NLDIMSR has India’s largest Bloomberg lab with 12 Bloomberg terminals, says NLDIMSR Director Dr Khan

In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Director N.L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research Dr MA Khan talks at length about the institute’s belief in Holistic development of the students. According to Dr Khan holistics development is more than just the acquisition of knowledge and skills by involving the mobilisation of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to meet complex demands of today’s corporate world and society.

Dr MA Khan is a unique combination of excellent academic record along with outstanding achievements in academic administration. He has been Registrar of University of Mumbai for 4.5 years, Director of Sydenham Institute of Management Education Research & Entrepreneurship Education Mumbai for 6.5 years and CEO of Haj Committee of India for 4 years.

Read the complete interview below

Q: What are the three things that your institute/college/university is doing that will enable it to differentiate itself from competition?

A: N.L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research believes in holistic development of students, more than just the acquisition of knowledge and skills by involving the mobilisation of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to meet complex demands of today’s corporate world and society. Future-ready students will need both specialised knowledge and applications to execute the specialised knowledge. Disciplinary knowledge will continue to be important, however, through practical problem-solving, critical thinking, and design thinking methods, students will need to apply their knowledge in unknown and evolving circumstances. For this, they need a broad range of skills, including cognitive and meta-cognitive, social and emotional skills, and practical and physical skills.

To achieve its vision of ‘To be a world-class management Institute’, the institute strives to differentiate itself from the other business schools through introducing industry-specific courses in the curriculum, adding value-added courses and certifications to upgrade the technical and managerial skills of students, upgrading teaching-learning infrastructure and keeping 100 % placement record year after year with the highest package of 24LPA.

The institute’s key differentiators are as follows :

1. Value-added courses/certification courses like Bloomberg BMC and Technical Analyst certification, Fintech programme, Capstone Business simulation, Certification courses in Data Analytics, Data visualisation, HR analytics, MCX, Project Management (PMI) to name a few.

2. NLDIMSR has India’s largest Bloomberg lab with 12 Bloomberg terminals. L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research recently became a Bloomberg Experiential Learning Partner (ELP)r. The ELP Programme is designed to recognise and celebrate academic institutions that are leaders in experiential learning through the integration of the Bloomberg Terminal exercises into their curriculum.

3. The Institute has a strong industry-institute interaction for curriculum design, certification courses, guest lectures, workshops, industry visits, workshops etc.

4. NLDIMSR has resilient alumni connect which enables its students to interact with alumni on career guidance, internships and live projects,  placement preparation etc.

5. NLDIMSR has 100% record. Every year, top MNCs and blue-chip companies visit the campus for placements. The academic rigour equips the students to achieve 100 percent placements. The students are regularly placed in Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Citicorp, ITC, Credit Suisse, PWC, Capgemini, HUL, TCS, Godrej, HDFC, Bennett Coleman, Viacom 18, CRISIL, NOMURA, HDFC Bank, IDFC, ILFS, Edelweiss, JLL, Kotak Bank, L&T, Nielsen, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Wipro, NSE, BSE, UTI, J P Morgan, KPMG, EY, D. E. Shaw, ICICI Bank, Aditya Birla Group, TATAs, Essar Group, Reliance Group and many more.

Q: What kind of changes have you noticed in the education industry in past 5 years?

A: Quality Education lays a strong foundation for the individual as well as the nation’s growth. Society and the professional world continued to evolve and have changed with the growth of technology and the beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, data analytics, big data and the internet of things have driven the next level of job opportunities and future-ready industry orientation. With increased competitiveness in the industry and technology adoption, the needs of organisations are changing very fast. As an out of these changing demands business schools have the responsibility to produce more sensitive, productive, employable and skilful professionals.

A strong comeback for the self-employed & start-up ecosystem has changed the business scenario during COVID -19 pandemic. Many star ups opportunities are available today. Business schools may tap into this demand. Innovation management and design thinking processes help entrepreneurs streamline and optimise their ideas. A growing number of organisations are accepting intrapreneurship as a means to retain top-performing talents.

Experiential learning is gaining importance in management education in developing knowledge, skills, and values with the help of experiences. Various activities such as internships applied research, and other innovative activities are a part of this learning method..

Q: What are the top three initiatives undertaken by you that are helping your students become more industry ready?

A: Industry readiness is a crucial skill in today’s time. Helping students become industry-ready involves a lot of initiatives such as:

• Industry-specific curriculum
• Value added courses and professional certifications in the area of all specialisations
• Pre-Placement training in association with NLDIMSR Alumni , industry experts and corporate bodies.

Q: What are the key attributes that a student should have in order to qualify for your institution and perform well?

A: To qualify for the institution, one must have

• Excellent Academic record
• Positive attitude
• Ability to apply independent thought
• Team ownership
• Creative and innovative

And, to perform well, the student must be Disciplined, Persistent in academic activities, Analytical and must possess good communication skills, must have good problem solving and decision-making skills and must be committed and focused.

Q: Which programme/s would you say is/are your best? What is it that helps your institution differentiate itself for this programme?

A: PGDM Programme, I would say is the best.

Key Differentiators are:

• State of the art infrastructure
• India’s largest Bloomberg Lab with Experiential Learning Partner (ELP)programme
• 100% placements
• Experienced and highly qualified faculty members
• Industry-specific syllabus with national and international linkages
• Live projects and internships to enhance experiential learning
• Professional Certifications and value-added programmes to enhance students’ skill set.

Q: What are you doing to improve/drive better campus placements for your current students and alumni? What kind of jobs routinely come to campus? What would you say are the key recruitment trends for your college (observed over the past five years)?

A: To improve /drive better campus placements at our Institute lot of emphasis is on the overall development of the students, yearlong activities are planned and students are encouraged to participate in all the activities, students are encouraged to participate in B-School competitions, training students to ace the interviews, mock interviews are conducted by alumni who share their experience and actively mentor the students, engagement with Corporate by inviting them for guest sessions and as panellists for various events.

Students are hired for the following profiles:

Analyst, Investment Research, Consulting, Operations, Equity Research, Management Trainee, Knowledge associate, Senior Analyst Risk, Client Solutions, L & D, HR Business Partner, Recruiter, Talent Acquisition, Associate, Business Development, Area Lead Sales, Merchandising etc.

• Corporate Partners from the following sectors visiting the campus every year consistently:
• Banking, Financial Services, FMCG & Retail, HR Consultancy, IT/ITes, Management, Consulting, Manufacturing, Market Research, Media & Advertising, Research & Ratings, Supply Chain & Logistics etc.
• Consistent participation of regular recruiters in the placement drive,
• Increase in no. of companies participating in the placement drive
• Increase in average and median CTC offered