Indian School of Business

Indian School of Business

Type	Private, unaccredited
Established	1999 (1999)
Chairman	Adi Godrej (since 2011)
Dean	Ajit Rangnekar
Co-Founders	Rajat Gupta and Anil Kumar
Academic staff	40 Permanent Faculty ~100 Visiting Faculty
Postgraduates	574 (2012)
Location	Hyderabad, India Mohali , India
Campus	multiple
Website	ISB.edu

The Indian School of Business (ISB) is a graduate business school and research institution in India with campuses in Hyderabad and Mohali. It offers a short duration Post Graduate Programme in Management (MBA-equivalent), a Fellow Program in Management (Ph.D-equivalent), as well as several executive education programs. ISB's programs are not accredited by the All India Council of Technical Education.

ISB was ranked #13 in the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2011.

ISB has been involved in controversies, including AICTE non-recognition, its co-founders and executive board members Rajat Gupta and Anil Kumar both involved in the Galleon Group insider trading case and dean emeritus Mendu Rammohan Rao involved in the Satyam Scandal. They have all since resigned.

History and Location

ISB Hyderabad Campus

In 1996, a group of business leaders and academicians — led by Rajat Gupta and Anil Kumar — recognised the need for a globally top-ranked and distinctive business school in Asia. They realised that the evolving business scenario would require young leaders trained in the nuances of transitional economies while exposed to a global perspective. The vision of the founders and executive board was to create a school that was different in many ways — with innovative academic programmes and a world-class, affordable value proposition.

The school has been called “the McKinsey brainchild” for the close involvement of McKinsey & Company in its inception: co-founders and senior partners Rajat Gupta and Anil Kumar worked closely together and directed teams of McKinsey consultants to start the school. First, the Executive Board was formed of global business leaders: Gupta recruited U.S. leaders while Kumar recruited Indian leaders. Next, the ISB established formal partnerships with international business schools: Kumar recruited Wharton, while Gupta recruited Kellogg. The London Business School followed shortly thereafter. Finally, Pramanth Sinha, then a junior partner at McKinsey, was persuaded by Gupta and Kumar to take a leave of absence from McKinsey to be the school's first dean.

Rajat Gupta became the school's first chairman; he served on the executive board with Anil Kumar until both were entangled in the Galleon insider trading case from 2009-2011. Adi Godrej succeeded Gupta as chairman in 2011.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh welcomed the ISB into Hyderabad, laying the foundation stone for the campus in 1999. The Post Graduate Programme was launched in 2001 with an initial batch of 128 students, followed by the launch of the Executive Education Programmes. The school’s Hyderabad campus was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in 2001. Its first graduation ceremony on June 24, 2002 was presided over by President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

Hyderabad Campus

ISB's Hyderabad campus is located in Gachibowli. The campus has been designed in such a way that certain parts maintain the indigenous vegetation, rock formations, and natural habitat while other parts have manicured lawns, boulevards, and gardens. A wide variety of flora and fauna — including the national bird of India, the peacock — can be found within the campus. A virtual campus tour is available on the institution's homepage.

ISB Hyderabad Campus Library

The Academic Block is the heart of the Hyderabad campus. It consists of lecture halls, the auditorium, library, professors' rooms, administrative offices and the cafeteria. All lecture halls have AV equipment and network connectivity, and the Khemka auditorium seats 400 people. The library has over 31,000 books, 2000 AV resources, 374 print journals, and a computer centre with online access to 40 online databases including over 2,000 e-journals. The residential facility for full-time students consists of four housing blocks called Student Villages (SV), each accommodating up to 130 students at a time. Each SV has separate wings for individual students and for students with families. All student rooms are provided with broadband Internet connectivity and in addition, Wi-Fi connectivity is available in almost all parts of the campus. There is a separate Executive Housing (EH) available for candidates of executive programs, visiting professors, and corporate executives. Permanent faculty reside in the Faculty Housing block. Recreational facilities include a fitness center, swimming pool, tennis, squash, badminton and basketball courts, football grounds as well as indoor sports such as billiards, carrom, and chess. The Class of 2008 raised funds from the student community to construct the "Class of 2008 Events Lounge" for on-campus parties. The open-air amphitheater was constructed from funds donated by the Class of 2009. Other on-campus conveniences include a grocery store, bookstore, bank, travel desk, doctor, and a small creche for children.

Mohali campus

ISB's Mohali campus is spread across 70 acres in Knowledge City, Mohali. It is slated to open in 2012.

The Mohali Campus will house four institutes:

• Max India Institute of Healthcare Management
• Bharti Institute of Public Policy
• BML Munjal Hero Honda Institute of Manufacturing Excellence and Innovation
• Punj Lloyd Institute of Physical Infrastructure Management

Academics

The academic programmes at the Indian School of Business provides the latest practices and trends in management education with the flexibility to explore different areas of interest. ISB's learning model emphasises on the close connection between management education and management practices that focuses on creating business leaders.

Academic programs

The following programs are offered at the ISB:

Post Graduate Program in Management

The yearlong programme in management education follows a combination of core courses, selected electives and an experiential learning project, which allows students to interact with the industry. Unlike many other business schools in India, ISB requires prospective students to have significant full-time work experience prior to admission and has a recommended minimum work experience of two years. Apart from ISB's core faculty, visiting faculty from associate schools such as Wharton, Kellogg, and London Business School also teach in the PGPM program. During the course of the term, the visiting faculty stay on campus providing students with an opportunity to interact with them outside of class hours.

The programme offers an MBA-equivalent degree.

Fellow Program in Management

The Fellow Program in Management is a doctoral program (PhD-equivalent) in Management.

Post Doctoral Programme in Management

The institute believes in nurturing research in management and aims to contribute to the academicians and the industry. The Business Research Fellowship Programme (BRE) intends to focus on issues afflicting industries in both developing and developed markets. Fellows are required to publish their business/management research in leading journals and aid the faculty in classes and in research. The school also provides qualified fellows opportunity to spend a couple of semesters in top business schools. The programme expects the individual to demonstrate capabilities to do research. It looks for scholars who hold a doctoral degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Operational Research, etc. Selection is based on past research, statements of purpose, and recommendations as well as an on-campus presentation and interview.

Center for Executive Education

The Center for Executive Education (CEE) conducts management programmes of short- and long-term duration for middle and top management executives. Faculty for these programmes are drawn from respected executive coaches with exposure to consulting for large organizations.

The CEE offers open programmes in Marketing, Strategy and Leadership, Finance and Accounting and Operations and Technology. Along with top-notch faculty and innovative curricula these programmes provide opportunities for networking amongst the executives themselves. These programmes draw a diverse set of entrepreneurs, chief executives and managers from a wide spectrum of industries. The General Management Programme offered by CEE include Managing Young Global Enterprise (MY GLOBE), ISB Kellog Global Advanced Management Programme and Accelerated Management Programme. These programmes aim to transform the performance of both the individual and the organizations they represent or lead.

The CEE of the Indian School of Business also offers customized management programmes to meet the specific needs of organizations. ISB works with the clients to establish an integrated partnership based on a 4D approach to learning: Discover, Develop, Design and Deliver.

Admission

Admission to the school is highly competitive and includes applications from students with high GMAT scores and diverse professional experience. Shortlisted students are then interviewed by a panel of two or three drawn from the ISB faculty and alumni.

Course Structure and Curriculum

The academic year begins in April and is divided into eight terms of 6-7 weeks each: 4 core terms and 4 elective terms. During the core terms, all students take a variety of courses such as Accounting, Marketing, Finance, Organizational Behaviour, Information Technology, Strategy, Operations etc. that provide the foundation for a business degree. In the elective terms, students can opt among the electives offered towards pursuing their concentration. Each course counts for 1 credit, and 6 credits from a track are required to obtain the concentration. It is mandatory to obtain concentration in any one area, though a student can choose a maximum of two concentrations. The Experiential Learning Project is an integral part of the programme in which students, in groups of three to four, work on live projects directly in a corporate environment.

Academic and Social Clubs

There are a number of student-run clubs, fourteen professional clubs ("Business Technology", "Consulting", "Emerging Markets", "Energy, Manufacturing & Operations", "Entrepreneurship & VC", "Finance", "General Management", "Healthcare", "Marketing", "Media", "Net Impact", "Real Estate", "Retail Club" & "Women in Business"), and eleven social clubs (International, Arts & Creativity, Dance, Golf, Music, Photography, Radio, Quiz, Theatre, Sports, Spouse & Family Association).

Exchange programs

The International Student Exchange Programme provides students an opportunity to spend two semesters in one of the ISB's 20 exchange partner schools abroad. Partner schools include Queen's School of Business, Thunderbird School of Global Management, London Business School, Kellogg School of Management, CEIBS China, Fuqua School of Business, The Fletcher School, HEC Paris, Melbourne Business School, and Wharton Business School.

The ISB together with the Wharton School also offers The Wharton Global Consulting Practicum. This is a global consulting program that helps develop skills in negotiation and consulting from a global standpoint.

Placements

Unlike other business schools in India, ISB conducts a rolling placement season for its students. ISB graduates have received both Indian as well as foreign postings through on-campus placements. Regular recruiters include Google, McKinsey & Co, Goldman Sachs, Boston Consulting Group, Microsoft, Deutsche Bank, HDFC Bank, British Petroleum, Pepsico, Accenture, A T Kearney, Oliver Wyman, Yes Bank, Alvarez & Marsal, ArcelorMittal, DLF Limited, Zinnov, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Arthur D. Little, Infosys, Wipro, Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, Lufthansa, Pfizer, Bharti, Reliance ADAG, Capgemini, ZS Associates, Hewitt, The Parthenon Group, Novartis, JLLM, Aditya Birla Group, Alghanim Industries, Dassault Systemes, Universal Consulting, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, NIIT, ICICI, Zensar Technologies, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Flagstone Re, Coca Cola, Value Partners, Citigroup, Deloitte, ITC, and Amazon among several others.

Research

ISB has a small but growing group of research faculty. The research output at ISB has been the highest among Indian institutions in the area of management in the period 2000-2009.

ISB has seven Centers of Excellence, each with a particular focus on issues relevant to emerging markets:

• Centre for Analytical Finance (CAF)
• Centre for Emerging Market Solutions (CEMS)
• Centre for Global Logistics and Manufacturing Strategies (GLAMS)
• Srini Raju Centre for Information Technology and Networked Economy (SRITNE)
• Centre for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC)
• Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED)
• Indu Centre for Real Estate and Infrastructure(ICREI)
• Centre for Teaching, Learning and Case Development

The Centres focus on generating research by working closely with industry through conferences, seminars, and workshops. ISB plans to start a centre for Strategic Marketing in the future.

Seminars and Conferences

The First International Conference on Igniting the Genius Within, organised by the Centre for Leadership, Innovation, and Change (CLIC). at the ISB, offered participants a unique opportunity to experience the confluence of three themes - Leadership, Innovation and Change.

In addition, many conferences are organized on topics such as private equity and strategic management. This showcases ISB's high exposure and leverage upon both Industry and academia.

Alumni Reunions

Reunions happen at important business hubs in India, and some chapters like the New Delhi and the Mumbai chapter are active in organising meets. School representatives are sometimes present at these meets.

Solstice

Solstice is the ISB’s annual flagship Alumni reunion event. Spread over three days, this event marks the homecoming of ISB Alumni from the world over with professional speaker events, networking events, alumni showcases, guest performances, musical concerts, fun activities, parties and a whole lot more.

Rankings and Reputation

In 2011, ISB's ranking dropped to #13 from #12 in 2011 according to The Financial Times. It debuted the rankings list at #20 in 2008 and had moved up to #15 by 2009. In the 2009 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report the school was ranked 13th in the Asia Pacific region.

ISB is the first Indian institution to be ranked globally among business schools, notably ranking in the top twenty business schools worldwide in its first year of inclusion.

ISB maintains close alliances with The Wharton School, Kellogg School of Management, London Business School, and MIT Sloan School of Management. It is a member of the Global Business School Network and the Top Asia Business School alliance.

Controversy

Founders and dean

The institution’s co-founders and dean has been involved in three notable controversies in their parallel careers. These, in chronological order, are:

• Dean Mendu Rammohan Rao resigned over role in Satyam case
• Co-founder and executive board director Anil Kumar resigned over role in Galleon case
• Co-founder and chairman Rajat Gupta resigned over role in Galleon case

AICTE regulations

ISB has been included in the list of those institutions that run courses violating All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) regulations. According to ISB, AICTE does not have rules to recognize ISB's short duration programs. As of August 2010, AICTE had started approving short duration programs too.

External links

• Official website