With certification from CISI, students stand a good chance of making a career in international markets, says Professor

In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Professor Krupesh Thakkar at ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai talks at length about the salient features of his teaching methodology of the PGDM Financial Markets programme. He elaborates on various practical aspects that aim at making students industry-ready such as certifications from CISI (Chartered Institute for Securities), UK and NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets). With these certifications, students stand a good chance of making a career in international financial institutions. Various companies in BFSI segment have mandatory requirements to have specific NISM Certifications, thus passing these certifications, students get a better chance for these placement offers.

Professor Thakkar is a Postgraduate MMS degree holder with specialisation in Finance. He is a CFA® charter holder. He has also completed Post Graduate Diploma in Foreign Trade and Diploma in Banking & Finance. Having spent more than a decade in the capital market, his research area included tracking the economy, establishing market strategy and assignments in investment banking

Read the complete interview below:

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

A: PGDM-Financial Markets is a dedicated course using class-room teaching with innovative pedagogy to better learn and strengthen student’s base, knowledge and proficiency in the subjects of finance and financial markets. The course is designed to give a perfect blend of classroom sessions along with practical training in our Business Simulation Lab.

It also has a subscription to the financial database of companies, sectors and the economy through CMIE and Accord FinTech.

The course covers all core finance areas including corporate finance, investment banking, financial derivatives, fixed income,  portfolio management, wealth management, treasury & risk management, banking management, equity markets, financial modeling, forex markets, alternative finance and Fintech.

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

A: To help students become industry-ready, we as an institute have taken various initiatives to impart a quality learning experience to students. It includes:

• Practical exposure through Industry-Academia Interface involving Industry Visits, Guest Lectures, Workshops, Panel Discussions and Seminars
• PGDM-FM as part of its programme, also facilitates certifications from CISI (Chartered Institute for Securities), UK and NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets). The students are provided special training for various certifications offered by these organisations
• With certification from CISI being an internationally approved certificate by pursuing this certification, students stand a good chance of making a career in international financial institutions. Various companies in BFSI segment have mandatory requirements to have specific NISM Certifications, thus passing these certifications, students get a better chance for these placement offers
• Five-month Industry Internship to avail the real-world experience in top corporates

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

A: The course is best suited for those aspirants who want to shape their careers in the Finance sector in India and overseas in the field of Investment Banks, Banking, Financial Services, Research, Mutual Funds, Rating agencies, Wealth Management, Insurance, Micro Finance & IT

The students with analytical minds, open to challenges and with the zest of learning are best suited for the course

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

A: Every year we conduct two Board of Studies in addition to the regular Faculty Meet to discuss the various aspects of the course including the need for updating curriculum and syllabus, gap-finding in the current curriculum, pedagogy review and assessment review

The members of this Board of Studies include the Director and Dean of the colleges, internal and visiting faculty, industry experts, subject specialists, recruiters, alumni to get a holistic view of the current trend and industry demand

Any areas of improvement are being considered in the coming years and for the current year, we conduct various guest sessions and workshops as mentioned earlier

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

A: We are very much receptive to innovation, technology and entrepreneurship

• The Business Simulation Lab is a part of the ITM Center of Excellence available exclusively to Financial Markets. It facilitates learning in a real-time, live market environment simulation in various asset classes, giving a chance to the students to get a first-hand experience of the live trading environment along with Cogencis (Newswire software) for getting Live News feeds on global & domestic economy and financial markets
• Also, at ITM we have an Entrepreneur and Incubation cell that encourage and help students to be an entrepreneur
• Some of our students after getting related work experience, have started their own venture