THE Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) this year saw a rise in students from Arts background joining MBA programme as compared to last three years.
While the percentage of students with an Arts background who joined MBA programme was 3 per cent in 2018 and 2019, it increased to 5 per cent this year.
However, there is a decline in the percentage of students with a Commerce degree. While it was 23 per cent in 2018, 21 per cent in 2019, it declined further to 18 per cent this year. Similarly, students from science background too remain only 1 per cent this year. It was 7 per cent in 2018 and 2 per cent in 2019.
Professor Vishal Gupta, outgoing-chairperson, admissions, IIM-A, said the management institute e-welcomed their new batch (2020-’22) of MBA and MBA-FABM on Saturday due to the current Covid-19 pandemic situation, “Our admissions policy helps us admit students with diverse perspectives to contribute greatly to the discussion-based learning that we employ at IIM-A. We believe that having a broad mix of participants without compromising on quality will enrich the academic experience of IIM-A students even further.”
Similarly, the MBA-FABM programme or the management programme in food and agri-business has seen a shift in the academic background of students, from engineering to science. From 35 per cent students with science background in the batch of 2018-20, it has increased to 45 per cent this year. The representation of students from engineering background has declined from 65 to 48 per cent in last three years.
Professor Errol D’Souza said, “We consider surface-level diversity… The institute believes such diversity has an impact on the heterogeneity of the deep and enduring attributes such as values, attitudes, opinions, and perspectives of students which enhances their creativity and performance in an organisational context.”
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One of the students from the MBA 2020-22, Dr Manav Mehta shared, “During my MBBS, I realised that I couldn’t envision myself being a clinician all through my life. I was more interested in the business and managerial side of healthcare. Hence, I decided to do an MBA.”
On the concern about doing an MBA amid Covid-19 outbreak this year, he added, “…I decided to join the course this year because the outbreak has shifted the global attention towards the healthcare sector… As much as the healthcare system needs more doctors, paramedical staff, and healthcare facilities, it also needs competent managers to utilise these resources more efficiently…”
Parul Gupta, MBA 2020-’22 student with a background in psychology, said, “…The likely way forward is one of adaptation and transition towards new norms of social interaction, which for businesses would mean understanding the changing needs of consumers and innovating accordingly. That is where the expertise of contemporary management professionals would be a necessity.”
Another student from a different education background, Prachodaya Das who has a degree in Mass Communication says, “The entire media industry is going digital, and the pandemic has bolstered this growth…”
Courtesy: The Indian Express
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