IFMR Graduate School of Business, Krea University has opened online applications for its MBA 2020-2022 cohort. Established as a business school by the Institute for Financial Management and Research, a not-for-profit society operating in India from 1970, the IFMR business school is now a part of Krea University and is known as IFMR Graduate School of Business (IFMR GSB) at Krea University, offering a two-year post-graduate MBA degree.
IFMR GSB follows a unique admission process constituting the Working Professionals Round and General Round. The Working Professionals Round (WPR) is open to applicants who have work experience of 12 to 36 months and the General Round is open to all applicants — employed or fresh graduates. The last dates to apply for the Working Professionals Round and the General Round are February 4, 2020 and March 3, 2020 respectively.
The earlier close of the WPR round helps IFMR GSB make early admission offers to working professionals who may need to serve contracted notice periods before joining the course. The selection process includes a Written Ability Test (WAT) and a Personal Interview (PI), and requires records of academic performance, right from X and XII board exams and under-graduation. CAT/XAT/CMAT or GRE/GMAT scores are also important components to determine shortlisting for the WAT and PI.
Speaking about the MBA programme at IFMR GSB, Dean Dr Anantha Nageswaran said: “The primary objective of the IFMR MBA programme is to create future management leaders with a strong foundation in theory and practice. To achieve this objective, we have created a curriculum that is strong on fundamentals and is constantly revised to be in tune with industry requirements. In line with the Krea mission, there is a strong emphasis on nurturing the problem-solving skills and creativity of students and our curriculum provides them with the multidimensional perspective and ethical foundation to build a host of functional and behavioural competencies.”
IFMR-GSB offers core courses in the first year and various elective courses in the second year, spanning several disciplines. Additionally, students are required to do a summer internship in a company during the summer break between the first and second years.
The MBA specialisations include data science, economics, finance, information systems, marketing, organisational behaviour & human resources management, operations management, quantitative finance and strategic management. These are offered jointly with the support of industry professionals in curriculum design and delivery. IFMR-GSB has introduced core courses such as Design Thinking and a Capstone business strategy simulation to prepare students for industry challenges.
In 2019, with a highest salary of ₹18.80 lakh a year and an average salary of ₹8.70 lakh a year, IFMR GSB students have been placed in top companies including Accenture, Aviva Life Insurance, BA Continuum (BoFA), Barclays, Capgemini, Cognizant, Crisil, Deloitte, Genpact, HCL Technologies, HSBC, ICICI Bank, IFMR Capital, Infosys, JP Morgan Chase, Orient Cements, Shell, TCS Vodafone and Wipro.