FAST FACTS
Location: Viman Nagar, Pune
Managing Director: Dr Giri Dua
Accreditation: British Accreditation Council
Flagship programme: Global Programme in Business
Leadership (progressing to an MBA) Student intake: 240
Fees (full course): Rs. 315,000
Board & lodging (two years): Rs. 70,000
Admission test cut-offs: MAT - 70%; XAT - 70 % ATMA - 70%, TASMAC English Test - 6.5
Full-time faculty: 28
Faculty with industry experience (over 10 years): 14
Average placement salary: Rs. 3 lakhs
Top recruiters: BSE, Finolex, Goldman Sachs, Ogilvy & Mather, Thermax
Student activities: Blitzkrieg (management festival), Flava (cultural festival), Celebrating Change, TASMAC Knowledge Exchange, TASC Force
Web site: www.tasmac.ac.in
Other  programmes: Global Programme in Business Leadership (part-time); (progressing to an MBA from University of Wales, UK is optional) 20 weeks


TASMAC offers a management programme with a difference. Students are admitted three times a year (February, June, October) for a batch size of around 30 per campus in Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai campuses, and they are able to complete their Global Programme in Business Leadership in a short span of 45 weeks.

Specialisations include marketing, finance, human resource management, information management and international bausiness management. Another differentiator is the Personal Development and Effective Leadership (PDEL) module, which primarily aims at industry-oriented skill development. 

Post this, students can opt to write a dissertation (minimum four months) and get an international MBA degree from University of Wales, since it accepts credits from this programme. The dissertation component if done seriously exposes you to the rigour of research work and gives you a deeper understanding of the associated problem. Students need to pay a nominal fee of £ 155 to enter the University of Wales MBA programme. “Students get a foreign degree at one-fifth the cost of what they would shell out for a course, abroad,” says Dr Giri Dua, Chairman and Managing Director. 

Professor Ajoy Nair, Head, Academics takes me on a campus tour where one gets a feeling that the institute has the potential to grow, that too across the spectrum. Particular areas of concern comprise the research base and placements. TASMAC is accredited by the British Accreditation Council for independent further and higher education but some students seek an Indian accreditation, as the degree is not recognised by any Indian regulator.

However, the small intake makes it easier for faculty to guide and mentor students, better. Session plans and course structure are neatly laid out. The tie-up with the University of Wales has helped in maintaining professionalism. The assessment criterion allots 40% marks to assignments comprising group work, case studies, open book examination presentations and 60% of total evaluation marks to end term exams.

Prominent lectures are conducted for students across campuses through their video conferencing facilities, mostly on Saturdays. TASMAC also opened an international campus in London in January 2008.  The state of affairs at these campuses is, however, not known.

The library and annexed reading rooms are fairly small, and some students feel the need for more investment in learning resources even if a large number of journals and articles can be accessed online. The students consider the faculty to be supportive and also like the programme structure and knowledge exchange forums, where industry stalwarts are invited to address them.

Students prefer living at the hostel though some stay off-campus, near by. Hostel charges are Rs. 5,500, inclusive of meals, per month for double occupancy, and Rs 500 less for twin sharing. The canteen seems to be the only place for students to unwind in the fully wi-fi enabled campus.