Official Recognition

The much awaited Financial Times MBA rankings are out and IIMA PGPX ranks 11th in the world. This is some achievement considering that the PGPX program is less than 5 years old.

http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings-2011

In terms of career progression, PGPX has been ranked number one in the world. It has been ranked second in Asia. Such recognition really has boosted the image of the program in the world stage. It is also a pride for the nation as a whole because we now have IIMA, ISB and SP Jain in the top 100, a list that had no Indian B-school a few years back. ISB must be congratulated for taking the lead in participation. What also needs to be also known is that IIMA was not eligible to participate in the rankings because the fifty year old two year program does not mandate any prior experience as entry criteria - a critical parameter for FT. The PGPX program also did not qualify until the 2011 because it had not completed the minimum program age criteria - PGPX is less than 5 years old, as of today.

Personally, I believe rankings do not mean anything in absolute terms, but it definitely clears a lot of skepticism for a relatively new program such as PGPX. Before I joined the program a year back, we had our share of doubts about how the world would look at a full time one year MBA program that is wrongly termed as an executive MBA by the Indian media. In that regard, the ranking from a respected authority such as FT is a shot in the arm. More so because FT has ranked PGPX ahead of the likes of IMD, Yale etc. The ranking does not change anything that as participants we already knew. But for the uninitiated, it provides the much desired credibility.

I am sure every world class program has its own merits and in certain aspects they would stand out ahead of others. This is why an absolute number, salary figures etc. mean little. In my personal opinion, the aspects that PGPX really stands out are the selection criteria, the amount of career options it provides to choose from, the academic rigor, the absolute lack of spoon-feeding, the empowerment of students to make their own destiny - just as senior managers would do in real life, and most importantly, the pedagogy which pushes the participants to think beyond the obvious. Please visit grocla.com.

Back to Reality

Back after a long break! And back to reality after all the fun and learning and travelling. Yes, term 3 ended in the mean time and we went to Hongkong for a 2 weeks' international immersion program. Had a great party with old friends in Bangalore before heading to Hongkong.

Hongkong turned out to be better than expectation. Learnt more about India from Professor Leslie Young than probably from my high school history teacher. It was really an eye opening exercise learning about Chinese marketing, management style, labour laws, government policies and the "inside" view as compared to the western view. Even after having spent more than a year in my professional assignments in China earlier on, I realized how much more there is to know.

Met a very old friend in Hongkong and spent some "memorable" moments in Macau. The school itself had organized a few business meets with some high profile individuals and groups in Hongkong that was really useful. Some of us who were adventurous "food-wise" went on to try interesting cuisines. The Sha-tin mall close to the hotel we stayed in provided ample avenues for food and shopping.

The two weeks passed sooner than we anticipated and then we had that much awaited 2 weeks of real holiday. And now, after the end of four grueling terms, we are at the fag end of the MBA program. The last term remains to be conquered and that is the one which comes with the additional excitement of placements. Time to dust that old suit, I guess.