of iBSAT are eligible for a Rs. 2 lakhs scholarship. This directly reduces your fee by that amount. IBSAT is just a qualifying examination. IBSAT scores do not have any weightage in the admission process. The past academic record (10th, 12th and graduation) has a weightage of 50% while the remaining 50% is for the GD-PI performances.

Careers360: Please give insights on the IBSAT exam – pattern, marking scheme, scores, syllabus etc.

Mr. Jatin Tandon: IBSAT has four sections: Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Adequacy and Data Interpretation. A total of 140 questions have to be answered in 120 minutes. There is no negative marking and no sectional limit either. It is a home-based remote proctored online test, offering flexibility of being taken from any location.

As for the IBSAT syllabus, it is similar to CAT but much easier than that. Students can check the mock IBSAT papers available on the IBS website (ibsindia.org). We also have the IBSAT National Mock Test where the first-prize winner will get a voucher for Rs. 10,000 and the remaining 99 students will get Rs. 2,000 each.

Student: Do all top 500 IBSAT scorers get full scores? Will selection be based on the scores?

Mr. Jatin Tandon: The scholarship is based completely on the IBSAT examination. Your selection in one of the IBS Campuses is based on your IBSAT result. From January 6 to 14, students with their parents are asked to confirm their dates for the selection briefing where they can ask their queries and doubts. After the session, students will be called to the ICFAI Hyderabad campus between February 10 to 18, 2024. Students who have any exams on those dates can send a mail to the admission officer and give 3 alternative dates. The session at Hyderabad is for a day where group discussion and personal interviews are held for a batch of 12 students. Selection will be on the performance in this.

Students will be asked to fill up their choices amongst the nine campuses. Allotment of the campus will be merit based.

Student: I am in the final year of my degree. I have one backlog in my 3rd semester. Will I be able to get admission for an MBA before clearing my backlog?

Mr. Jatin Tandon: You should clear the backlog before November 1, 2023 else you are not eligible for admissions. So please apply only if you are sure to clear the exams.

Student: Hi I'm from a Pharmacy background. Will the Health Administration course benefit me?

Prof S.C.Sharma: Pharmacy is a growing sector. All pharmacy companies both multinational and domestic have been instructed by the government to employ students coming from the management stream. These students can communicate better with doctors, patients and hospital authorities. So a management degree for a Pharmacy graduate should help them reach the top.

Student: Do IBS Jaipur & Dehradun have HR specialisation? Please give details on the scope.

Dr. Shweta Jain: Yes they do. While roles, and opportunities are available for all profiles and domains, you need to be adequately skilled in this. Recruiters have a different set of expectations for HR students. Placements eventually happen in all nine campuses, even in IBS Jaipur and IBS Dehradun. For eg. TCS and even EY have chosen HR candidates as per their requirements. However, the specialisation should be chosen after a careful consideration of various factors, aptitude and interest.

Careers360: Generally candidates with work experience have a good chance. What about fresh graduates? What are the IBS policies in this regard?

Dr. Shweta Jain: For admissions, there is no weightage given for the work experience or for freshers. It completely depends on the individual's performance in the group discussion and interview.

Careers360: What are the new initiatives undertaken by IBS to ensure the admission process is robust?

Prof S.C.Sharma: The first thing is that our syllabus changes according to the market trends. The second initiative - we have practising new managers for problem-solving and decision-making in the given context. Finally, there will be a soft skill specialist, placement manager, professor of economics, marketing, finance or accounts who help in preparing the contemporary subjects.

Dr. Shweta Jain: The admission process into the IBS takes place in three steps. The first step involves the eligibility criteria based on the qualifying examination. The second step involves the performance of the candidates in academics, group discussion and personal interview. The final step is students coming with their parents to seek clarity about the admission process and IBS systems.

Student (M R Mishra): What is the advantage of joining PGDM after my graduation in Zoology? What specialisation can I take in PGDM?

Prof S.C.Sharma: The advantage given to the pharmacy graduate applies to students with a zoology background as well.

Student: I got a good score in NMAT. Should I apply for IBSAT just for the scholarships?

Mr. Jatin Tandon: If you think a scholarship of Rs 2 lakhs is useful, then you are advised to write IBSAT. If your NMAT score is more than 150, then you will get a call for the Hyderabad selection process.

The IBS fee structure varies from campus to campus ranging from Rs. lakhs to 16 lakhs. Coming to the campus-wise fee structure IBS Dehradun and Jaipur fee is Rs. 3 lakhs per annum. The IBS Bangalore fee is Rs. 6 lakhs per annum whereas, the IBS Hyderabad fee is Rs. 8 lakhs per annum.

If you think you can reduce a financial burden by Rs. 2 lakhs then it will be better to go for IBSAT.

Careers360: What is the batch size at IBS?

Mr. Jatin Tandon: There are 60 students per section. In a campus like Mumbai there are around 1100 students, more than 300 students are present in the Jaipur campus, 600 in Gurgaon, 450-500 in Bangalore, 200+ at IBS Kolkata and around 150-175 students in Dehradun.

Careers360: How is the industry connection facilitated throughout the course?

Dr. Vivek Ranga: Industry people are invited to a lot of events. We have a lot of interactions with more than 700 recruiters coming to the 9 campuses. In May, industry experts take 3-4 sessions where students get an insight into the industry trends and requirements. Finally, students are helped while deciding on internships and placements.

Careers360: What are the steps taken by IBS for the holistic development of the students as in extracurriculars and other measures?

Prof S.C.Sharma: The day students join IBS we try to create an environment in which students can develop good communication skills, computation, and attitude which induce collaboration. It is not only in classrooms but also through 30 clubs run by students themselves. The students are given a budget to run these and the faculty encourages them to make decisions. Students learn to manage different things that help them develop vision and entrepreneurial skills. Apart from this, we have a language lab which helps the students to communicate effectively with professors.

Dr. Shweta Jain: The courses do not teach students time, adversity and network management as these are learned through experience. We put students into domain clubs, marketing, economics, finance, performing arts, music, photography, visual arts, designing and many such clubs. When students organise activities by themselves they learn management of time, resources, money, technology, developing creativity quotient, making decisions identifying which route to go and many things like that. The process ensures learning through a lot of activities and events.

Student (Adveka): Do you have any international exchange programmes? Is it equivalent to doing an MBA abroad?

Prof S.C.Sharma: IBS campuses other than Hyderabad offer an international self-financed programme of 10 days to Europe, the Middle East and other countries. In this programme, students who choose to go for this, are given exposure to industry and teams there as well as an insight into the different work cultures.

Careers360: How important are accreditations, in your perspective, and why should students look for this?

Dr. Shweta Jain: Accreditations are feedback mechanisms. They have different criteria such as academic infrastructure, curriculum, course design, mapping of the programme outcome with the contents of individual courses, the faculty capital, the intellectual capital, research and publications that we generate. A lot of weightage is given to the alumni interface or student welfare. However, accreditations facilitate an understanding on how the institution fares on all the above-mentioned parameters. Apart from this, IBS also looks into industry connections, campus experience and many more things.

Prof S.C.Sharma: Our campus in Hyderabad is AACSB-accredited which gives global standard accreditation to the institution. Students should not ignore rankings and ratings. Before taking admissions into the college it would be better for students to look into the alumni feedback to know better on how the industry works and its norms.

Careers360: Can you please give details regarding the practical training and internships at IBS?

Dr. Vivek Ranga: A unique internship programme of 3 months is provided to the students from the second week of February to the last week of May. We also have a faculty guide who visits the organisation and jointly works with students. The faculty also take feedback on the student's performance in the past, behaviour and punctuality. Students get corporate exposure on how to work in an office, and the behaviour of the people in an organisation and many other things. We give field projects to the students as part of internships so that students get practical exposure by visiting the industry and observing the work.

Careers360: What are the latest placement statistics at IBS? Please throw light on recruiters as well as roles.

Dr. Vivek Ranga: The placements happen in different cohorts starting from September to February. We prepare the students for placements from July to September as some of the organisations conduct different tests. The inputs for the placements are given from the first semester onwards. We now have 700 recruiters. IBS average salary package ranges from Rs. 8 lakhs to Rs. 10 lakhs. 30-35% of the major recruiting team comes from the banking and financial sectors, BFSI Sector followed by Wipro, Bank of America and Bank of Europe. We also monitor international placements very closely.

Careers360: Lastly – what would be your message to all aspirants and admission seekers?

Mr. Jatin Tandon: I would suggest that students choose the colleges in the month of March itself. The last date for IBSAT application is December 16, 2023.

Prof S.C.Sharma: IBS aims to give you lifelong success so choose wisely.

Dr. Shweta Jain: We, as a family will help you to shape your career.

Dr. Vivek Ranga: Believe in yourself and look for an institution that looks forward with you and helps you grow.

About the Interviewers

Dr. Vivek Ranga, Director at ICFAI Business School, Ahmedabad. Dr. Vivek is a graduate in Physics with postgraduation in Management and completed PhD in advertising effectiveness and FDPM from IIM-Ahmedabad. Dr Vivek comes with the experience of 21 years of teaching as a marketing faculty with teaching interests in Marketing Communication, Retail Management and B2B Marketing. He is visiting Faculty at the University of Paderborn, Germany, the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad and IIIT Allahabad.

Prof S.C.Sharma, Senior Director, IBS Gurgaon. Prof S.C.Sharma studied at the University of Delhi (Institute of Economic Growth), Bath University, England and Pennsylvania University USA. Prof SC Sharma belongs to the Indian Economic Services, batch of 1971 and is an economist, having highly versatile experience of over 45 years in economics and financial analysis, management and teaching.

Dr. Shweta Jain, Dean and Program Head, IBS Jaipur. Dr. Shweta Jain comes with experience of 19 years as an educationist, academic administrator and soft skills trainer. She has a versatile academic milieu including PhD (management), an Executive Program in Human Resource Management from IIM-Calcutta, an Executive Program in HR Analytics from XLRI Jamshedpur, a Diploma in Training and Development (ISTD), MCA and M.Sc (Com Sci). She has also earned a Certified of Achievement from Dale Carnegie & Associates USA and All India Management Association.

Mr. Jatin Tandon- Vice President- Marketing at IBS Business School