PUBLIC YAY THE SINGLE ENTRANCE TEST SCHEME

Single Entrance Test for College Admissions gets Public Nod

In what could be a turning point in the way college admissions are conducted across the country, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has said that the public responses that it has received regarding the National Testing Scheme (NTS) are favourable and most of the people have recommended a change in the current examination system.

The NTS is based on a single-examination evaluation so that  students do not have to appear for multiple entrance examinations conducted across the country by various institutions or consortium of institutions.

A Committee with Dr T. Ramasami, Secretary Department of Science and Technology was constituted by the MHRD to design a National Testing Scheme (NTS) to provide for admission of students to undergraduate

In order to obtain a cross-country feedback on the design of the NTS, opinion of the public through a specially designed questionnaire was sought on a range of issues by the Committee. The NTS website was launched in May 2011 to seek responses online and was open till June 21, 2011.

2063 responses were obtained which have been analysed by the Committee. Of the responses, 98.5% were received from India and 11% were received from women. 74% of the respondents had a science or engineering background.

The response received from students was substantial with 59% of the respondents, while 32% were employed and 5% were parents.

An overwhelming majority of the respondents were in favour of the reforms in the examination system with 59% suggesting major changes and 26% advocating partial changes.

The suggestions indicated were preference for a single examination having high knowledge intensity and features such as alignment with the Class XII examination syllabus, affordable examination fee, judicious use of time and money and transparency in examination results.

Substantial support was also indicated for a weighting factor for performance in the School Board examinations at Class XII. 66% of the respondents were in favour of the weighting factor.

Of the respondents who were against the weighting of the Class XII Board examinations for admission to undergraduate programmes, the principal reason cited was of non-uniformity across Boards.

73% of the respondents expressed their preference for National Testing System (NTS).

Support was also evinced for a mix of aptitude and advanced test with 70% expressing their preference for the same.

The Ramasami Committee is also separately undertaken extensive with School Boards and academics. The recommendations of the Committee would be submitted to the Ministry of HRD by September, 2011. courses in Science and Engineering.

INSPIRED HIMSELF, NOW INSPIRATION FOR MANY

From learning under a streetlight to providing light to street children, this 1st year student is doing his bit and more

Anupam Kumar is a first year student at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC), learning to become an adroit manager. But there is a lesson or two that he can easily teach his classmates and may be a willing professor too. One, on how to convert every weakness into a strength and two, to start a start-up from nothing at all.

Born into a poor family in Patna (his father is an auto rick-shaw driver), Anupam had to drop out of school in the eighth standard due to monetary issues. But instead of whiling away time, he enrolled in a government school and ‘self-learnt’ till the tenth standard. Post school, when he wanted to pursue maths and realised that books were very costly, he  tutored other tenth standard students to make some money. Still later, when he wanted to take IIT-JEE and could not afford coaching, he made sure to get into Patna’s famous Super 30 group. And much later when he wanted to, but could not specialise in Aerospace Engineering because his family’s financial condition had really taken a downturn, he just opted for a dual degree from the Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad, with a mission to do an MBA later from a renowned b-school.

And at ISM, he did something he never thought he was capable of.  He started a small outfit called Escape, which taught deserving students English and personality development. All this from a boy who was educated in Hindi and never knew the ‘p’ of personality development.

Anupam Kumar

Super 30

To be part of Super 30 has been the biggest high in Anupam’s life so far. “Thanks to Super30 I got an All India rank of 2299 at IIT-JEE. That made me dream higher and to think that impossible things can be attained,” said Anupam. Being with 29 other students in Super30 was also a soul-searching process for  Anupam. All students were from modest backgrounds, with sad life stories to tell but none told them. They all had just one goal in life – to make it big and work hard for it. Classes often went on till late at night since both students and teachers worked elsewhere during the day.

The classrooms were not grand and there were no modern methods of teaching, but the dedication of both the teachers and students to do something against all odds made it certain that all students did well at the IIT entrance exams.

Start-up

Escape, according to Anupam was actually the brainchild of one of his juniors at Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. “Asif Zafar first thought of it but he was not able to give the idea a structure. I implemented the idea as it appealed to me. I myself had gone through  English-phobia days and knew what it felt like. Of course, I did everything in my capacity to pick up the language and get a grip on it but not all can do it,” says Anupam.

The IIMC student declares that good English and a smart personality play a huge role in getting a person up the corporate ladder, besides helping gain confidence. The students who study at ESCAPE are mainly from Hindi-medium schools with low self-esteem and poor knowledge of the English language. “For the first and second batch, we conducted an entrance test and enrolled students. But for the third batch, we conducted a survey around the areas near Indian School of Mines and chose the most promising 40 students,” informed Anupam.

Currently, Escape is running to full house at Dhanbad and being run by Anupam’s juniors. The outfit is run under Fast Forward India.

Anupam’s family

Why MBA

Considering that Anupam had done so much in life, when he had nothing to start with, he is often asked “Why MBA?’ And his answer always is: “It is a challenge for me, to get into IIMC and to study here.” Anupam adds that exposing himself to some of the best minds in the country and learning from all the  diverse thinking in the classroom is what he always wanted to be part of.  “Besides, the networking here will see me though my long-term plan of establishing my social venture,” he says.

So do his peers look at him with admiration for what he has achieved or skepticism because of his background. “My classmates see me as a reliable person and a good friend. I do not like to be seen as different from my classmates as it would hamper the possibility of intense bonding with them. Certainly, they are impressed but here everyone is unique in his own way,” answers Anupam.

After ten years

Anupam has decided to keep Escape going on in any condition. Post his MBA, he will get actively involved in it once again. Besides that, he wants to also start a chain of vocational training centres across the country. “The education system in India does not cater to the employment needs of the people. People should learn skills so that they can always be self-employed, if things don’t go right in the careers of their choice.”

The IIMC undergraduate also hopes to earn some money so that his  two younger siblings can  dabble with career choices, unlike him.  “I also want to earn well and help in the family income. The days of opting out of school for lack of funds should be a distant memory,”  he hopes.

percepts from pagal guy

XLRI JAMSHEDPUR YOUR DREAM???

A close look at XLRI Jamshedpur

It will not be completely wrong to state that majority of the MBA aspirants don’t know much about their dream B-schools. They often form perceptions about B-schools based on readings about them in newspapers or hearing about them on television. But B-schools are much more than what is visible in the electronic and print media.

To provide the right insight into top B-schools of our country MBAUniverse.com had recently launched the special series ‘India’s Top B Schools’. Under this series we are providing you a peek into the leading B-schools – what makes these B-schools great and life at the campus. Till now you have got closer look at B-schools like IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA), FMS Delhi, IIM Indore, IIM Calcutta and others. Today we will talk in detail about another top league B-school of our country – XLRI Jamshedpur.

In a world where the need for business leaders is an urgent priority, the presence of good B-schools in the country is an added advantage by all means. And the one such B-school committed to inventing new mindsets is the celebrated Xavier Labor Relations Institute’s School of Business & Human Resources (popularly called XLRI) which was set up in 1949 by Fr. Quinn Enright.

The centerpiece that one gets influenced by while talking about XLRI is its alumni. One such famous alumnus is B. Muthuraman. He is currently serving as the President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He is also the President of the Indian Institute of Metals. He is currently the Vice Chairman of Tata Steel.

The other alumnus of XLRI who has made it big but in computer technology is Vineet Nayar. He is currently the CEO of HCL Technologies Ltd. He has served this IT Company in various roles since he joined it as a senior management trainee way back in 1985. He is responsible for taking HCL to a global stature with his strategic vision which has helped it achieve a strong growth.

Another alumnus from XLRI who has spread the wings of India as a land producing highly influential business executives on the global scale is Rakesh Kapoor, Global CEO of Reckitt Benckinser. He joined this company in 1987, working for Reckitt & Coleman as a regional sales manager in India then.

The other famous alumni who matched up to XLRI’s expectations are: Jaspal Bindra, CEO, Standard Chartered PLC & Standard Chartered Bank in Asia, Abhijit Bhaduri, Chief Learning Officer at Wipro and bestselling author, Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant Foodworks Ltd., Satish Nambisan, Professor, Lally School of Management, RPI, Madhukar Kammath, CEO & MD, Murdra Communications Pvt. Ltd. etc.

Besides its alumni as they leap forward in their corporate lives, there are plentiful of things that XLRI offers to its students and the industry experts to shed light on changes taking place in the corporate industry and discuss their pros and cons.

XLRI has carved out its own identity in the area of management education. It believes in grooming its students with business acumen combined with an ethical understanding to make business look like an enterprise of harmony rather than a medium to serve one’s own interests only. And its curriculum is designed to sharpen the skills of its students in such a way that they could meet the challenges of the corporate world without losing their ground at all. Learning is worth so many things in life and if one knows how to make the most of it, then the problems prevailing in society could be easily reduced to a minimum.

Based on this criterion, XLRI has got a program of two years in the form of Business Management (BM) and Personnel Management and Industrial Relations (PM&IR) which give lessons to students on the model of ethics-oriented business, setting it apart from other B-schools in the country. As a part of this program, the students are geared to participate in social projects which include putting up a clothes bank to be distributed amongst the poor for their welfare work and hence helping them sell their tribal products too in India and abroad.

The other reason why it’s chosen as a destination for doing MBA by the MBA aspirants is because of its status in imparting excellent management education. It has been a B-school consistently enjoying 4th spot or 5th spot amongst the top B-schools in the country.

So as the students are taught and put on the edge by their faculty and feel like taking some respite from all this, its location acts as their savior and revitalizes them every time. After all, a nature-friendly environment serves as a good catalyst for greater learning. XLRI is located in the Circuit House Area in Jamshedpur which is a beautiful place and the nearby location is perfect. There is the Tata Iron and Steel Company in the south of the campus. Then in the North, it has got the Dalma hills. However, since it is next to the Jubilee Park, both the students and the visiting guests from the industry have good time as it makes them experience serenity along with nature. For them, it’s a perfect recreational strategy to escape that tough world out there in the classroom.

Not only this, XLRI has a bio-diversity project called “The XLRI Flora Project” which aims to make its fraternity environmentally aware by planting different kinds of flora in the campus. It would attract numerous birds from different regions, letting the campus overblown with the so-called natural beauty.

Its library is also the reason why it’s so different from other B-schools in the country. It stores more than 100,000 books including journals and electronic database relating to labor relations, management and its allied subjects. This place is said to be its heart and soul. In fact, the Tata Auditorium is another interesting landmark of XLRI for it has the best acoustic systems in this part of the world. Many artists, academicians and litterateurs of national and international stature have given their performances here and have appreciated it too. This is where major events like the Annual Convocation, the Ethics Oration to Ensemble are organized.

There is no doubt that work without fun becomes dull and at the same time appears to be a burden. And XLRI certainly buys into this philosophy and puts together some major events on its campus to lighten the loads of academic syllabus from their shoulders to make them analytically sharp like Socrates-IT seminar. Under this, there are two events held which consist of The National IT Seminar and Apocalyptica.

The first one recognized as The National IT Seminar is an inter-B-school event allows both the eminent people from the corporate world and the students to share their ideas with one another on issues that are changing the nature of business. During this, the industry stalwarts give speeches and there are also students’ activities happening all around like case study competition, paper presentation, quizzes and so on so forth. 

The second one is interesting for that fact that it’s a war of games. This contest takes place between senior and junior students, testing their mental skills against one another. This way, the students feel relieved to have abandoned their usual routine and be able to indulge in something thrilling. As this high-adrenaline war goes on, the tension becomes visible on everybody’s face but the sound of comforting music playing in the background soothes their nerves.

For students the day begins edgily

There is a sense of uncertainty about what’s going to happen on their faces as they get ready to attend their first class which they think will be tough to manage. Their faculty members will stand in the way to make their experience a bit horrible by ordering them to resolve the puzzles they have never faced before. The class starts at 8.30 am. Then what? They are bombarded with lectures, assignments submissions on time and surprise quizzes. There is no way that one can take it lightly.

Hangout zones of XLRI

For students, nothing can be more relaxing than getting some time off their academic pressure to take delight in things which make life wholesome. So the one place where the students spend time with one another and discuss about easy part of life is their cafeteria where they get to bond with human soul without worrying about the need to excel. This takes place over snacks, delicious coffee and Indian cuisine which will make one remember his or her home. To add to the excitement that unfolds here, there are good eateries as well outside the campus where they can taste the best foods available.

They have another option to unwind freely without being disturbed. This place is truly unique. It’s the central lawn with its immaculate outlook where they can perceive by going deeper and deeper like a philosopher. However, this area is called “JLT in XL jargon as it compels one to think philosophically.

Hostel life at a glance

The students eagerly wait for the night to fall so that they could talk about their secrets with one another and chalk out the daily activities in order to enjoy each moment as if they are one family with nothing to hide. It’s inspiring to all of them in the midst of so much pressure to do well academically. They feel at ease with themselves in this emotional bond.

There are separate hostel facilities for boys and girls on the campus. It has four hostel blocks comprising more than 400 rooms.

Sports are equally important

To remain competitive and healthy in life, one needs to play sports. Also, it helps him or her to become a fighter so that they could cope with any situation like a warrior. So XLRI has outstanding sports facilities for its students like courts for tennis, volleyball, badminton and football. In its new S C Sarkar Gymnasium, it has arranged amenities for indoor games as well as equipments for workouts and exercises. Moreover, the students are also provided with swimming pools, squash courts and a synthetic athletic track.

Events that reflect what XLRI stands for

The major events celebrated on the campus annually emphasizes upon the inherited values it has got and must preserve. These treasures are its strength. These events are Maxi Fair and Ensemble.

Maxi Fair- It is the oldest market research fair in the country and a famous household name in Jamshedpur. It’s a two-day event during which the students have a lot of fun but at the same time they have a serious matter in hands in the form of using marketing tools to know about the changing consumer behavior. Their research facilitates the FMCG companies in their mission to put their new products on trial to be consumed by the sample audience. Through this venture, the students of XLRI are made to learn the finer aspects of marketing.

Ensemble- It’s a yearly management fest organized to elucidate upon the marketing tricks that can ensure better exposure for the products before they are put on the shelves in the market. Several B-schools from all over the country come and partake in this festival which is about testing the best of brains that can show the way out in this complex world.

Similarly, there are other Maxi events held like Maxi Bazaar, Maxi Writers’ Guild and Maxi Labs & Mindscapes.

For the XLRI aspirants

The number of seats at XLRI for BM programme is 120. PMIR programme also has 120 seats. XAT is the entrance exam organized by Xavier Labour Relation Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur. This is considered to be the toughest MBA entrance exams in India. XAT scores are accepted by several prestigious MBA institutes like Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB), S P Jain Institute of Management Research (SPJIMR) Mumbai, Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) Chennai to name a few.

The notification for the XAT exam is generally out in September and the exam is normally held on the first Sunday of January every year. The sections of the exam are: Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability, Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making and Verbal & Logical Ability.

Percepts from Mba Universe

MBA THE DIFFERENT WAY : Socialising the SOCIAL!!!

 Texan Twitters His Way to Free MBA

About a month ago, we wrote about the University of Iowa’s Tippie School of Management’s effort to use social media tool Twitter to attract applicants, through a pilot program they called the “application tweet.” The business school asked applicants to explain — via a tweet of 140 characters or less — why they thought they would be a good Tippie candidate and future MBA hire

Today, the school announced the winner of the contest, John Yates, 33, a Texas applicant who currently provides cultural and language training to international diplomats and business executives in Houston. He’ll start attending Tippie later this month, the school said.

Yates’ tweet for the contest took on an unusual form, the haiku, a short form of Japanese poetry that typically consists of 17 syllables arranged in a five, seven, five pattern.

Here is his tweet:
“Globally minded (5)
Innovative and driven (7)
Tippie can sharpen (5)”

Yates’ unusual approach to the contest managed to convince the judges that he was worthy of the contest’s prize, a tuition scholarship valued at $37,240, the school said.

“Mr. Yates had the discipline and creativity to submit a Tweet by writing a Haiku,” wrote the Tweet judging committee. “He has taken one of the newest modes of communication in Twitter and one of the oldest forms of poetry in haiku and combined them into one winning entry.”

Overall, the school received 58 entries, or tweets, for the contest, the school said in a press release. Of those, only eight were accepted for admission to the MBA program Tippie said. Some of the applicants didn’t meet the school’s admissions qualifications, while other people who submitted tweets either weren’t considering applying or had already been admitted to the school. The school convened a committee of alumni, business faculty and staff to judge the tweets.

Here's a sample of some of the other tweets the school received:

"All that Twitters is not Gold yet Everything under the Sun can be Sold. 'Twas either This (Behold!!) or Twenty-Four Ounces from my Billfold." (Aaron Honore of Yonkers, NY)

"10 yrs as top corporate atty, know my deals, have plenty of stories but tired of staring blankly @ financials. Time to upgrade @TippieMBAIowa." (Michael Thompson of Iowa City, Iowa)

"Go to http://bit.ly/od3jhr and click "India" to see my blogs. While I study the world, I love where I am: the Midwest and Iowa. Go Hawks!" (Michael Bouts of Iowa City, Iowa and Troy, Mich.)

"A passion for discovering intrinsic value combined with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge results in excellence as a student and beyond." (Seth Goldstein of Dublin, Ohio)

One of the more clever tweets came from Ryan Jennings, who will be a first-year Tippie MBA student in the fall. Jennings had already been accepted to Tippie when the contest was announced and therefore wasn't eligible for the prize. Still, the judges took note of Jenning's entry.

"Experience in 3 markets: China, Mexico and India. Passion in 2 fields: Operations and Finance. Ready for 1 MBA: Tippie. http://ow.ly/5Q4xT."

"It's an outstanding Tweet because it succinctly tells us something significant about this person, and it links to another website with a great video that tells us even more about him," said Admissions Director Jodi Schafer.

So what is the future of the Tippie's tweet contest? Tippie said it is considering adding the "application tweet" to its application process. It will be interesting to see if the school actually does make this a permanent part of its application and if other schools will follow in its footsteps. As mastery of social media becomes an increasingly important skill for business students, I wouldn't be surprised if more schools come up with contests like this to test students' skills in this area.

Percepts from Bloomberg network online

Creative MBA

Now, innovative MBA courses to fill seats

Courses launched by GU and GTU offer specialisation in creative science, Asian business, coastal management and port management

 

 It is glut season of MBA courses. Both Gujarat University and Gujarat Technological University have introduced ‘cool sounding’ courses in a bid to resuscitate their ailing Masters in Business Administration programme. 

    Last year, more than 2,000 MBA seats remained vacant in GTU-affiliated colleges. This year, the number is likely to go further up as new colleges have affiliated themselves with GTU. 

    Recently, GU introduced a two-year MBA programme in financial services, port management, shipping management, coastal resource management and creative science. Apart from these, it has also started diploma programmes in financial management, human resource management, retail management, hospital management, risk and hedge management, and agriculture management to name a few. 

    GU Vice Chancellor Parimal Trivedi said a makeover of the MBA programme was imminent because the old, traditional courses are “outdated” and “not enough” in a highly competitive marketplace. 

    “We wanted to cater to the burgeoning new industries and plug the demand-supply gap. Also, these new courses are likely to be more popular than the existing ones and should lead to good placements and impressive pay packages, too,” said Trivedi. 

    While the reasoning sounds impressive, a course vaguely named MBA in creative science doesn’t give one an inkling that it is for media aspirants. 

    Even GTU revamped its existing MBA programme in human resources, marketing, finance and information systems management and incorporated a partial choice-based credit system. It also introduced new specialisations – international business management, banking and insurance, rural management, Asian business, and sustainable global businesses. 

    The idea behind restructuring GTU’s MBA courses was to enhance the conceptual knowledge of students and develop their working skills such that they meet the requirements of industries not only in Gujarat, but across the world, says GTU Vice Chancellor Akshai Aggarwal. He is, however, unsure how well these courses would fare. 

    “Last year, over 2,000 seats were vacant in our colleges. This year, the numbers may increase further as we have more colleges under GTU. Though we have introduced new courses after extensive research and deliberation, we haven’t been successful enough in promoting them,” said Aggarwal.

DAVV - Indore On the BOIL

 DAVV loses R 18L due to college's carelessness

The failure of Institute of Management Science (IMS) to submit documents in time to All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) cost Rs 18 lakh as the Devi Ahilya Vishwa Vidyalaya (DAVV) lost on non-resident Indian (NRI) quota of seats.

According to sources there was delay in submitting relevant documents on part of IMS, which nearly led to non-registration and missing chance of boarding bandwagon for Madhya Pradesh Management Entrance Test (MP MET).

IMS also got to appear in the last round of technical education counselling. This happened due to IMS again getting late in completing paperwork with the AICTE and Directorate of Technical Education (DTE).

Resultantly IMS was not allotted NRI quota in counselling. IMS could give six admissions under NRI quota seats. The varsity charged up to $ 6000 USD/ NRI seat. This roughly translates to a loss of Rs 18 lakh to DAVV exchequer.

These failures heckled vice-chancellor (V-C) Dr PN Mishra into taking action resulting in ouster of Dr Jayant Sonwalkar from charge of academic director. He would, however, continue holding charge of director Directorate Distance Education (DDE).

Head of Department School of Future Studies Dr RC Sharma on being handed over temporary charge of academic director IMS found that students classes were not being held for the past one month. He issued orders for regular classes. With MET counselling having begun, students have started registering online. The conducting body-Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal (VYAPAM) will make final submissions on August 12. Instructions have been issued for IMS by the varsity with the message: 'not to falter'.

INDORE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE(IMI)

Bridgestone, ICICI, Godrej, Infosys & IIM Recruits Candidates from Indore Management Institute

Management education is a must for people who are interested in managing their own business or want to work as manager of big organization. MBA helps one understand the necessary things and techniques for effective business and offers necessary tools for handling business and management related issues. It develops managerial skill in an average individual.Indore Management Institute, one of the leading management institute in Madhya Pradesh and one among top 100 in India offers MBA in several disciplines. “We offer a large number of qualified faculties, state-of-the-art infrastructure, well-stocked library with large number of latest books, magazines and journals, very big auditorium, large computer lab, etc.” informs Mr. Vikas Tiwari, the Dean IMI.

The institute offers wide range of management course namely BBA, B.Com, MBA and PGDM. Other courses like FDP, MDP and CPM are also available. Doctoral Programs available in our institute offers research training in many areas of specialization like Economics, Finance, OB and HRM, Marketing, Industrial Psychology and International Business.

Recently many national and multinational organizations namely Bridgestone, ICICI, Godrej, Infosys have recruited candidates from the institute. “We have got an independent training and placement cell to help our students develop as per the industrial requirements” informs Mr. Tiwari, “we have succeeded placing our students in several of the national and multinational organizations in India and abroad” he adds.Bridgestone, ICICI, Godrej, Infosys are all most reputable companies not only in India but renowned globally. “Out students capability to get selected in these companies explains the high level” says the dean, “we have a large number of candidates with excellent skill sets to enable companies hire well trained managers for their job requirements” he adds.MBA is the most auspicious career choice for aspiring managers. There are several management institutes and b-schools in Indore (M.P.) India offering MBA in several disciplines viz. MBA Finance, MBA Marketing, MBA HR and others. There are some other management courses as well such as BBA, BFA, PGDM, etc. which provides under graduates and working professionals an opportunity to give their career a boost. However, a lot of the career prospects depend on the institute you do it from. The institute or b-school must be strong enough to develop its students capable enough to face the new age challenges of global business environment.Indore Management Institute is among the top 100 management institutes in India. IMI offers a wide range of management degree and diploma courses along with several graduate programs, including MBA Finance, MBA Marketing, MBA HR, BBA, BFA, B.Com. To get information about the courses, or the institute, please visit us at www.imi.ac.in


Indore Management Institute
Khandwa Road, Off Toll Booth,
 Near Chokhi Dhani, 
Indore 
MP 452020

REVISED GRE

GRE revises General Test

The new test has earned praise from the graduate and business school community and, in its first day, received rave reviews from test takers worldwide.

For the 700,000 hopeful students who take a GRE® test each year, August 1 marks the dawn of a new and brighter era — the launch of the GRE® revised General Test. The most significant change in the GRE Program’s 60-year history, the new test has already earned praise from the graduate and business school community and, in its first day, received rave reviews from test takers worldwide.

"It is a great improvement over the old version; it is what students want," said Nakul Vyas, a GRE test taker in Mumbai, India. "Moving back and forth is a pleasure and gives you flexibility."

Lindsey Todd, a GRE test taker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, adds, “Being able to flag questions and go back to them in the review section was really, really cool because I was able to go back and work on the questions that I wasn’t sure about. And, I used the on-screen calculator a lot—it was really helpful.”

With new questions, a new score scale and a new test-taker friendly design, the GRE revised General Test offers applicants a friendlier, more technically advanced test that is designed to provide graduate and business schools with even more reliable results. With the freedom to move back and forth, edit or change answers, and skip and return to questions, all within a section, candidates have the ability to use more of their own test-taking strategies. New questions emphasize real-world scenarios and there is less reliance on vocabulary out of context, adding to the appeal of the revised test. The new Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning score scale, from 130–170 in one-point increments, will enable admissions professionals to better compare candidates’ scores as it makes small differences in scoring look small, while bigger differences will continue to stand out.

NMAT 2012

NMAT 2012 registration begins; NOW Thrice As Better

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Mumbai will hold its entrance exam NMAT 2012 for admissions 2012 in a two month test window starting from October 31 2011 and ending on January 6, 2012. MBAUniverse.com was the first to break the news on July 22, 2011.

NMIMS has commenced the registration process for NMAT 2012 from Monday, August 1, 2011. In this article of MBAUniverse.com, we give you all the details and the information on the exam that you need to know if you are planning to take NMAT 2012.

Prof. Bala Krishnamoorthy, Chairperson, NMAT 2012, informed MBAUniverse.com, “Just like NMAT 2011, NMAT 2012 can also be taken in three attempts -- one original attempt and two retakes -- and the best of the three scores will be considered by NMIMS for the GD PI shortlisting process.”

Talking about NMAT 2012, Dr. Rajan Saxena, Vice Chancellor, NMIMS said, “Our experience of last year showed that about 14 per cent of the applicants took the opportunity of improving their score and hence opted for retakes. While it had helped them to improve their chances of succeeding in NMIMS MBA program admissions, the institute benefited in getting best candidates on the basis of their potential. This test is a student friendly test & NMIMS believes that its role is to facilitate students actualize their managerial potential.”

MBA programs & seats
There are six MBA programs which are offered at the NMIMS Mumbai campus and two programs at the Bangalore and Hyderabad campuses. Following are the programs and the number of seats offered by them.

NAME OF THE PROGRAM	NO. OF SEATS
MBA CORE – Mumbai campus	300
MBA Actuarial Science – Mumbai campus	30
MBA Banking – Mumbai campus	60
MBA Capital Market – Mumbai campus	60
MBA HR– Mumbai campus	30
MBA Pharmaceutical Management – Mumbai campus	60
PGDM – Bangalore campus	120
PGDM – Hyderabad campus	60

Eligibility Criteria For the MBA programs at NMIMS, the eligibility criteria is as follows: Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline from a recognized University with minimum 50 per cent marks in the aggregate in first attempt.
For MBA Actuarial Science, the eligibility is as follows: Bachelor’s Degree in any of the disciplines such as Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Economics and Computer Science with minimum 50 per cent marks in Aggregate in first attempt.  Candidates with Professional Qualifications like A.C.A. (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) & ICWA (Institute of Cost & Works Accountant of India) can also apply. For MBA in Pharmaceutical Management, the eligibility is as follows: Bachelor’s Degree in any of the disciplines such as Pharmacy, Science, Life Sciences, Medical doctors MBBS, BDS, BSMS, BHMS, BAMS, BUMS, B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biotechnology from a recognized University with minimum 50 per cent marks in the aggregate in first attempt. Post Graduate degree in Economics, Psychology and Sociology can also apply. Important Dates The registration process for NMAT 2012 has started from Monday, August 1, 2011. The last date to register is Monday, October 10, 2011. The late registration window will start from Tuesday, October 11, 2011 and the last day to register in this window is Thursday, October 20, 2011. The scheduling of the test will take place from Monday, August 8, 2011 to Tuesday, October 25, 2011. The rescheduling window will start from Monday, August 8, 2011 till Wednesday, January 4, 2012. The test delivery will take place from Monday, October 31, 2011 to Friday, January 6, 2012. The test retake scheduling window will be held from Monday, October 31, 2011 to Wednesday, January 4, 2012. Registration process & charges NMIMS mentions that Pearson VUE has been given the charge for online registration and will conduct NMAT 2012 on behalf of NMIMS. Candidates have to visit the NMIMS website and fill up the online application form. Candidates can apply for more than one program or campus according to the candidate’s preference. The cost of registration for NMAT 2012 is Rs. 1650 for the Full Time or PGDM program. The fee for registering in both the FT and the PGDM program is Rs. 2000. The late registration charge for FT MBA programs in Mumbai campus or PGDM program is Rs. 2150. The late fee for both FT MBA and PGDM program is Rs. 2500. Test Centers NMAT 2012 will be held in 18 cities which are Delhi, Chandigarh Jaipur, Lucknow, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Indore, Allahabad, Bhilai, Bhopal, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Patna and Guwahati. Structure of the test The duration of NMAT is two hours. There are three sections in the test, Language Skills, Quantitative Skills and Logical Reasoning. The detailed structure of the paper is as follows:

Sr.No	Section	No. of Questions	Time in Minutes
1	Language Skills	32	22
2	Quantitative Skills	48	60
3	Logical Reasoning	40	38
	Total	120	120

NMIMS states, “The candidate should note that it is important for them to perform well relative to other candidates in each of the three sections of the test as the score of each section and the overall score will be used to shortlist the candidate for the second stage of the selection process as well as in the final ranking. Please note that there will be no negative marking.” The institute also adds, “The final merit list will be prepared on the basis of the application data in terms of academic marks obtained, work experience, marks obtained in NMAT and GD PI.”

 

AVAGMAH: Enrollment opens for MBA

AVAGMAH Online School (AOS), continuing education initiative of 24x7 Learning, on Wednesday announced the admission for MBA in Media & Entertainment for its 2013 batch.

The MBA in Media & Entertainment is two year degree program where students can learn in an interactive cum online mode through the AVAGMAH Virtual Campus.

The program is UGC & DEC approved and is targeted to the graduate working professionals and individuals who aspire to make a successful career in the fast growing media and entertainment industry.

The MBA in Media & Entertainment at AVAGMAH Online School is designed to provide complete 360 degree knowledge and skills required for any individual to achieve success in the relevant industry.

The online course covers every aspect of media and entertainment industry from management to production.

The program includes Media Management, Media Business, Sound Production and Music Industry Management. Additionally, Film and TV production, Programming Management is also included in the course syllabus.

The course content is built by the parent company 24x7 learning, India’s largest eLearning and Talent Lifecycle Management Company with valuable inputs from its industry partner Network 18 group which runs channels like CNN-IBN, CNBC, MTV, Colors, VH1 etc.

The program is one of its kinds in Media & Entertainment, and has some USPs like:

Developed in consultation with Industry Partners, Network 18.

Recognized by UGC, Ministry of HRD,Government of India. Approved by DEC.

Live Project Work to understand theoretical learning.

Self Instructional Study Material provided to make the subject matter self-explanatory and easy to understand.

Case studies from Harvard Business Publishing.

An 8” Android tablet provided with each enrollment to make eLearning seamless
Guru Talks from Industry experts.

Interactive learning Sessions.

Faculty from Top B Schools.

Five free training cum certifications worth INR 15,000 from www.my24x7Learning.com

“India’s media and entertainment sector is estimated to grow at an annual average rate of 13.2% in the next five years to reach Rs. 1.19 trillion in 2015,” said Karthik KS, CEO, 24X7 learning.

B-School Getting International

The NMIMS ManagementAptitude Test (NMAT), with
an aim to go international, will open its doors for foreign students and persons of Indian origin. Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), for the first time, has decided to admit sons/daughters and wards of Persons of Indian Origin. All these students will be admitted on the basis of GMAT score. “NMIMS will also admit foreign students and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO). 

This is to internationalise the learning experience and to reach out to the Indian diaspora and the world,” said Rajan Saxena, vice-chancellor of the NMIMS. The MBA entrance test will be conducted within three months starting from October 31, in 18 centres across India. Bala Krishnamurthy, chairperson-admissions, NMIMS, said: “We realised the need for such an initiative while working on the GMAT council. This will be a platform to initiate internationalising learning experiences, especially as there are talks about bringing Indian higher education to international standards.”

According to NMIMS, NMAT is the only MBA entrance test that facilitates multiple trials (three times) to MBA aspirants as per global practice. The best of three scores will be considered for MBA admissions. You can register online by logging on to www.nmims.edu

UTS PUNE - Dual Degree

MBA + PGDBA (Dual Degree) UTS Pune Introduction PGDBA enables the student to obtain the MBA degree from Assam Down Town University on completion of PGDBA certification. Management is not only about solving structured problems efficiently and effectively but also about the challenge of transforming a situation into an opportunity in an ever-changing competitive environment in the era of globalization and further, handling human problems in real life to synergize the team effort.

MBA + PGDBA (Dual Degree) UTS Pune Introduction PGDBA enables the student to obtain the MBA degree from Assam Down Town University on completion of PGDBA certification. Management is not only about solving structured problems efficiently and effectively but also about the challenge of transforming a situation into an opportunity in an ever-changing competitive environment in the era of globalization and further, handling human problems in real life to synergize the team effort. Post Graduate Diploma in Business administration equips the students and managers with skills to meet the challenges and opportunities of the corporate world. It strengthens the leadership capabilities of students. The learning model provides transformational experience that fosters professional, intellectual and personal development. It is designed to provide a unique, market-relevant combination of a comprehensive business education with real-world applications. Potential Careers Managers perform a broad range of duties in virtually every sector of the economy. After this degree, students are absorbed at the managerial level in private as well as government sector. There are many opportunities in the field of management, marketing, healthcare management and human resource management to help students realize their potential. Specializations: Human Resource Information Technology Operations Finance Supply Chain Management Material Management Contact details: admissions@dlpindia.com 09560622332, 09958934646 www.dlpindia.com MBA + PGDBA (Dual Degree) UTS PuneIntroductionPGDBA enables the student to obtain the MBA degree from Assam Down Town University on completion of PGDBA certification.Management is not only about solving structured problems efficiently and effectively but also about the challenge of transforming a situation into an opportunity in an ever-changing competitive environment in the era of globalization and further, handling human problems in real life to synergize the team effort. Post Graduate Diploma in Business administration equips the students and managers with skills to meet the challenges and opportunities of the corporate world. It strengthens the leadership capabilities of students. The learning model provides transformational experience that fosters professional, intellectual and personal development. It is designed to provide a unique, market-relevant combination of a comprehensive business education with real-world applications. Potential CareersManagers perform a broad range of duties in virtually every sector of the economy. After this degree, students are absorbed at the managerial level in private as well as government sector.There are many opportunities in the field of management, marketing, healthcare management and human resource management to help students realize their potential. Specializations: Human Resource, Information Technology, Operations, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Material  Management

Leading distance education providers

The top rank has been acquired by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) New Delhi. IMT Distance and Open Learning Institute is amongst the leading distance education providers in the MBA domain.

Let us have a look at the top five institutes in the ranking:

Rank	Name of the Institute	Location
1	Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)	New Delhi
2	Yashwantrao C. Maharashtra Open University	Nasik
3	IMT Distance and Open Learning Institute	Ghaziabad
4	Sikkim Manipal University	Gangtok
5	University of Mumbai	Mumbai

The top institutes were under three broad domains, namely Input (Reach & Resources), Process (Learning & Experience) and Output (Results & Efficiency). The weightages of Input, Process and Output are 300, 400 and 300 respectively, making the total weightage 1000.

Careers360 had shortlisted 50 institutes on the basis of the student enrolment data. The logic was the popularity of the institutes on the basis of their admissions.Careers360 then sent letters to these 50 institutes and on the basis of their response and from the data supplied by Distance Education Council (DEC), 32 institutes were chosen for ranking purpose. “Further, visits were made to all the institutes that responded as well as to select study centers of others to build a robust database,”Careers360 mentioned. “The input primarily looked at the reach, infrastructure and diversity of the institutes in providing distance education. The process emphasized on the quality of resources and delivery mechanism, while output focused on the performance of the institute in facilitating the trained students in getting a better prospect,” it added.

Careers360 magazine and Yahoo! India conducted a survey on institutes offering Distance Education and has come up with the top 32 institutes. The top 10 includes five open universities, three private players and two dual mode State-level universities.

MICA Back to CAT, Updates on IIFT and ATMA

Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA) will revert to accepting the Common Admission Test (CAT) score for shortlisting candidates for the MICA test (MICAT) for admissions to the 2012-14 batch. “A minimum of 90 percentile in the Common Admission Test (CAT) will be required to reach the MICAT stage,” said GK Nair, admissions coordinator of MICA in a conversation with PaGaLGuY.

“We have to consider the score of any one of national tests (CAT, XAT, MAT, ATMA or JMET) in the admission process as per the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) guidelines,” he added.

MICAT 2012 will not have verbal and quantitative ability sections in it but according to Shubhra P Gaur, admissions chairperson of MICA, Verbal and quantitative ability section will be tested in the CAT. MICAT will serve to assess a candidate’s divergent thinking, written communication ability, creativity potential and general awareness about contemporary social and industry issues including areas around media, marketing, advertising and business. “All these are considered important by communications industry and are not assessed by CAT,” Gaur added.

Whether a sectional CAT cut-off will be accepted by MICA has not been decided yet, nor has it been confirmed if the CAT scores will be used only for shorlisting candidates or will they be considered during the final stage of the admission too, said Gaur.

MICAT was held across 10 centers across India last year and approximately 5,500 candidates had taken the test. Out of that, 164 candidates joined the institute, confirmed Nair. MICA has 180 seats approved by the AICTE for this year. MICAT will be held sometime during first week of April next year. There will be no increase in the number of test centers this year.

AIMS Test for Management Admissions (ATMA) to go computer-based

Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) Test for Management Admissions (ATMA) conducted a pilot computer-based test on July 23 this year to evaluate the response of b-schools and MBA hopefuls.

Dr Rakesh Khurana, Chairman, ATMAOnline said, “Computer-based tests are more convenient, eco-friendly, comparatively cheaper and as there is no physical movement of papers, there are less chances of error. So keeping in mind the technological trends in the industry and the advantages of computer-based test we decided to conduct a pilot test this year.”

Following the good response to this experimental test, ATMA will conduct two paper-pencil tests and six computer-based testing sessions starting this year. A candidate can opt for any one of the eight testing slots. Whether a candidate can reappear in a later slot has not been decided upon yet. The ATMA score will be valid for one year, confirmed Khurana.

Knowledge Network India Limited will be the service provider for the ATMA computer-based test and the normalisation process of marking will be followed.

The tentative dates for ATMAOnline that will be held during 2011 are October 15 and November 26. The paper based test for ATMA will be held on December 24 this year.

The exam dates have been decided keeping a gap of 20-30 days and the results will be declared within one week time from the test date. So a candidate can take time to decide and prepare for the next test accordingly, confirmed Khurana.

The registration for the online test to be held on October 15 will open on September 1. A candidate needs to pay Rs. 1250 towards registration for the exam.

Keeping in mind the various specialised MBA courses approved by AICTE, ATMA is also planning to add one new section to the test called ‘specific tools on disciplines’. The section will be modular and will be helpful in evaluation of the candidate’s attitude to a particular specialisation.

This will be a 30 minutes section. There will be separate set of questions for each specialisation. A candidate is required to take the test for the specialisation of his choice.

“As of now, every candidate applying to any specialisation is evaluated on the basis of a single test. Therefore, ATMA has decided to add this new component to the test. Going forward, this component will be added to both the online and the paper pencil test.”

ATMA has also designed three sets of sample tests of 30 minutes, 50 minutes and three hours to make students comfortable with the test pattern. The students can get access to these on the ATMA website.

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT)

There will be no major changes in the entrance test for Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) this year. Sometime during the first week of September, it will be decided if there will be any sectional cutoffs or not, confirmed LD Mago, registrar, IIFT.

The IIFT has approached the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for declaring the institute as a nodal agency to conduct entrance exams to all MBA programs in International Business across the country.

“The request is still pending with the Ministry of HRD and we hope to hear from them within this year. Only after that we might consider conducting an computer-based entrance test,” said Mago.

The date for the IIFT written examination this year is November 27, 2011. The important dates are,

Last date for obtaining prospectus through post	22nd August, 2011
Last date for obtaining prospectus across the IIFT counter	5th September, 2011
Last date for receipt of completed applications	5th September, 2011
Last date for obtaining prospectus & receipt of applications for foreign nationals/NRIs/Children of NRIs	15th February 2012