Our institution provides support for entrepreneurship, says Director SSN School of Management

In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Director SSN School of Management Dr Hariharanath talks about the unique pedagogy they have adopted to prepare students for a better tomorrow. He also talks about courses such as Business Analysis and Data Analytics that the institute offers apart from general credit module courses.

Read the excerpts of the interview below:

Q: What are the salient features of the teaching methodology adopted by your college? How does this differ from others?

A: The faculty at SSN School of Management is enriched with academic and industry knowledge.  Different pedagogical methods are used based on the nature of the course. Students will, therefore, get exposure to multiple approaches to learn. The common pedagogical practices are case projects, analytical assignments, and practice-based learning apart from regular lectures.

The difference lies in how the concepts are taught to attain the desired outcomes.

Q: How are you preparing your students to be industry-ready?

A: SSN believes in holistic learning by students in both concepts and applications. The programme is a blend of the following activities:

• Opportunities to articulate and make presentations.
• Attention to managerial communications.
• Interaction with corporates in a few courses.
• Summer internship after the first year to get a “feel” of real life in the corporate.
• Sensitisation regarding current events.
• Teaching of a few courses by adjunct faculty from industry.

Q: What are the qualities you are looking for in student applicants? What qualities do they need to do well in your course?

A: One of the most important qualities of a successful MBA programme is the ability and desire to read extensively. MBA is a context-based course and apart from learning theory, the ability to connect concepts to contexts requires a lot of reading.

The other desirable qualities are communication skills, ability to focus on the task, teamwork and so on.

Q: How do you ensure that your course curriculum is up to date and meets industry requirements?

A: SSN has become autonomous and has revamped the syllabus in line with industry requirements. We have specialisation courses that are desired by industry. This year, we have offered two non-credit modules outside the curriculum - Business Analysis and Data Analytics.

Q: Is your college receptive to innovation, technology, science and entrepreneurship? How? Could you cite some examples of these?

A: The institution can provide support for entrepreneurship. However, given the fact that the MBA programme is for two years and students come from diverse backgrounds, most of them seek to complete the programme successfully and start their careers in the corporate world.