In business, it’s the early bird that rakes in the moolah. Taking cue from the age-old proverb, two MBA students have turned entrepreneurs even before graduating.

H.R. Sampreet and Saurav Dhiman, second-year students of the Vinod Gupta School of Management at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, have launched their own company, Enfount Business Solutions. Their maiden venture is Bulkdeals.co.in, a Bangalore-based online retail window specialising in institutional and organisational buying of laptops, desktops and other electronic items.

“Across campuses, students form groups to buy computers so retailers give them a discount,” said Sampreet. “But this happens locally and in an unorganised manner,” he explained.

The duo saw a business opportunity in this campus trend and created an online platform that is a one-stop-shop for bulk deals of laptops and desktops of all brands.

“Here, students can register and get great deals directly from the brands,” Sampreet said. “We estimate this to be a Rs 200-400 crore market. The brands, too, were looking for a single window to reach out to the student community. We had the business model and wanted to hit the market early, so we started even before graduating,” he added.

The company is partnering with almost all top brands such as Dell, LG, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo and HCL.

The website had over 1,000 visitors in the first three days of its launch and already has more than 300 members and over 20 registered colleges, including all the IITs.

When asked how they plan to balance studies with running a business, Saurav said: “It is all about time management. Our business requires just two or three hours a day, which we can easily put in.”

More : telegraphindia.com

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

An innovation expert from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will be visiting the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), in November to promote the importance of user-based innovations in creating successful companies.

“India and Indians residing worldwide have a wonderful record as innovators and entrepreneurs. I believe users tend to be the real developers of many important products. Recently, research by my colleagues has shown that many new companies are started by users who become entrepreneurs. Learning about how user innovations foster the creation of successful new companies will be very useful information for IIM students and others in India,” says Eric von Hippel, professor and head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management and professor of Engineering Systems at MIT.

It will be his first trip to India, which he also intends to use “to forge closer contacts with my colleagues at IIM-A, who have very similar research interests”.

The lecture is part of a two-week long ‘Inventors of India’ workshop by the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM-A. About 70 inventors and innovators of all ages and technical background are expected to be present at the event. Premier institutes could also be called to participate at the workshop.

“Eric will participate and may give the inaugural address at the workshop. In addition, he will interact with the faculty and students and explore possibilities of collaborative research. Apart from visiting some grassroot innovators, he will interact with our incubatee companies as well. Several things are being planned and we are quite excited about his visit. Also, we may ask institutes like National Institute of Design (NID) and Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA), to pitch in,” says Rakesh Basant, chairman of CIIE and a professor at IIM-A.

An expert in Principle of Developing Economics, Eric has made two of his books available openly on his website at no cost to the reader: Democratising Innovation, published in 2005 by the MIT Press, and Sources of Innovation, published in 1988 by Oxford University Press. Leading companies in the world have used practical methods based on his research.

Hippel is also expected to meet grassroot innovators at SRISTI, an NGO founded by Anil Gupta, a professor at IIM-A. Incidentally, Gupta too would be lecturing at MIT as part of the Amy Smith’s International design and development course on July 16-17.

More : business-standard.com

In an interview with the media today, PraMod Dr Kumar, director SIBM, “said Conference in regard to questions about the role of banks and financial institutions, the role of multinationals and public sector ’s role information technology industry, R & D and technology human resource management, management and the changing role of unions. The role of industry in the development of ethical standards and standards discussed.

Presidents of eminent Mr. NK, PSU, human resources specialists, bankers and managers of the technology involved in achieving the objectives on strengthening business relationships prospects for the future, including government influence political and understanding the impact of the activity of India in the global economy.

Among the participants are former Ministers of Finance Dr. Manmohan Singh, Rajesh Pilot, MP, Ram Jethmalani, Union Minister for Urban Development, Dr. RA Mashelkar, Director General, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and Professor Rammohan Rao, director, IIM, Bangalore

Paul Wellings, the vice chancellor of the Lancaster University, United Kingdom was recently in the Capital on a brief visit. During his visit a memorandum-of-understanding was signed between the Lancaster University and Jawaharlal Nehru University for conducting joint research in social sciences, says a press release.

Apart from this, Lancaster University has recently entered into partnerships to offer joint-degree programmes with Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and collaborative degrees and joint research agreement in life sciences with Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). In addition, an agreement has been formulated for research cooperation with Lancaster INFOLAB21 and Computer and Communications Research, Institute of Technology, Mumbai.

Management conclave

The GLA Institute of Technology and Management, Mathura recently organised a management conclave `Managing change and transformation in India Inc in global perspective,’ says a press note. The conclave was inaugurated by A Kalanidhi, former vice chancellor, Anna University and advisor, Sterling Infocom Ltd; Alok Aggarwal, executive director, Polar Industries and Ganeshi Lal Aggarwal. The event began with a `Saraswati vandana’, which was followed by the presentation of the conclave theme by Alok Aggarwal, in which he stressed on the need to be fully abreast with the corporate sector and the importance of affordability, acceptability and availability in the same. In a highly motivating lecture, Kalanidhi expressed his simple yet profound ideas, on the occasion. Mementos were presented to distinguished speakers and a cash reward of Rs 10,000 was announced for the MBA topper of the institute.

Accolades for Aptech

Adding yet another feather to its cap, Aptech has been named among `India’s Biggest Newsmakers’ in the second annual Business Today - Cirrus Review of CEOs and Companies that got the best press coverage in 2004, as per a press release.

A global learning organisation, Aptech Ltd is playing a key role in helping individuals, organisations and nations adapt to the changing requirements of a knowledge-driven world. It has acted as a catalyst to change by encouraging the sharing of knowledge through intelligent training and education solutions. Aptech’s recent forays include learning services - e-learning and consultancy, ATTEST - testing and certification and Aptech Higher Education Services.

IMT courses

The Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad invites applications for courses through the distance-learning mode. The courses are affiliated to the Vidyasagar University, West Bengal. The courses are: Master’s in Business Administration (MBA); Master’s in Human Resource Management (MHRM); Master’s in Marketing Management (MMM) and Master’s in Supply Chain Management (MSCM). The eligibility is a graduation or appearing in the final year.

In addition, it invites applications for one-year specialised diplomas in business administration, marketing management, personnel management, financial management, export management and material management. The eligibility for these courses is a 10+2 with a five-year experience or graduation, or a three-year diploma in engineering from the board of technical education, after a 10+2.

The forms and prospectus are available on payment of Rs 700 in cash. Contact the Advanced Management Institute, 67 (Basement), Hargovind Enclave, Opposite Railway Reservation Centre, Karkardooma, Delhi-92. The deadline is March 6, 2005. E-mail:imtdelhi9@yahoo.com.

Paramedical courses

The Nice Academy of Paramedical Sciences affiliated to Ch Charan Singh University, Meerut, under IDE invites applications for programmes, namely, hospital management; radio imaging technology and medical laboratory technology, wherein, the duration of the degree courses is three years and diploma and certificate course is one-year. In addition, it offers a physiotherapy programme, where the duration for the degree course is four years and diploma and certificate course is a one-year.

Information Technology (IT) holds the key to kick-starting a revolution in banking, said Radha Unni, chief general manager, State Bank of India, here.

She was inaugurating a national conference on `Braving new frontiers in banking,’ organised by the ICFAI Business School, here.

She called for standardisation across banks and appealed to them to take the services to the doorsteps of the customers for financial inclusion.

Anoop Narayanan, security consultant, First Legion Consulting, said human fraud, incompetence and errors made the implementation of new technologies difficult. He also spoke on information leaks and the cultural factors involved.

Punjab National Bank senior manager Guru Murthy spoke on the implementation of core banking solution. He provided an overview of the technologies used in mid-level interactions, in the back offices and in internal monitoring and reports.

K.A. Joseph, managing director, Kerala Venture Capital, summarised the session on IT in banking by providing an overview of mobile Internet banking. He said that IT should equip bankers to convert future threats into opportunities.

A.K. Basu, general manager, State Bank of Travancore, spoke on private banking. He highlighted the various challenges faced in private banking.

Ommen Jacob, regional sales manager, ICICI Bank, said the challenge before private bankers was to provide their customers with the best service in the industry. He spoke about the four R’s of private banking: reach, relationship, research and resource. It was only by investing in them in favour of customer needs could the banks achieve their goals.

A.V. Anil, branch manager, Kotak Mahindra Bank, focussed on the services provided by private banking and also gave a brief picture of the challenges faced such as high client expectations, higher fixed costs and so on. Padma Kumar, former chairman and managing director of Federal Bank, stressed the need for private banking. He said that as the interest rates had reduced, people did not just invest in banks; they had more options.

Private banking should aim at providing products for wealth management to all sections of society for financial inclusion.

Cherian Varghese, former chairman and managing director, Union Bank of India, spoke on retail banking and the various norms issued by RBI regarding it.

V.P. Roshan, branch head, IDBI Bank, gave an overview of how banks operated, the importance of retail banking.

NIILM Centre for Management Studies, Delhi, the 11 winners in the National Student Games management held on Tuesday.

ICFAI Business School, Mumbai and the Institute of Management Technology, ghaziabad, the first and second runner. On the PSG Institute of Management, nine teams from different regions of the country, competed among themselves for the final Tuesday. The groups were withdrawn from the semi-finals on Monday.

For finalists, play is serious business. With view on the screen of the laptop, they discussed strategies and action plans developed for business nervenaufreibende problems.

Produced by the All India Management Association (AIMA), the games are very popular among students in management, particularly from the southern region. “We have the most number of participants from the southern region - 169 of 263 participants from countries of the South,” said Vikas Gupta, Deputy Director, AIMA. The game, everything revolves around replicate real work situations.

Each group has been Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

Each group receives a company and asked to manage. You must make business decisions with consideration of an economy and fluctuations in market conditions. “Simulation game test the real potential of students. You will have the opportunity of their theoretical knowledge,” says SCTyagi, vice-director of AIMA.

The game is not only for students of management. MCM and engineers can participate. For Suvidh Arora Tripti Agarwal and the Institute of Technology Management, ghaziabad, the game is even more demanding. Two of his teammates could not do, and they are moving toward the battle. “This game is all about handling situations. We are dealing here with a problem, and we are confident of handling,” said Suvidh.

“Each phase of the game is a challenge,” said Vishal Agrawal of ICFAI Business School, Mumbai. Vishal and his friend Abhay Jain participate in this game for the second consecutive year. Sumeet Tiwari and Hitesh Bhagchandani same part of the Institute for the first time. According to them the game is a great learning experience.

The National Academy of Sciences, a private organization established by Congress in 1863 to advise the Federal Government, has elected 60 new members. The election brings the number of active members to 1,683.

The academy also named 15 nonvoting foreign associates, bringing their total to 298.

Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded an American scientist or engineer. The academy said election recognized “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”

Following are the new members and their affiliations at the time of the election. New Members

Yakir Aharonov, professor of physics, Tel Aviv University, Israel, and University of South Carolina, Columbia.

Paul G. Ahlquist, professor, Institute for Molecular Virology and department of plant pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Bishnu S. Atal, head, speech research department, A.T.& T. Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, N.J.

Bruce S. Baker, professor of biological sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.

Ransom Lee Baldwin Jr., professor of animal science, University of California, Davis.

Denis Baylor, professor and chair of neurobiology, Stanford University.

Malcolm R. Beasley, professor of applied physics and electrical engineering, Stanford University.

Klaus Biemann, professor of chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.

Claude R. Canizares, professor of physics, head of the astrophysics division and director of the Center for Space Research, M.I.T.

Charles P. Casey, Helfaer Professor of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin.

C. Thomas Caskey, chief of medical genetics; professor of medicine and biochemistry; director, Institute of Molecular Genetics; Henry and Emma Meyer Chair in Molecular Genetics, and investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.

Two researchers surprised the public in a convention of security during the last month of its finding a version of Microsoft Windows is more secure than Linux, an operating system competitor.

Download a copy of Windows vs. Linux study in PDF (265K).

This week, researchers released their finished report, and they contain more of a surprise: Microsoft was funded by the project long.

Researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology and Boston-based Security Innovation Inc., and defend their conclusions valid. They say they have “full control over all editorial research and analysis” on the project. His report details of its methods, and they invite other experts to examine and duplicate their work.

But their disclosure of the project, source of financing this week is agitation new debate on what has otherwise been encouraging messages for Microsoft in a field in which they fight. Researchers have been presented during last month’s RSA Conference, which attracts some of the biggest names in computer security.

“It was proof that Microsoft was better, and now the evidence unclean,” said Counterpane Internet Security founder Bruce Schneier, a long RSA Conference speaker. “The results may well, but now nobody is going to mind, because they all see, this is a prejudice that has not been revealed.”

But one of the researchers, Herbert Thompson of Security Innovation, said he and his colleagues have examined the final report, which has not gone presentation, the proper place for advertising. In addition, he said, the report presenting the detailed project research methods should be any concern about the possible prejudices.

“We knew that some of the criticism, which are collected in the report Microsoft is funding,” said Thompson. As a result, he said: “Our own method claim, it is very open and transparent. We wanted the recipe for humans, they could go further and recalculation of figures themselves. ”

The 37-page final report, published Tuesday, it is expressly Redmond on the role of the company: “This study and our analysis, under a research contract from Microsoft,” he says on the fourth page.

But during his presentation on February 16 on the RSA Conference, Thompson and Richard Ford Fellow researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology does not mention that one of the subjects of their research was part of a project financing.

Thompson said yesterday that it had decided it would be better to wait until the release of the final report on that disclosure. In part, he says, the idea was to avoid some of the divisiveness, which are often characterized by Windows vs. Linux debate.

The presentation of the RSA Conference “does not seem like the ideal place for the conduct of religious war,” said Thompson.

Purious debt market was the denial of benefits of e-business and India, the difficulties of catching up with Global Supply Chain Management, in the conclusion of a faculty of God for development programmes “e-business and Supply Chain Management (SCM), organized by the Department of Management Studies, National Institute of Technology, there are few.

The dominance of market fundamentals is reflected in the personal nature of market participants and labelling factor that blocks the emergence of new products, regardless of their quality and cost competitiveness, bode well for ‘evacuation optimum benefits of e-business, the Vice-Chancellor of Bharathidasan University, C. Thangamuthu, said the management of participants in the 11-day session, sponsored by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

In the field of education on the concept of SCM is not functioning properly because of congestion institutional consideration of strategies as a terminal at the end of each stage and not as an ongoing process, “he said in reference on the functioning of the Indian Institute of Management in the country’s islands of excellence. Redundancy was the biggest chore of higher education, quality upgradation a matter of time.

Management experts, he insisted, it took courage to constraints in order to enhance the symmetry of information through integration with the market and improve the dissemination of information.

P.C. Narayan, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, worked, a meeting on “E-Banking”, noted that art “naturally” half-management experts to facilitate the transition to the next generation of Students `E-life.”

The usefulness of these programs, he said, should be optimized for a mesh “knowledge” essential to strengthen the forces and transmit them with the value of salvation for students, and they prepare for a digital life.

Given the primacy of technology management of the successful projects, the Director (In-Charge) NITT, S. Subramanian, spoke about the importance of taking good decisions at the right time. Mr. Puniamoorthy, Head, Department of Management Studies, NITT, invited the participants to specialists in areas such as marketing, finance and operations.

Provide feedback from participants indicated that the programme, provided that give them an overview of the practical aspects of risk management and optimization of resources.

The Programme Coordinator, G. Kannabiran, said the participants visited BHEL, Tiruchi to understand the functioning of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and E-business systems. Furthermore, have a interaction with managers BHEL, Titan Industries, i2 Technologies and IBM.

The topics included in the programme, IT and competitive advantage, Business-to-Consumer e-Business, Business to Business E-Business, e-banking, e-procurement, security in e-commerce , Questions of social law E-Business, ERP - concepts, technologies and implementation, SCM - Concepts, technology and implementation, and Business Process Reengineering.