Know all about MDI Gurgaon: Admissions, Placements and more (Faculty Interaction)

In this exclusive interview with Careers360, a panel of senior faculty and administrators interacted with students and gave insights on the MDI’s PGDM Business Management course. Read to know more about the course and the interaction.

MDI Gurgaon’s panel comprised of Prof. Sumita Rai, Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha, Prof. Abinash Panda, Prof. S S Tripathy and Prof. Divya Sharma. The interaction and interview saw a discussion on MDI Gurgaon PGDM in Business Management, admissions, placements and more. A special guest on the panel was Pratyush Rahul (Alumnus) who talked about his experiences at MDI Gurgaon and the course.

About MDI Gurgaon: Established in 1972, Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon is ranked 13th by NIRF amongst the top BSchools in India. The institute offers postgraduate, executive and fellowship programmes in management and business administration. MDI Gurgaon courses include PGDM, PGDM-BA, PGDM-HRM, PGDM-IB, FPM and MDPs. Executive postgraduate programmes like PGDM-BM, PGDM-PPM and PGDM-BA are offered by the institute. MDI Gurgaon admissions are based on a candidate's performance in CAT/ GMAT/ XAT followed by a personal interview.

Careers 360: Explain MDI Gurgaon’s journey.

Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: It's been 50 years since MDI Gurgaon’s inception. The institute is accredited by AACSB, AMBA and SAQS. The vision of Management Development Institute Gurgaon is to be a globally recognised management school through academic excellence and continuous innovation to nurture responsible leaders for creating sustainable alternatives.

Prof. S S Tripathy: MDI Gurgaon is the first institution in India to get AMBA accreditation. PGDM-BM is the first full-time programme introduced in 1987 with a duration of 18 months (15-month residential+3-month dissertation/project at a workplace). Minimum three years of work experience is required for PGDM-BM. We offer dual specialisations and placements in leading companies. The institute also has various clubs and committees which students can select based on their interests.

Prof. Abinash Panda: The total number of students in PGDM BM for the batch of 2022-24 is 29. Last year, MDI Gurgaon placements showed the highest and median compensation of Rs. 35 LPA and Rs. 25 LPA respectively. Major companies that visited the MDI for placements include TCS, Jio, Accenture, Infosys etc. and roles offered were in different domains such as product, principal business management, consultantancy and others.

Careers 360: Specify the eligibility criteria and admission process.

Prof. Divya Sharma: Applicants need to have at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA in classes 10 and 12. Three-year bachelor's degree with a minimum of 50% marks and three years post-qualification executive work experience as on March 31, 2024 along with valid scores in CAT/ GMAT/ XAT examinations is mandatory.

MDI Gurgaon admission process involves shortlisting of candidates based on their applications followed by personal interview. An offer letter is sent to the students who meet the criteria. The last date for the phase 1 application is February 19, 2024 till 5:00 PM. Phase 1 personal interview is on March 10, 2024.

Management Development Institute course fee for the PGDM-BM programme is Rs. 16,70,000 excluding the National or International immersion fee which is based on actuals.

Pratyush Rahul (Alumnus): I am from an engineering background and worked in diverse environments and did PGDM HRM from MDI Gurgaon. At present I am working as chief of staff at Tech Mahindra. I used to organise many corporate events in MDI Gurgaon and these are common platforms for placements.

Careers 360: How does a dual specialisation work? Share some details.

Prof. Sumita Rai: We have major and minor specialisation where students need to choose four electives from major to get into major specialisation and a minimum of three electives need to be chosen from minor to get into minor specialisation. Students can opt for major and minor or else general management as well.

Careers 360: What are the parameters of assessments in the admission process? If there is any weightage to the same, please elaborate.

Prof. Sumita Rai: Yes. The final merit list will have weightage on test scores, academic scores (10th, 12th and graduation), gender, work experience and personal interview.

Careers 360: How does MDI ensure that the curriculum remains on par with industry requirements?

Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: The institute’s curriculum is focused on Industry-specific requirements, problem-solving, in-class discussions, case studies etc. The curriculum gives a lot of insights into the practical side of things. Students are taught how to apply concepts for interesting strategic decisions to bring about change, issues and challenges faced by managers and how to resolve them. A connection between the industry and MDI Gurgaon allows students to be informed about current events through guest lectures by industry professionals.

Careers 360: Is there any cutoff for the standardised test.

Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: MDI Gurgaon cutoff varies from year to year. GMAT cutoff score for the current year is approximately 580 to 600. And 70 to 75 percentile is the cutoff score for the CAT and XAT examinations.

Careers 360: Does MDI accept GMAT scores for all PGDM programmes?

Prof. Shweta: Yes, we accept GMAT scores for all the PGDM programmes.

Abishek (prospective student): I have 13 years of experience in journalism and sports consulting. Am I eligible to get admission?

Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: The average age in the programme is 30+ and there is no upper age limit. We have people with more than 20 years experience also. People from any field with a minimum three years of work experience can apply.

Debrupa (prospective student): With three years of experience we can also opt for the normal PGDM. What should one choose (PGDM BM or PGDM) according to you?

Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: PGDM is for freshers. Whereas, PGDM BM is for those who want to develop their knowledge of skills that they have till now.

Jay(prospective student): I have 3 years and 2 months of work experience. What kind of preference is given to people with more experience at MDI Gurgaon?

Pratyush Rahul (Alumnus): We treat every student equally. It depends on how you behave with others and how you make friends. You need to create an environment around yourself on how you will connect with others.

Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: We have students with more than 3.5 years of experience. You will not find any kind of difference when you sit together. We treat all students equally and help in developing their skills, understanding and innovativeness. The main goal of our faculty is to help develop yourself and help you reach your goal.

Amritansh(prospective student): Do we have any sectional cutoffs in terms of score?

Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: No, we don't have any sectional cutoffs. Only the overall percentile is required.

Amritansh(prospective student): I have 37 months of experience and at present am looking for a change in the job role. I am from the engineering domain but I want to pursue finance or operations. Can I go for the regular PGDM programme?

Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: Yes you can. The previous domain is not taken into consideration.

Sohan Agate(prospective student): What is the strength of the cohort? Does the fee mentioned include the stay also?
Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: The batch size is 60. Yes, the fee mentioned includes the stay as well which can be paid in instalments also.

Sohan Agate(prospective student): When do Round II applications start? Is there any bias in the selection of the candidates in Round I and Round II?
Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha: MDI Gurgaon round II applications start from February 20 to March 27, 2024. No, there is no bias. The selection process is strictly based on the scores that are submitted and the personal interview.

Careers 360: Do we need to submit SOP and LOR while applying?

Prof. Shweta: You have to fill SOP in the MDI Gurgaon application form itself.

About the Interviewers

Prof. Sumita Rai (Dean-Industry Connect)

Dr. Sumita Rai is a Ph.D in Organisational Behaviour from the IIT Kanpur, India. Before joining MDI, Prof. Sumita Rai was a member of faculty of Human Resource Group at the IIM Indore and IIM Lucknow. She has consulted extensively with various public private and MNCs in India and regularly conducts training and Leadership Development Programmes for PSUs. She is a certified trainer of MBTI from CPP Asia Pacific. Dr. Rai has published more than 40 research papers in various national and international journals and has co-authored a book titled “Millennials and the Workplace: Challenges for Architecting the Organization of Tomorrow '' which has been published by Sage. She has also participated in various international conferences hosted in countries like Japan, France, Denmark, Germany, Singapore, China, Bangkok and Hong Kong.

Prof. Chinmaya Kulshrestha

Associate Professor
Lead - Executive Graduate Programmes & Area Lead - Marketing

Prof. Kulshrestha has over 24 years of experience in Academics. She is the recipient of the National Scholarship Award for holding a meritorious position in the University by the HRD Ministry GOI. She has been a project leader with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization for their project on handicrafts textiles in India. Prof. Chinmaya has written 3 books published by international publishers and has also published many cases & research articles in top journals of the world.

Prof. S S Tripathy

Associate Professor

Faculty-in-charge PGDM-BM

Shiv S. Tripathi is a PhD from Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur in the Strategy area. He has more than 17 years of corporate and academic experience in organisations like Exide, ICFAI & Century Plyboards. His core area of teaching research and consulting is innovation and growth through innovation and entrepreneurship. His research has appeared in international journals like Technology Innovation Management Review, Journal of Asia Business Studies and Technology Analysis & Strategic Management to name a few. Prof. S S Tripathy has written a book titled International Business: Theory and Practice published by Sage Publications. He has been a consultant to the Ministry of Jal Shakti; Department of Urban Local Bodies, Government of Haryana; Utility Powertech Limited and some corporates. He has trained the executives of more than 25 organisations. He is a professional wildlife photographer, an aero-numismatist and loves to travel.

Prof. Abinash Panda

Professor
Lead - Executive Graduate Programmes Placements

Prof. Panda has a rich and varied experience in corporate, academic and research roles. Before joining MDI, he was with the Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur. Prof. Panda is a graduate from the International University of Japan (IUJ) and is a Fellow of Management Development Institute. His corporate experience includes Adani group (Adani Enterprise) as Associate Vice President, Learning and Development, General Manager, Leadership Development and Talent Management with Suzlon Energy and Senior Consultant with Tata Management Training Centre (TMTC), Pune. He was a Co-principal investigator of Tata-CCL joint research projects and has published around more than 45 research papers in various international and national journals and has also presented a number of papers in various national and international conferences including the Academy of Management.

Prof. Divya Sharma

Assistant Professor

Faculty In-charge - Global Engagements & EGP Admissions

Divya Sharma is a faculty in the area of Information Management. She has completed the Fellow Programme in Management from IIM Calcutta. She is the recipient of the Satish K Sehgal Doctoral Student Award (2018) for excellence in scholarship and organisational citizenship at IIM Calcutta. After completing her doctoral studies, she started her academic journey at the Indian Institute of Management Rohtak, and was thereafter employed with the OP Jindal Global University. She has also offered courses in a visiting capacity at IMI, New Delhi. Prior to her doctoral studies, she has also worked for four years with public, as well as, private organisations. She served in the capacity of Scientific Officer at the National Informatics Centre (Govt. of India) where she was responsible for various technology and policy aspects of her project. She also worked as a Computer Scientist in Belzabar Software Design India Pvt. Ltd.