Be the Change: Why One Year MBAs are gaining Popularity?

<p style="text-align: justify;">Many students ask me this question about why another format of MBA is introduced when the regular 2 year format is very popular for last 50 years or so in India. I told them the times had changed, there are many reasons for a shorter duration MBA program:<br /><br /><br />a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The information availability to the students prior to the internet era was not easily available. Students at that time has to work harder to learn &amp; collate the information particularly business information. Now a days the information is available 24x7, therefore, there is an opportunity for students to learn quickly and face the corporate world. <br /><br />b)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The 2 year format was started by Harvard Business School 90 years ago to prepare managers for manufacturing units. The <img style="border: 3px solid black; margin: 3px 4px; float: right;" src="https://images.shiksha.com/mediadata/images/1263979639php9SlkiL.jpeg" alt="" width="150" height="110">today&rsquo;s world is knowledge age, we require managers who can think faster, work faster and give results faster. That&rsquo;s why the faster MBA program is gaining momentum.<br /><br />a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Europe out of 35 top b-schools, 22 of them offer 1 year program including traditional universities like Cambridge &amp; Oxford. Rest of them offer shorter programs like 15 months &ndash; 18 months. Very few colleges in Europe are offering programs in traditional format of 2 year. <br /><br /><br />In India, various b-schools have started the 1 year MBA format like Indian School of Business (ISB), Indian Institute of Management &ndash; Admedabad (IIMA), S P Jain Institute of Management &amp; Research (SPJIMR), Europe Asia Business School (EABS) and Great Lakes Institute of Management (GLIM). The 1 year format is gaining popularity among students who have prior work experience between 1 to 10 years. I would recommend, those who have more than 10 years of experience, they should look for a part-time MBA program or join Advanced Management Program which are offered by foreign universities. <br /><br />&nbsp;<br /><br />One Year vs 2 Year MBA Program</p> <table style="height: 106px;" border="0" width="573"> <tbody> <tr> <td>One Year MBA Program</td> <td>&nbsp;Two Year MBA Program</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Popular among students with job experience</td> <td>Popular among fresher&rsquo;s</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rigorous coursework requires intensive efforts by both Faculty and Students</td> <td>Relatively relaxed since both faculty members and students have longer time frame to handle the course</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Expert Faculty members with substantial credentials &amp; industry experience are a must to handle One year program</td> <td>More theoretical inputs are given in 2 year programs therefore, lot of faculty without much industry experience</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Start up salaries are higher (lateral Placement)</td> <td>Start up salaries are relatively lower (fresher&rsquo;s placements)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Leads to early loans pay off (faster ROI)</td> <td>Loan servicing time is extended due to lower salaries compared to one year</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <ul> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br />Myths about 1 year MBA programs:<br /><br />&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>Myth 1: </strong>One Year Program offer shorter curriculum:<br /><br />Answer: No, 1 year program does not offer shorter curriculum. The curriculum delivery is however faster and more rigorous. We expect to prepare students for a rigorous corporate life which requires to work for 15 hours per day. The 1 year program is a good start to learn to work harder.<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Myth 2: </strong>Getting jobs is difficult for 1 year program<br /><br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>Answer:</strong> The ISB and other institutes have shown 1 year program are very much acceptable by the corporate and in-fact higher salaries are offered to the candidates. For instance, Europe Asia Business School students with 2-3 years of prior work experience are getting offers of 7 lakhs to 10 lakhs per annum from leading corporate. <br /><br /><br /><strong>Myth 3:</strong> Non-Government recognition makes it less acceptable <br />&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>Answer:</strong> All the institutions who are offering 1 year program are making request to the government to consider 1 year format and give approvals. Meanwhile the 1 year MBA is reconginzed by industry as top qualification not only in Indian companies, also by international companies.<br /><br />&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>Myth 4: </strong>1 year MBA are very expensive<br /><br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>Answer:</strong> This may be true for few institutions but most of the institutes have similar fees like 2 years.&nbsp; For instant, EABS charges 6 lakhs tuition fees inclusive of all study material and exam fees. Most of the institutions are offering educational loan facility through leading banks like HDFC, SBI. Hence, students can easily (and quickly) pay the loans since they will get jobs faster than their friends joining 2 year MBA.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Myth 5:</strong> 1 year MBA schools don&rsquo;t invest much in infrastructure<br /><br />&nbsp;<br /><br />Most of the 1 year MBA program have extra-ordinary infrastructure like SP Jain in Dubai &amp; Singapore; ISB has 250 acre campus at Hyderabad; EABS has 110 acre campus at Gurgoan. For instance the EABS campus in Gurgoan is suitable for mature students with <img style="border: 3px solid black; margin: 3px 4px; float: left;" src="https://images.shiksha.com/mediadata/images/1263979725phpCm2z40.jpeg" alt="" width="131" height="115">family &amp; kids. We have separate apartments for those who wish bring their families during the program.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Conclusion<br /></strong></span><br /><br />I think the times are changing faster than we think. America has first black president who is changing the way west think of east and east think of west. This is the time to think about contribution towards economic growth of the world quickly. I must invite students to think in broader prospective before joining any MBA program. They should seek counselling from qualified counsellor or meet the Profs / industry executives seek adequate guidance. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>About the Author</strong></span><br /><br /><br />Dr Nikhil Agarwal is considered to be international expert on Internet Governance, Technology Policy and i-Entrepreneurship. He is currently serving as Director &amp; Professor of Europe Asia Business School (EABS) www.eabs.ac.in based out of Pune and Gurgoan. Dr Agarwal is alumnus of Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.</p> <hr /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>For further details about related course and colleges please click below:</strong></span></p> <p><a title="Related courses and colleges" href="https://management.shiksha.com/">Related courses and colleges</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>