Institute realizes the significance of infrastructure that promotes wholesome and contemporary learning, says Director

Padmakumar Nair, Director of LM Thapar School of Management, talks about the institute's strategic goal in an interview with Shiksha.com. He goes into great detail on the numerous infrastructure facilities that are accessible to students to help them gain practical experience. In terms of industry interaction, updated curriculum, and collaborations, LM Thapar School of Management has left no stone unturned in helping students become industry-ready.

Read the complete interview below.

Q: Tell us something about the institute; when it was set up, vision and mission.

A: Grounded in the ethos of social entrepreneurial mindset and sustainability, LM Thapar School of Management is a leading business school set up in 2007, committed to developing professionals who are adept at creating and propagating sustainable and ethical management practices. Positioned as “The Business School of New India”, LMTSM is led by an objective of developing corporate and community leaders for defining and building the new India, and ultimately the new world of our dreams.

Following are the key elements of our strategic intent:

• Mission: To develop globally sensitive, excellence seeking management professionals with a social entrepreneurial mindset.
• Vision: To be a source of impactful ideas for influencing management education and business practices through research, teaching, consulting and corporate & community engagement.
• Motto: Initiate, Innovate, Inspire, Implement
• Program Educational Objectives: Enable our students to: understand global business and management practices; develop a ‘do it better than before’ mindset; and find solutions for social and organizational issues in sustainable and entrepreneurial ways.

Q: Tell us something about the admission process.

A: Admission to the MBA & MBA – Business Analytics & Big Data programs at LM Thapar School of Management is highly competitive, and is based on a comprehensive assessment of the intent and ability of the applicant to pursue a formal learning program in management. Candidates are evaluated on the basis of:

• Professional Readiness: measure through statement of purpose and admission interview
• Academic Readiness: measured through performance in standardized management admission entrance tests (CAT/XAT/ NMAT/ GRE/ GMAT/ CMAT/MAT/ SNAP/Thapar Management Aptitude Test)
• Academic History: measured through academic performance in 10^th/12^th/Graduation

Q: What kind of infrastructure can students expect at the institute? Please elaborate.

A: LM Thapar School of Management realizes the significance of an infrastructure that promotes wholesome, contemporary and technology-abled learning. The institute was set up in 2007 under the flagship of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (Deemed-to be-University), a top ranked academic institution with proven legacy. The tech-savvy campus, set on a sprawling area of 33 acres, is able to attract students from all across India.

The Institute is well maintained with fully airconditioned academic block comprising large classrooms, conference halls, board rooms and an auditorium. The classrooms have multimedia equipment with large seating capacity. It has a residential facility for over 500 students and the hostels are equipped with modern state-of-art amenities. The hostels are guarded 24*7. There is high speed internet connection in each block for students. Each block has separate arrangement for water purifiers & bathrooms with geysers. The school has state of the art library with more than 8000 Books & 23 Periodicals & Magazines, including management, science and philosophy; a vast collection of art films and DVDs. The book lovers can avail the library facility from Monday- Saturday including 24/7 online access to Kindle Books. Students are also eligible to access the vast resource pool at the Nava Nalanda Central Library at TIET campus, Patiala. The Institute cafeteria, serving a variety of foods and drinks, is run on a no-profit no-loss basis and is a buzzing spot for discussions. For all the Gym lovers and health enthusiasts, there are 20+ machines available in both Gym and Cardio sections. The sports enthusiasts are facilitated with different games. There are separate Volleyball, Football, Badminton, Table Tennis, Cricket, Basketball fields and a running course.

“A home away from home”, the campus offers many outlets of creative independence for students to pursue their interests and hobbies, while also providing opportunities to participate in community services.

Q: There is a lot of stress that is being made with regard to interaction with the industry as well as companies that recruit. What are the steps being taken by the institute in this direction?

A: One of the defining features of the curriculum at LM Thapar School of Management is its focus on experiential learning through a strong industry interface. Students are encouraged to take up live projects in various sectors, the main ones being: BFSI, Logistics, Business Analytics, Manufacturing, Consumer Durables, FMCG & Retail, Technology Management & Education Services. These projects aid practical ‘on-site’ learning and empower students to corroborate their in-class learning with real life organizational challenges. Apart from project-based interaction, companies engage with the Institute on a regular basis, in the following ways:

• Industry Insight Sessions: Company professionals interact with students to educate them on the opportunities and growth areas in respective domains/sectors.
• Company Visits: Organizations invite students at their office locations or manufacturing/service facility.
• Guest Speaker Sessions: Corporate guest speakers and volunteers conduct on-campus sessions for providing meaningful inputs and sharing experiences.
• Pre-Placement Sessions: Professionals visit the campus for presenting learning, growth and career progression avenues at their respective originations.

Q: Internships are now mandatory as per AICTE guidelines. Does the institute help students with this? If yes how?

A: LM Thapar School of Management acknowledges the importance of internships for facilitating pragmatic and project-based learning. In this direction, efforts are initiated in the first semester itself through regular interaction with the Employability Team, which organizes sensitization sessions with respect to internship opportunities & prospects. The team strives to generate internship avenues for students through its strong industry liaison. Further, the Centre for Training & Development LMTSM conducts a functional proficiency test in the beginning of the second semester to help students identify their most suited function of management, enabling them to focus on internship opportunities in the identified function of management. Top institutions, consulting organizations, consumer products manufacturers, financial institutions, and technology companies are among those firms which offer internships to LMTSM students.

Q: Can you please share details if there is any collaboration with universities abroad?

A: LM Thapar School of Management boasts of a vibrant Global Immersion Program, which provide opportunities to students to view business in the international context. The Institute partners with 15+ international universities for summer internships/ semester exchange programs, offering an immersive and experiential learning in a global set-up. Some of our partner universities are:

• University of Toledo, USA
• Rowan University, USA
• University of Tel Aviv, Israel
• University of Twente, The Netherlands
• University of New South Wales, Australia
• The University of Tampere, Finland
• University of Texas, Dallas, US
• VU University, The Netherlands
• The University of Queensland, Australia
• University of Malta, Malta
• Danube University, Krems, Austria
• Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary
• Kathmandu University School of Management, Nepal

LM Thapar School of Management is also a proud signatory to the United Nations charter Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) - an ambitious UN initiative to instill ethical and responsible management education.

Q: Please share placement statistics with information on the average package, highest and lowest package, number of students placed and details of companies that have recruited.

A: The Employability Team of the Institute is dedicated to providing 100 percent placement opportunities to all the students. The goal of the Institute is to provide all students with resources and opportunities to successfully match their skills and interests with a potential employer. Students are trained for employability challenges through carefully crafted training programs judiciously bended in the academic curriculum. The Institute is able to attract a good number of recruiters across different domains and areas of management. Some of the key recruiters are: American Express, KPMG, PWC, Deloitte, EY, Nestle, Hyundai, MRF, TCS, Siemens, Tech Mahindra, FedEx, Havells, IndusInd Bank, ITC, Asian Paints, Accenture, Amazon, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Reliance Industries, Kellogg’s, Axis Bank, Mitsubishi Electric, Newgen, Blackstone, RBL Bank, Hero, ZS etc.

Placement Metrics

• Number of Recruiters: 77
• Highest Salary (annual): 21.35 L
• Salary of top 25% of students 9.4 L
• Average Salary: 7.01 L