Here’s all you need to know about PGDM program offered at Fostiima Business School

In an exclusive interaction with Shiksha.com, experts at FOSTIIMA Business School talk at length about their two-year PGDM programme. They elaborate on the detailed admission process along with the eligibility criteria and selection parameters, specialisations offered, fees and scholarships, too. The institute is making all possible efforts to help students become industry ready and yet experimenting with new initiatives regularly to make learning fun and impactful. Even during the difficult times of Covid pandemic, Fostiima Business School managed to place over 90 per cent of its students with the highest package of worth Rs 18 lakh and an average package of Rs 8 lakh.

Read the complete interview below

Q: What according to you is the difference between PGDM and MBA program?

A: The most basic difference between the two is that PGDM is a two-year diploma whereas MBA is a university-affiliated two-year degree programme.

Syllabus and Curriculum

As PGDM is mostly offered by autonomous institutes, they have the flexibility to design and regularly update the curriculum as per the latest industry trends. Therefore, colleges offering PGDM programs are expected to be more suitable and aligned with the trends in the corporate world.

In the case of an MBA, the curriculum is generally formulated and regulated by the University.

Focus

The experts claim that the MBA program is more focused on the technical and theoretical aspects related to management than the adoption of practical knowledge.

On the other hand, PGDM courses are more inclined towards practical knowledge. This course is designed to help students develop the skills expected by today’s corporate world hence, aiming at keeping them at par with the latest industry standards.

Q: What is the eligibility criteria for admission to PGDM program at Fostiima Business School?

A: To be eligible for admission to the PGDM program at Fostiima Business School, the applicant must have a minimum aggregate of 50 per cent in graduation in any stream from any recognised institute or university.

Apart from this, the applicant also must have a valid score of any nationally accepted management qualifying exam such as CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT or ATMA.

Q: What is the admission process like? And, on what basis the final selections are made?

A: As a part of the admission process, all eligible applicants need to first fill-up the online application form by visiting the official website and paying a nominal fee of Rs 1,000.

Basis of the detailed profile screening, the candidates will be called for a Group Discussion round and a Personal Interview round. Candidates with a score of less than 60 percentile in the qualifying exam, may have to undergo a written aptitude test also.

The final selection of the candidate will be based on their overall merit performance and their performance in the Group Discussion and Personal Interview Round.

Q: What are the various specialisation options available to students?

A: Because we aim at keeping students at par with the latest industry trends, we offer specialisation options to students in almost all core areas of management, which includes

• Marketing Management
• Finance Management
• Human Capital Management
• Operation Management (includes courses on data analytics)
• International Business

Q: What is the total cost of the two-year PGDM program at FOSTIIMA Business School? Is there any financial assistance or scholarship offered to students?

A: The total cost of the two-year PGDM program at Fostiima Business School is Rs 7.75 lakh which includes a laptop, study material, examination fee, national and international immersions, four curriculum certificates and a business suit.

And, the institute does offer scholarships to students basis of their merit performance and qualifying exam scores. Scholarship options up to Rs 50,000 are available for exceptionally meritorious students.

Q: What are these four certificate courses all about?

A: We don’t want our students to feel lost in the crowd of thousands of other management students who will graduate in the same year across the country. Thus, to give them an edge over other management students, we offer them four mandatory certification courses that are in high demand today. This includes:

1. Digital Marketing
2. Six Sigma Green Belt – We use MINI TAB Software for this course
3. Business Analytics - We use SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software for this course
4. Predictive Analytics - We use Python and R-Language Software for this course

Q: Is it a residential programme?

A: The Institute offers accommodation benefits to students on twin sharing basis. Ths cost for the same varies between Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per month basis services. It includes A/c, WiFi and three-time meals to students.

Q: What are the initiatives you have taken to help students become industry-ready?

A: Industry-readiness is the most important skill in today’s time. It is important that students are familiar with the corporate world and their practices so it takes less time for the recruiters to train them, hence we:

• Train them on personality development skills
• Conduct mock GD and interview sessions
• Industrial workshops
• Organise guest lectures facilitated by industry leaders
• Skill sessions on Advance Excel and Powerpoint
• Live projects under the mentorship of corporate professionals
• Paid summer internships
• Field exposure

Q: Can you please share some of the most recent placement statistics?

A: Placements is one of the most crucial indicators of an institute’s performance. And, we work round the year to bring the most challenging and quality placement opportunities for our students.

Talking about the most recent placement trends, over 90 per cent of students got successfully placed even during the global pandemic situation due to Coronavirus this year. The highest package offered to students was worth Rs 18 lakh while the average package was Rs 8 lakh.

Renowned recruiters across industries such as healthcare, e-commerce, online education and logistics actively participated in the placement session. EY, Aditya Birla Group, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Naukri.com, RBL Bank, Indusind Bank, Infosys, Times of India, IBM, ITC Hotels, Airtel, Reliance and  OM Logistics are a few of them