S Sivakumar, Group Head, Agri and IT Businesses, ITC, and the corporate representative on the Rankings Advisory Committee, told BusinessLine that recruiters look at rankings to keep themselves abreast of changes in B-schools. Excerpts:
S Sivakumar
For industry, internal information on the actual performance of individual alumni within the context and culture of a company is a more important data point. Nonetheless, B-school rankings are a good reference to validate the internal data points or to prompt a re-look, as the case may be.
The rankings give a bird’s-eye view of how the B-school eco-system is evolving at national and regional levels.
Do recruiters place a lot of importance on rankings when they hire from a B-school?
Those who have been traditional recruiters on campuses make decisions based on their own experience. It is only when they need to expand their B-school pool that they use rankings to generate a new set for consideration.
New recruiters do use the B-school rankings. Even among regular recruiters, new members in the recruitment team do use rankings to keep themselves abreast of the changes happening in B-schools.
How important are rankings to B-schools?
A higher ranking is an indication that the programme offered by the school is more robust and better caters to evolving industry needs. Some B-schools use rankings to create a sense of pride among their students and faculty.
With industry wanting more ‘employable’ graduates, do you seek more experiential learning for students?
Industry is looking for a right blend of theory and application. Therefore, it is important for students to have a strong anchor in theory, while developing the managerial skills to conceive of and execute strategies.
The biggest expectation from MBA students is that they bring multi-dimensional and multi-functional perspectives into their daily jobs which may focus on specific functions when they begin their careers.
How important is entrepreneurial learning in B-schools?
Entrepreneurial learning is important, not just for those who intend to become entrepreneurs. It is also important for all organisations, as an entrepreneurial spirit is a critical requirement in today’s fast-paced and competitive world. B-School education certainly helps structure discovery-driven learning from the early stage of executing ideas; and this enables successful scaling up in due course.