FAST FACTS
Location: Pune Executive
Director: Dr. P K De
Approval/ Accreditation: AICTE approved
Flagship programme: PGDM
Student intake: 300
Fees (full course): Rs. 700,000
Admission tests: CAT/ ISBM Test: 65
Full-time faculty: 27
Faculty with industry experience (over 10 years): 3
Average placement salary: Rs. 5.2 lakhs
Top recruiters: Frito Lays, UB Group, Weikfield Foods
Conferences: HR Share, Chain Act, Sigma
Student Activities: Forza (anniversary), Crescendo (college fest), Marketing Expo
Web site: www.isbm.ac.in
The new campus at Nande village, located 7 km away from Pashan, the nearest populated locality, is far better than the Viman Nagar school which still offers the media courses. The campus, surrounded by hills, is beautiful and calm. The Symbiosis International University, which also houses the Business Management Institute is the only other academic structure in the vicinity. We meet the Director Dr. P K De, who initiates the dialogue, saying, “This school is run by academicians and we take a series of steps in the selection of our faculty.”
As we tour the classrooms, project cells, audio-video lab and computer facilities, and interact with faculty members, we come to understand that the institute is process-driven and aims at high benchmarks. The PGDBM course offers 18 core courses and a fairly wide choice of elective courses from six specialisation areas. At the end of the first year, students complete a 10-week summer internship programme.
The continual evaluation of students is based on their performance in class participation, live assignments, case analysis, group projects, business simulation games, lectures and syndicates, which primarily look at the individual’s ability to work as part of large teams.
The library has a glass-walled reading room and subscribes to e-journals through EBSCO. The focus on research activities at present is not as evident as we look at the publication of faculty members and their involvement in consultancy projects.There are less than 10 percent faculty members with a PhD degree in the institute.
Hostels are available separately for boys and girls, with three people sharing a room, but not all the students stay in the hostel. In fact, nearly 60 percent reside outside. This is possibly due to the lack of facilities near the institution. Mess charges amount to approximately Rs. 1,750 per month and students can buy the bare essentials from a grocery store near their hostel. Senior personnel from the corporate sector often address students in the large auditorium, which on regular days is utilised for a game of badminton. During our visit, the auditorium was being prepared for the alumni meet, a regular feature.
The students enjoy a picturesque view of the campus while they take a dip in the swimming pool just next to the auditorium. We spoke to some of the students who, apart from Pune, hail from distant places like Jhansi, Siliguri, Lucknow, Delhi and Jamshedpur.
The selection ratio at ISBM for the PGDBM programme was 21 students to 1. The factors that led to their choice of ISBM varied from faculty strength to infrastructure, from alumni speak to recommendation by friends. A student from Jamshedpur, who did his graduation from Pune had a different reason. “I am here as I was exploring opportunities for jobs that are better available in the western part of India, and ISBM Pune had a decent placement record,” he said.