Improving with age
It struck a chord instantly. First year MBA student Rahul Sawardekar, 24, raised Rs 5,000 by auctioning his guitar classes in an auction 
that the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) organised in August.
The proceeds of the auction, Rs 1 lakh in all, went to charitable organisations. Apart from guitar lessons, students put a week’s home-cooked lunch and even economics tutorials under the hammer.
Innovative teaching methods and grooming ethical managers go hand in hand at FMS. No wonder the Delhi-based B-school is one of the most sought after in the country.
Its social service cell inculcates sensitivity towards corporate social responsibility: paying back to the society in which businesses function.
It does so by utilising the students’ managerial skills to forge ties with non-profit organisations, government institutions and corporate houses.
A typical day for an FMS student comprises classes, field visits and making presentations on laptops connected to projectors.
But even the best-trained faculty can’t expect to keep pace with the rapid changes in the economic scenario. So, the institute utilises the expertise of industry veterans to be up to speed.
“When a guest lecturer from the industry visits us, he shares insights into the economic situations prevailing in the market. This supplements the theoretical knowledge we acquire through books,” said second year MBA student Arkesh Ajay.
An MBA from FMS is a privilege reserved for the best. For 110 slots last year, the institute got more than 72, 000 applications.
Over five decades, a number of factors have helped the institute emerge as the preferred destination of aspiring business managers.
One of them boils down to economics. “The return on investment is the highest. One needs to spend just Rs 60,000 in two years here and this includes the hostel fee. And the placement offers run into lakhs,” said Yatindra Vijayvargiya, a second year MBA student. “The same recruiters who employ students from institutes that charge a fortune come to our campus.”
Of the two full-time programmes that FMS offers, the one in the north campus is Master of Business Administration.
On offer in the South Campus is the more popular Master of Business Administration-Management of Services.
Among the other modules on offer are an MBA (part time) for working executives and an MBA in Health Care administration (part time).
The faculty’s focus is on putting students through a series of activities that go beyond the curriculum. “The teachers pay attention to developing the softer skills of students. That stands them in good stead,” said Times Innovative Media Managing Director Sunder Hemrajani, from the class of 1979.
The work ethic and social sensitivity that students develop at FMS helps them tackle real life business problems. “The lessons of life that we learnt at FMS come handy in day-to-day business functions,” said Canon India Senior Vice President Alok Bhardwaj from the class of 1985.
Author: Joyeeta Ghosh
Date: 4th Nov., 2009
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