The Hindu Business Line : B-school students opting for novel courses

New Delhi, Jan. 4 MBA students don’t seem interested in selling soaps and deodorants anymore. Instead they would rather enter hardcore yet traditionally unpopular sectors such as agri-business, micro-finance and rural marketing. Diversifying career domains seems to be the order of the day in management schools.

With the final placements just round the corner, companies are combing campuses for those students who have chosen to specialise in these unusual areas. Top notch companies such as Goldman Sachs, Stanchart, Citibank and Calyon are some of the front-runners in making offers to those with an understanding of these sectors.

“There is definitely a slump in students wanting to go to sectors like FMCG. The market is good and students are in an experimental mode. At least 30-50 odd students in the current batch of 482 have opted for diversified domains,” Prof Pankaj Kumar, Head (Placement) at IIM-Lucknow, told Business Line.

Stating that IIM-L focuses on the holistic development of students, he said, “The aim is to produce generalists. Students can become specialists by opting for electives with combinations during their second year,” adding that IIM-L had recently introduced rural marketing in keeping with the demand for the course.

Prof Arnoud De Meyer, Director, Cambridge Judge Business School, said, “A good business school is a place for emerging ideas for future managers. Innovation management will become the key to enterprises’ success in the future. Students too are becoming a part of this innovation by opting for different career paths.”

“There is a perceptible shift. Though a large chunk of students still venture into investment banking and corporate finance, a good number of students are opting for less popular sectors. The new labels are attracting companies which have specialised divisions to cater to market needs. Besides, students also on their part, now prefer to stay back in India and be a part of the nation’s growth,” Prof L.S. Ganesh, Head of Department (Management Studies) at IIT-Madras, said.

Pay packages

Corporates invariably lap up students with prior work experience. The salary structures in emerging areas too are witnessing a 50 per cent rise to make it more lucrative for the students. Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi Placement Convener, Dr Madhu Vij said, “The summer placement itself has witnessed a 400 per cent rise in offers, this includes various sectors, and students too are moving away from run-of-the mill jobs.”