FAST FACTS
Location: Chennai
Director: Fr P Christie SJ
Approval/ Accreditation: AICTE approved, NBA accredited
Flagship programme: PGDM
Student intake: 120
Fees (full course): Rs. 403,000
Boarding & lodging (two years): Rs. 90,840; Admission test cut-off: XAT - 80
Full-time faculty: 24 (Professors: 10; Associate Professors: 8; Asst. Professors: 5; Sr Lecturer: 1)
Faculty with industry experience (over 10 years): 9
Average placement salary: Rs. 6 lakhs
Top recruiters: Bank of America, Reliance AMC, SBI, IMRB, Virgin Mobile
Conferences: BEACON (international conference)
Student Activities: Post budget analysis, Libarated, Academic clubs
Web site: www.liba.edu
Other programmes: Part-time PGDM 36 months, Executive Diploma 12 months
FOR students familiar with the education scene in Chennai, Loyola is more of a school than a college. Known for its discipline and rigour, the college has a ‘headmaster tag’ attached to it, says a LIBA student.
As a Christian minority institution, the college takes its social commitment quite seriously. “There are a host of first generation learners here,” says Professor Jayaram K Iyer, faculty at LIBA, though one would not guess this from student interactions; they are a boisterous, bright bunch. The faculty is erudite and the diversity in their disciplinary background brings in a certain perspective to the educational process. Be it reducing its cut-off for admission or working with recruiters to place them, the school takes its responsibility towards students quite seriously, sums up a second-year student.
Ethics is high on the school’s agenda, and with a nationally acclaimed award for corporate ethics, the school has made a mark. “We used to teach profits with responsibility much before it became fashionable,” says a professor.
“There’s a rub-off effect; I have seen LIBA students having a very refined sense of right and wrong,” says a past recruiter and visiting faculty. “Is it due to training or the selection process?” I asked Father Christie SJ, Director, LIBA. “Both”, he says. All this talk of ethics can get stifling at times, a student murmurs. But in balance, it is okay, he concludes.
“We have a ritual,” says a student. “For every hour spent in the library we spend at least half an hour at Hot Breads ( a famous food chain in Chennai).” Craving coffee, I trace the students’ route along with Father Christie to the coffee shop. He tells me another story of social commitment. The coffee shop was donated by its owner Mr.Mahadevan a professor-turned-entrepreneur and the profits help to educate poor students.
Even in MDPs and training the college is following a different path. While short-term MDPs offer visibility, they are difficult to crack, says Dr.Christie. The college focuses on offering slightly longer diplomas and certifications to supervisory level employees. The programmes demand more commitment but the returns are impressive. “More over,” says Dr. Christe, “Management is taken to lower levels of production too.”
“Academics is not the only thing our students do,” he says. The college festival, Chrysalis is quite a famous do in the southern region, and having great sponsors does not harm its popularity. But the entrepreneurship competition with TiE, still in the initial stages, excites Professor Jayaram. Winners are eligible for a half a million dollars of funding.
Being a Jesuit institution, LIBA has its advantages; colleges share faculty, resources and even course materials. Father Casmir Raj, XLRI's former Director is the Founder Director of LIBA. Exchanges do happen but they need to happen more often, concludes Father Christie.
