There are a number of traditional programs available at Institutes of Management or longstanding universities, but one exciting area of growth in recent years has been the ‘new age’ or modern business schools, which focus on experiential learning and preparing grads to be industry ready.
To help weigh up your MBA in India options, BusinessBecause recently ran a webinar in partnership with FLAME University in Pune to explore the reasons for joining a new age b-school for your MBA.
Here are four reasons why it could work for you:
You'll enjoy a modern curriculum
While all b-schools teach the business fundamentals required to achieve the rigorous MBA qualification—such as finance, marketing, operations and human resource management—new age business schools take a holistic approach to teaching, helping students to mature and become confident leaders who can think beyond the spreadsheet.
For example, at FLAME University in Pune, students on the MBA program follow a program that’s rooted in a liberal ethos. This means that as well as business, students can choose elective courses from the school’s social sciences, humanities, foreign languages and arts departments.
In their third term, students choose their specialism from a choice of advertising and branding, digital marketing and communication, or film and television management.
“A new age business school will prepare you for the unexpected. It provides you with the opportunity to think in an interdisciplinary way [helping you] to understand the full mechanics of a business,” says dean of FLAME’s School of Communication, Professor Fredrick Herbst.
He adds that another advantage of new age schools is their size, as they tend to have smaller cohorts and focused programs, meaning they can be more agile in adapting their curricula to the needs of employers.
You’ll acquire soft skills in unexpected ways
One advantage of modern b-schools is their focus on soft skills—those personal skills or attributes that prepare you to take on the challenges of business.
According to Professor Herbst: “In today's dynamic business world, we are moving away from just crunching numbers and the hard skills. Successful managers and successful leaders must also have the ability to apply and show softer skills in life by being more people-orientated.”
One example of how soft skills are inculcated at FLAME, is its sports program. Possibly uniquely among the world's business schools, golf is a mandatory requirement in the first term for FLAME’s MBA students.
“It's not only about [learning to play] golf,” explains Professor Herbst, “it’s about teaching you about teamwork because if you're going into the working environment, you don't work in isolation. You work as a team. [Golf also] teaches you discipline, and social skills,” he adds.
You’ll gain placement opportunities
In India, most MBA students are ‘fresh’ graduates with little or no business work experience. Business school is a great way to jump right into the corporate world as reputable institutes typically have solid connections with companies—which usually want to recruit from their graduating classes.
At FLAME—which boasts more than 50 recruiting companies including EY, Vedanta and PwC—MBA students spend between eight and 10 weeks on a summer internship between their first and second years. These help to upskill students and are invaluable networking opportunities.
In 2023, around 10% of students received pre-placement offers from their summer internships, despite tough macroeconomic conditions.
You’ll be supported to shape your career
Access to the careers service is one of the greatest benefits of joining an MBA. Typically with smaller cohorts, new-age business schools are more prepared to take a personalized approach to career support.
Upon arriving at FLAME, each MBA student is interviewed to provide an understanding of their experience and ambition profiles. But Padmanava Das, associate director corporate relations, says that he and the team encourage MBA students to avoid having any predefined notions about the roles they’ll enter upon graduation.
“We want them to learn all the subjects, understand their forte and then choose their major or minor or their specialisation in the second year,” he explains.
He adds that it’s about alignment rather than just slotting people into jobs. In time students are also helped with their resumes and interview practice to fully understand how to show that they have the skills for a role.
The great news is that such personalized approach works. Across the MBA and MBA in Communications Management programs in 2023, 100% of students were placed with the highest package of INR 20.5 lakh and an average of INR 9.15 lakh.
Find out more about joining a new age business school by watching the FLAME webinar on YouTube.
Student Reviews
FLAME Pune
