Aaron F. Cooper II, a self-described worrywart, never thought his penchant for devising foolproof backup plans could translate into a calling. But that all changed when he signed up for an elective in risk management while at the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business executive MBA program last fall. “It entails pretty much everything I’ve always been interested in my entire life, even before I knew risk management existed,” said Cooper, 27, a telecommunications engineer at AT&T (T).

Cooper is part of a new wave of students hitting business school campuses. For years, risk management—the process of analyzing exposure to risk and determining how best to handle it—occupied a sleepy corner in business schools, a subject mainly of interest to those who want to enter the insurance field. But with the recent turmoil in the financial markets and a push for more accountability, risk management has rocketed in status at business schools.

In the past decade, a growing number of B-schools have added concentrations in the subject, ramping up the number of classes they offer. Executive MBA programs are also incorporating risk management electives into their curriculum, responding to increased demand from executives and companies. In some instances, schools such as Georgia’s Terry are developing custom programs on the topic for top executives and boards of directors.

More : businessweek.com

It’s that time of the year again when spring adds that dash of colour to B -school campuses. And this year, the predominant hue is green. Like the colour you and anyone who’s not a top B-school grad is turning at the number of zeroes in start-up salaries this year. $193,000 — that’s how much Barclays Capital, a British bank, has offered Gaurav Agarwal of IIM-Bangalore. It’s also made offers of $185,000 each to three IIM-Ahmedabad grads. The IIM-B package, say experts, is second only to the $225,000 offer made by an international investment bank four years back at IIM-A and 22per cent higher than last year’s highest offer. It’s also more than what most people make in their lifetime.

So what’s driving this trend? “The reason is simple,” says Professor Ranjan Das of IIM-Calcutta. “As emerging markets grow and MNCs diversify, they need people to manage their businesses. And who better than IIM graduates who are trained in emerging market scenarios.” Besides, IIM graduates have proved they are second to none when it comes to managing new businesses. “Also, the fact that most of them are from IIT gives them a technical edge. Since we don’t believe in area-specific specialisation, IIM graduates have multi-skills. Perhaps, that’s why MNCs make the trip to our campuses every year,” says Professor Pankaj Kumar of IIM-Lucknow.

It’s just such a campus trip that has put IIM-Calcutta’s Anurag Singhal in the mood for celebrating. Having bagged a $160,000 offer from Deutsche Bank, Anurag has zipped off to Bhutan to soak in the post-placement euphoria. Vikas Vashistha of IIM Lucknow may not have headed for the Himalayan kingdom like Anurag but he’s on top of the world, too, with his $75,000 offer from investment bank JP Morgan, London. Vashistha got the highest international salary this year at IIM-L.

The mood is buoyant everywhere. “Everybody has got what they want,” Munish Bhargava, Corporate and Placement Advisor at IIFT, sums up the post-placement week mood in a nutshell. The Delhi-based Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) saw nine international offers — a 5per cent increase over previous years. Mayank Sinha, a finalyear student, is all smiles, for he has just accepted an offer from UK-based pharma company Glenmark for $100,000 per annum — the highest international salary at IIFT this year. “The salary is incidental,” he says, “I’m more happy about my job profile.”

There is plenty of reason to cheer, agrees Professor Das. “There were many more offers, many more companies and much higher salaries this year,” he adds. Though 100per cent placement was never a question at any of these institutes, the astronomical domestic packages did come as a bit of a surprise — albeit, a pleasant one. At IIM-A, the highest domestic salary touched Rs 34 lakh per annum — over 100per cent higher than last year’s high of Rs 14.5 lakh. And as a member of the placement cell pointed out, “Salaries and offers do increase every year but this year, the rise was much higher than the usual 15-20per cent.”

HYDERABAD: The banking sector in the country is a gearbox for the next places at different business schools in the regions. The banks are to recruit nearly 1000 graduates of the best schools in the country until the end of the year.

And packages of Pay-grew by 25% compared to the previous year, higher than lach Rs 15 per year. IIMs addition, other schools in the B list of agents owned investment Symbiosis (Pune), SP Jain Management Institute (Mumbai) and MDI (Gurgaon).

The pay varies depending on the level of settlements. The program provides care and one of the graduates of the multi-purpose, so they are a precious asset, “said an analyst.

HSBC Bank, via a current strength of 7000 in the country, is planning to hire nearly 250 B-school. “We recruited 85 students from B-school campuses through placements in 2007 as part of our programme management staff,” said an official.

In addition, the Bank has a different attitude in direct business schools of 84 hires for its different societies. The Bank expects more than perhaps 15-20% B-school graduates at the time. HSBC Bank visits, by far, all higher education institutions in the country.

Recruits are, in general, because of Associate Vice-President of the Post Office. Salaries vary between programs and can accommodate up lach Rs 15 per year. The Bank also lach side of Rs 8 for the training programme includes the induction of Bank management, out of experience and training for a month of training at the Training Institute within the Group in London.

Yes Bank is to rent about 50 graduate schools of B-500 and others directly by the lateral recruitment at the end of the year. “We follow a three-stage strategy. Phase I, as a general rule, IIMs and the salary ranges between Rs 8-11 lach. They are responsible for the recruitment programme HR Leadership Yes Yes Bank head Deodutta Kurane said.

Phase II includes Symbiosis (Pune), SP Jain Management Institute (Mumbai), MDI (Gurgaon), and so on, the graduates of these schools are considered as staff members and the salary is around Rs 6 lach, he said. Phase III B, schools other than those mentioned above, and graduates are in the lease-purchase of the guidelines.

“The training programme for fresh graduates is quite rigorous. It includes an induction and training program, which lasts a few months,” he said. BNP Paribas, a multinational bank to come, recruits graduates from 50 B-schools. It will focus on strengthening the recruitment and hiring even more in the upcoming season, placement.