B-school trends come and go, but one that seems to have legs is the creation of specialized MBA programs, particularly by second-tier schools. The schools find them useful for attracting students and cementing their brand identities at a time when competition among schools for the best students is intense. In recent years, they’ve becoming increasingly common (BusinessWeek.com, 7/19/07) even at high-profile schools. Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, and the Wharton School now offer specialized MBAs, majors, or dual degree programs in areas like real estate, sports management, biosciences, electronic commerce, and health care.

But is a specialized program always a good choice for an MBA student?

Not necessarily. While established programs have placement records on par with those of their general MBAs, many newer programs have not yet established the kind of recruiting relationships that guarantee students high-paying jobs at graduation. And graduates always run the risk of getting hamstrung by their specialties later in their careers, when an industry downturn forces them to look outside their specialties for opportunities.
Chart Your Own Path

Some who have gone through the specialized programs say they are best for those with a firm idea of their future goals, and who are keen to chart their own path. “I knew what I wanted to do,” said Carrie Stern Rathod, who received her MBA from Wisconsin’s Brand ‐ Product Management Center in 2005 and now works for Procter & Gamble (PG), which recruits regularly from the program. “There’s a range of people for whom this program is ideal. If you have an entrepreneurial bent but are not sure you’re ready to take the leap yet, the program might be right.” But, she added, “I think it would be tough if you wanted to go into consulting or something like that.”

For students who aren’t comfortable breaking away from the pack or seeking out professional contacts in unconventional ways, a specialized MBA might not be the best choice. This is especially true at less well-known schools, where big companies often don’t recruit. Students in these programs agree that making industry connections can require a lot of initiative from the student. “If you have a very specific company in mind, you might need to be a trailblazer in making relationships with those companies,” says Rathod.

More : businessweek.com

Do you have a knack for figures? Does the rise and fall of the sensitive index excite you? Would you like to have a say in the country’s future? Check out the wide range of options open to a qualified economist. A report by Debojyoti Ghosh and Rupa Ganguly Economics is the art of trying to satisfy infinite needs with limited resources.

-Albert Camus CONSIDERED a rich subject, the study of economics covers a vast field and requires an analytical brain to grasp its nuances. It is a branch of social science that deals with production, distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management. The subject deals with the process of satisfying unlimited human wants with limited resources. Therefore, in essence, economics is about making choices. It’s about guiding men and society to make the right choice, and manage to live within their means.

What it entails Economists study the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Their work mainly has to do with analysing data and practical applications of economic policy in a particular area. Economists use mathematical models to develop programmes, predicting the nature and length of business cycles, the effects of inflation on the economy, or unemployment.

Assessment of economic conditions nationally and internationally to estimate the economic effects of specific changes in legislation or public policy is also a part of their job. The primary task of economists, however, is to predict the probable consequences of a course of action or policy decision. They may work as advisors with different kinds of employers Begin early Economics could be studied in school, as a sixth subject in ICSE and an additional subject in Madhyamik. It could be taken up as a regular subject at the plus two level. However, if you want to major in economics at the graduation level, you just have to pass 10+2 in any stream. To get a postgraduate degree in the subject, you should have a graduate degree in economics.

Options abroad The London School of Economics is known the world over as a premiere institute in the field and runs all sorts of courses. A wide variety of funding options is available for overseas students. The LSE itself gives awards to the tune of 1.4 million pounds. There are a number of awards covering teaching and living expenses. Two of these scholarships are given to undergraduate students on the basis of exceptional performance. The third goes to a student who has completed his degree as an external student. Several other schemes, such as the Overseas Research Students (ORS) awards, the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan, the Rotary Foundation Scholarships, UNESCO fellowships, the Department for International Development Shared Scholarship Scheme (DIDSSS) etc. are also available. The Indian friends of LSE offer scholarships to Indian students. Teaching expenses could be covered by awards from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, while the Indian friends support the living costs.

BHUBANESWAR : The city branch of ICFAI Business School claimed that all its students were absorbed by different companies marking 100 per cent placement in 2006-2007 season.

“The average remuneration on a per annum basis is Rs 4.5 lakh while the highest range has touched a mark of Rs 6 lakh per annum,” the school said.

It said some of the major recruiters, who participated in the placement drive, were ICICI Bank, India Bulls, Kotak Securities, HDFC Bank Ltd, Anand Rathi, UTI Securities, Pantaloon Retail India Private Limited and Indus Bank Limited.

The next batch placement season would commence from the month of September and was expected to be completed early 2008.

CHENNAI: India Institute of Technology (IITS) have long been recognized as one of the best of our education system and also have the worldwide recognition that the institutions comparable to the best in the world, the vice-president, planning the communication, Montek Singh Ahluwalia said here on Friday.

As graduates of the IITS were well in the USA, the U.S. Congress recently adopted a resolution on the estimation of these institutions, alongside the assessment of contributions by Indian Americans on the U.S. economy .

India is indeed the rate of private savings on a broad basis of the ability of business, commitment to an independent judiciary and respect for accepted standards of accounting had observers suggest that the country has able to achieve a growth rate of over 8 per cent per annum, however, support political measures were available, “said Ahluwalia also the convocation address in IIT.

M.S. Ananth, director of IIT Madras, has been awarded 1134 degrees. Among them, 82 Ph.Ds, 98 MS, 411 M Tech, 37 MBA, MSc 83, 80 and Dual Degree 343 B. Tech.

“These accounts cover a wide range of disciplines and specialties offered by the ten engineering departments, three divisions, the division of management studies and the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences and Humanities”.

The Chairman, Board of Governors, AE Muthunayagam said the creation of technology park would be a reality, with the government allotting areas related to the IIT.

Among the winners was Arvind Thiagarajan, receive, the President of India and the price by the highest score among CGPA-tech students and pupils in two ways.

The governor, the prize went to Mahesh Krishnamurthi (B. Tech). Karthik Srivatsa (B. M. technology and dual-Tech Degree), Dr. bags Shankar Dayal Sharma, while the price-AVN Ravikanth, the Institute was awarded the Order of Merit.