In sync with the changing times

To cater to the industry driven model of education, the courses on offer need to match up to the standards of the market. The synchronization of what is in demand and what is on offer drives the cogs of academics which have moved from conventional courses to specializations which help students shape their skills in a fashion cut-to-order for the industry.

“Majority of the employment opportunities come from the private sector which does not have the time or money to invest in thorough training of those recruited. The time for vanilla MBA courses is over and market-specific talent is in demand,” says Dr. G.S Rao, director of the Badruka Institute of Foreign Trade (BIFT).

In order to fill the gap of skilled professionals in the growing sectors, BIFT has initiated three specialized courses in MBA which include a masters program in Pharma and Biotech Management, which were started in 2009, but MBA in Healthcare and in Infrastrucutre is a year old.  “There is an estimated capital outlay of US dollars 320 billion which will be invested in infrastructure sector including civil aviation, railway and building highways among other projects for economic developemnt.

There is a demand for 1 lakh skilled professionals annually and to match up the market, we have started the MBA program in infrastructure,” says Dr. G.S Rao.

The MBA in Healthcare Management follows from the fact that Hyderabad alone boasts of 600 corporate hospitals in the city. “The healthcare management course was an extension of the masters programme offered in pharma and biotechnology. The multinationals have brought in great opportunities for the fresh graduates,” said the director of BIFT.

The admission to these courses is through valid scores of CAT, MAT, ICET or the entrance examination conducted by BIFT, followed by a group discussion and interview. The courses also include summer internships at the end of first year arranged by the college and a three month’s project to be submitted in the final year.

“The response through campus placements have gone on to prove that there is a demand for these professionals,” observes the director. The annual intake in each of these courses is 60 students.