Besides academics, we begin training students for placements from the first year itself, says DCSMAT Principal

In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Principal of DC School Of Management And Technology Dr Sreekanth talks in detail about students’ journey to become industry-ready and how their Institute plays a key role in it. He talks about all initiatives and ideas that the Institute has executed so far to make students ready for the corporate world. Dr Sreekanth is a PhD holder in WTO Studies from Symbiosis International University, Pune. He carries over 20 years of rich industry and academia experience.

Read the excerpts of the interview below:

Q: What are the three things that your institute is doing that will enable it to differentiate itself from competition?

A: The theoretical component is an important part of any curriculum but we focus more on practical exposure.  We believe in learning while doing as it has an everlasting impact on students’ brain. To make this possible:

• We follow a unique academic delivery process by combining the theoretical and practical areas of management education
• We focus not just on academics, but also on personal growth and we have developed many in house programmes such as gallop (focused soft skill and common skill), SOP, EP etc.  Being a fully residential campus affords adequate time and resources for these co-curricular activities
• DCSMAT has a vibrant campus life that provides opportunities to students for developing and showcasing managerial skills and latent talents. We are located in a highly preferred hill station in South India

Q: What are the top three initiatives undertaken by you that are helping your students become more industry ready?

A: To prepare students at par with industry standards is the need of today. And, we try to fulfil this need in the best possible manner. We,

• Follow a system combining simulation and case study method of teaching. This enables our students to get acquainted with industry practices
• Have at least one industrial practitioner visiting every week to interact with the students
• Encourage students to undertake micro-projects frequently. During this assessments, they are supposed to assimilate information from the industry and economy and present it during the specially devised ‘Evening Presentations’

Q: What are the key attributes that a student should have in order to qualify for your institution and get good grades?

A: To Qualify for the institution, apart from fulfilling the eligibility criteria, a student must possess Positive attitude and eagerness to grow and lead

For better performance throughout the curriculum, students must be attentiveness in class, participate in group activities and must do thorough preparations for examinations

Q: Which programme would you say is your best? What is it that helps your institution differentiate itself for this programme?

A: All our programmes are equally good. But being the largest in intake, we may consider our MBA programme as our flagship programme. The differentiation of our MBA is our output. The students who have undergone our programme turn out to be confident, enthusiastic and motivated individuals who are an asset to any organisation. This has been substantiated time and again in terms of feedback from employers and the fact that many of our alumni have secured enviable positions in the industry.

Q: What are you doing to improve/drive better campus placements for your current students and alumni? What kind of jobs routinely come to campus? What would you say are the key recruitment trends for your college (observed over the past five years)?

A: We have a well spanned-out placement strategy.  Besides academics, we give placement training from the first year itself. The programme comprises of in-house training followed by external placement training by reputed trainers. We have a full-fledged placement cell to coordinate the placement activities. The placement cell also provides career guidance and career counselling. We also have a unique programme ‘Aspiring Your Dream Career' which focuses on guiding the students to make the right career choices and thereafter goes about helping them to prepare themselves for it.

What kind of jobs - we get Job offers in almost every field.   Since we offer a variety of specialisations and the option to pursue dual specialisations, it is imperative that we bring in placements in every domain.

The trend that we see in placements is the general market trend and not anything that is exclusive to our institute.  There are now a days more openings coming up in the financial and banking sector and perhaps less in the manufacturing sector. The opportunities in the marketing domain are more or less steady.  This is more or less reflective of the trends in the Indian economy.