After a few years in the doldrums, the MBA is back as a course of choice. This is clear from several indications. CAT 2015 has recorded 2.18 lakh registrations, up 11 per cent from last year. Other entrance exams such as the NMAT have also seen a 15 per cent growth in registrations. Busy placement seasons, higher stipends, a rush of pre-placement offers all indicate that companies are looking to hire well in anticipation of a growth revival in the coming months. Macro indicators, slowly looking up, could bring back the optimism among businessmen.
There are thousands of B-schools in India, but how many offer a meaningful and impactful education that can land one a job in a top corporate? BusinessLine’s special handbook for MBA aspirants helps one navigate through a welter of information. In this issue, The Hindu BusinessLine - MBAUniverse.com B-school rankings of 90 top B-schools for the academic year 2016 provide a credible yardstick that aspirants can use to decide which B-school to apply to. IIM-A remains on top of the ranking sweepstakes as India’s top B-school.
The older IIMs rule the roost with IIM-C and IIM-B ranked second and third respectively. There are five IIMs in the top ten, and five other B-schools, XLRI, SP Jain, MDI, FMS and NMIMs, make it to the top 10.
Inform & Inspire is the theme of this issue and a carefully curated set of articles provide rich information for students who have just written the CAT and are getting ready for their admission process. How to choose a B-school will be uppermost in a student’s mind and an article outlines how to go about that critical process. Entrepreneurship is the flavour of the season and many B-schools are introducing a course on it in their curriculum. One doesn’t have to be an MBA to be a successful entrepreneur, but there are many MBAs who are. We catalogue some of their stories here.
We tell you why it’s never a better time for women to do an MBA. And for aspirants who agonise over work experience before plunging into an MBA, an article explains why it is important. Top leaders from the business world talk about their MBA learnings and offer rich advice to aspirants in LeaderSpeak. Don’t forget to read our back-of-the-book offerings: jargon you need to bone up on before you head to B-school and, more importantly, what not to do at B-school. We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we have putting it together. Best Wishes.