Here’s what students may expect if they plan for MBA in India this year

Master of Business Administration or MBA is among the most sought after postgraduates programs in India and abroad. The course spans for 2 years in duration and is divided into four semesters. MBA will help the candidates attain knowledge, skills, and various business practices needed to set up any business or grow the existing one. Even in the 2019-2020 session, top colleges like IIMs, MDIs, FMS, XLRI, and others received tremendous response from corporates with respect to placements. 

The average placements were 14 to 25 Lakhs INR yearly. But, this year, coronavirus’s impact affected the Indian economy, business, and education sector after March 2020. Due to the pandemic situation, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has announced that B-schools will take admissions on the marks obtained in the last qualifying examination. Let’s find what is in store for MBA students this year.

What’s to expect for MBA students in India this year?

With the pandemic, surely MBA aspirants may face few changes here and there. Let’s discuss them below:

1. No Summer Internships? – This year, due to the pandemic situation, MBA students may not be able to work on live projects during their internships. The AICTE has announced that there will be no summer internships due to COVID 19. AICTE has instructed the institutions not to allow the students to take up summer internships in other organizations. They asked the institution to provide the students with internships in which students can work from home. 

MBA aspirants feel that live projects are essential. For them, an internship is very much important for their career. So, they requested the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to postpone the internship instead of canceling. Students who are pursuing an MBA this year in India will face few more  changes. Below some of the points are discussed that reflects the impact of COVID 19 on B-schools, MBA education , and admissions.

2. Alterations or Upgrades in B-school’s curriculum: MBA programs have recognized the importance of having a new teaching model that reflects the change in the way we work in the post-COVID world. Therefore, they have altered the curriculum in tandem with that foreign universities. New streams like Business Analytics, Sustainable Management, Liberal Studies & Management are becoming popular. There will also be change in the way of teaching as well. The B-schools will provide students with more webinars, more online interactive sessions with faculty members, alumni, and other industry experts. The students also get practical experiences through faculty-led projects. This helps the colleges to ensure that students can make most of their courses online and not on campuses.

3. Changing Job Market: Due to the pandemic situation, the job market has globally changed. There have been a lot of layoffs, severe pay cuts, and even shutting down of businesses. This layoff, salary cuts, shutting down of business is not limited to a particular sector. But after six months of lockdown, the job market has again started to open slowly. 

Candidates who are pursuing an MBA this year or next year will have to face this situation. But the MBA candidates who are looking to take admission in 2021 will not have to face this situation. Because by the time they complete the MBA course, the economy is expected to go up and the job market will be good, and more job opportunities will come. 

Just in the last batch top MBA colleges offered average salaries between 15 to 25 Lakhs PA. With various transformations, and changes in the course structure and way of teaching, placements are expected to be alright next year as well. This year, students pursuing an MBA or PGDM course can expect jobs in the coming years.

4. Changes in the B-school Admission Process: This year, at the time of crisis, students are facing a lot of pressure. But the B-schools are going out of their way to ensure that they need not face many difficulties in such a crisis. They are making the admission process easier and are providing financial aids through scholarships. 

B-schools know that financing an MBA program during the pandemic situation might be difficult for most of the candidates. So, they will try to offer more scholarships and financial aids to the students who cannot afford to pay their fees. This scholarship helps some of the students to continue their education who find difficulty in paying their fees. 

The B-school will be accepting more students who are applying in the later rounds of MBA application like the previous years. The AICTE have directed the B-schools that they can take admission on the basis of undergraduate scores.

5. Amidst the pandemic situation, corporates’ positive responses: Though the pandemic situation is affecting worldwide, the responses by the corporates are positive. Some of the private sectors still hired candidates who are graduating this year. Amidst the pandemic situation, some of the new sectors give pre-placement offers for the candidates. Some of the companies already started hiring for some of the roles.

6. An evolving experience: Unlike the previous year, the MBA candidates of 2020 will not be starting their courses on the campuses. This year due to the pandemic situation, B-school has already started online learning. Students will not experience the classroom model of teaching. For the on-ground situation and safety, this decision is taken. B-schools have designed a new ‘hybrid model of learning.’ The ‘hybrid model of learning’ is a mix of online and offline learning. This learning is experienced by the MBA candidates of 2020. The candidates of MBA 2021 might start their classes on campus after the COVID 19 vaccine is developed.

From the points mentioned above, it is clear that COVID 19 has changed the entire landscape of MBA education in India. It is a very difficult time for MBA aspirants as they are in a state of dilemma whether to pursue management education right now. But, the placement records last year where corporates hired skilled professionals offering decent packages, the tweaking of the course curriculum, introduction of some new-age courses, and a flexible admission process may attract more applicants.