Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of computer major Dell, has joined the governing board of Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business.

ISB’s governing board is chaired by Rajat Gupta, MD of McKinsey and Company, an ISB release said here on Thursday.

“I am happy to be associated with a world-class management institution that is in the business of creating tomorrow’s industry leaders”, Dell said.

Ajit Rangnekar has over 30 years of experience in East Asia and India in the areas of business strategy, new business creation, systems implementation, and performance improvement in a variety of industries ranging from telecom, utilities, energy, chemicals and shipping, both in the private and public sectors.

He has extensive operations management experience of business start-ups in the manufacturing, trading and professional services sectors in Hong Kong and India. He returned to India in June 2002, with the objective of working in the education sector. Education Times speaks to Ajit Rangnekar, deputy dean, Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad on what makes ISB one of the premier B-schools in the country.

The ISB is believed to be one of its kind in Asia. What makes it so different from other B-schools?

The ISB is a research-focussed management institution and offers a one-year, post-graduate programme in management. The programme is appealing to a different market segment of students, typically those who are working and are looking to upgrade their knowledge and skills; entrepreneurs; people who are looking for career shifts. The ISB is affiliated to three of the world’s best management institutions, the Wharton School, Kellogg School of Management and London Business School. Some of the world’s best faculty who teaches at top management institutions across the world teaches at ISB - a unique combination that is unparalleled. The ISB is a global institution that offers world class infrastructure as well.

How has the programme at the ISB evolved since its launch two years ago?

We have completed two years and the response has been excellent. We have had some of the world’s best faculty teaching our students. Our students go through an intensive one-year management programme. They have not only performed very well but have contributed to a vibrant campus atmosphere through several club activities including community work. We have ramped up our short-term executive education programmes and plan to increase it further over the next few years. We have made progress in establishing our centres of excellence. The Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development is active and the Centre for Finance will shortly be established. We are commencing a unique post-doctoral programme and will have about 10 students this year.

The Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, was founded in 1954. FMS, Delhi is one of the earliest settlements, a complete course of international marketing. With a royalty rate RS20, 000 alone, the Institute offers 90 places per year. The selection process includes a separate test, under the direction of the SGF.

FMS, New Delhi was the sixth rank as a Top-management institution in the country. The Business Today-AC Nielson ORG Margrete Business School survey shows that the SGF has cut in all settings.

Its strengths are the methodology of learning, training, and quality of their faculty. Indeed, it was judged a better teaching method when it is the second largest Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. The Institute, however, a major handicap for registration.

FMS must increase in order to compete with other institutions worldwide. It is a necessity for the institute to integrate research, consultancy and training in the world-class infrastructure lie.

The Indian Institute of Modern Management (IIMM) has been ranked the best business school (B-school) in Pune in a Business Today survey and is among the top 50 B-schools in India. It is an autonomous management institution with state-of-the-art infrastructure and over 300 computers and a library with books worth more than Rs75 lakh. It has a unique course curriculum and innovative training methods that ensure practical exposure to industries, thereby making IIMM’s management programme more effective. The institute has attracted over 150 companies for placements and the final placement companies include Bharti, Phillips, Parle Foods, Pepsi, Arvind Mills and Sahara India. IIMM conducts classes, workshops, seminars, personality development programmes, presentations, corporate interactions and other co- curricular activities and its students pursue Masters Degree in Labour Laws and Labour Welfare apart from human resource (HR) and HR-related subjects.

The students also receive information technology (IT) training and companies such as HLL, LG, Whirlpool, Britannia, Electrolux, Reliance, Tata Engineering and Locomotive company (Telco) and Tata Technologies Ltd have accepted the HR students for project studies with them.