One Year MBA course is back in vogue

After a disappointing lull in the recessionary years, the Executive MBAs are back with a bang. India's most successful MBA colleges like the Indian Institute of Management are luring working professionals into the one year Executive MBA courses with lucrative results. There has been an increase of 20 - 40 percent in the batch size for the next academic session. This is mainly due the successful placements last year.

Pandurang Bhatta, Chairperson of the post-graduate program for executives (PGPEX) at IIM Calcutta (IIM-C) has said that there has been an increase of 30 percent in the batch size this year. IIM Lucknow (IIM-L)has also recorded a growth of 40 percent in its batch size for its one-year full-time, International Program in Management for Executives (IPMX). This too has been attributed to the successful placements. IIM Ahmedabad (IIM - A) has for the first time, seen the batch size of its post graduate program in management for executives (PGPX) crossing the 100 mark. The 2011-12 batch this year has seen 102 students, up from 86 last year.

At IIM-A, recruiters who participated during the 2011 placements include — A. T. Kearney, Arthur D. Little, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Corporate Executive Board, Philips, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Google, Facebook, Infosys, TCS, Accenture, CapGemini, Mindtree, Amazon, Polaris, HCL, Hero Honda, Reliance Industries Limited, and RPG Group among others.

Another reason for buoyancy in these one year programs for working professionals is the return of the regular sectors. According to Bhatta, working professionals mostly from IT and related sectors used to opt for the programs, which had tapered off during economic slowdown. However, this year, regular sectors like IT and telecom have returned to the campuses.

The IIMs select candidate based on professional experience, academic record, GMAT score and personal interviews.

Types of Executive MBA Programmes