Learner focussed pedagogy case study approach, a personalised development plan for students, says Director DCSMAT

In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Director DC School of Management and Technology Jayasankar Prasad talks at length about the initiatives taken not just to help students become industry ready but future and career ready. He goes into details talking about the importance of corporate exposure, focus on man making process and value based management.

Prasad holds a PhD and a BTech-MBA degree from the University of Kerala. He began his career as a Management Consultant in 1997 and has continued to advance vertically throughout his career. Prasad is the current Director of the DCSMAT Group of Institutions and the CEO of Kerala Startup Mission.

Read the complete interview below.

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

A: The three most important initiatives taken by us are:

• Corporate Exposure - Meeting with CXOs, practical and real case-based learning, live internships, industry interactions and industry-based faculty, exposure to Group ( DC) programs like KLF, Spaces, etc. Corporate consulting etc.
• Man making process - A 360-degree development through Clubs, Events, SoPs personal mentoring program Entrepreneurship support Evening presentations,
• Value-based Management - the DC value systems, social sensitivity and commitment, Long term career focus, professional ethics and pride

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

A: To help students become industry ready, it is important to take the curriculum beyond four walls. To make this happen, we have -

• Gurukul System Of Teaching at the Residential Vagamon Destination Campus, and Close Group peer-to-peer learning at the Trivandrum Capital City Campus.
• Learner focussed pedagogy case study approach, a personalised development plan for students.
• Industry partnerships and collaboration leading to industry-oriented learning, focussed attention to in-demand industry skills and areas in addition to the University syllabus

Q: What are the key attributes that a student should have in order to qualify for your institution and perform well

A: To qualify for the institute and perform well, applicant must have – 

• Aptitude, Ambition and Aspiration to be a management professional
• Willingness To involve and indulge with Peers and Mentors.
• Commitment to learning and hardwork
• Self-Awareness: An individual can only grow if he or she is willing to take a step back from time to time and engage in honest self-assessment.
• Resilience: Persistence and internally motivated In education and business alike, you will encounter challenges. Not every project you work on will be a great success and not every proposal you offer to top decision-makers will be embraced. As you ready yourself to move forward in your career, concentrate on bouncing back from these setbacks and turning them into valuable learning experiences.

At present we accept CAT, CMAT & KMAT Kerala scores. And the below mentioned test scores-

KMAT - GEN/OBC: 72, SC/ST: 54.

CMAT - GEN: 60, OBC: 40, SC/ST: 30.

CAT - GEN: 45, OBC: 30, SC/ST: 22.5 

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

A: MBA & BArch at both Trivandrum and Vagamon campuses are our top courses as it brings  exposure of the best of two worlds together to our students - Management & Architecture. Where a student has a chance of getting exposure to the brightest minds in Business Management and Architecture, Arts & Design who have over 15 years of global industry exposure in vivid domains

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: A good network of recruiters backed with Alumni network and formal empanelment/understanding with Corporates ensures placements for our students.

• A well connected Placement Cell that assures an opportunity of 100% Placement & Internship for Batch 2022-24 MBA students.
• The jobs are mostly on various functions in the IT ITES, Retail, Banking and Finance, Consulting sectors.
• DCSMAT has an internal policy by which a company is allowed for recruiting our students only if they are offering a salary above INR 3.5 (Lakhs per Annum).
• We had recruiting brands like Ernst and Young, Tata consultancy services, Baijus, IBS, Berger paints, ICICI Bank, UGI, Extramarks, Apollo Paints, JK Cements, Meriiboy, Indigo Paints, OPPO, Times of India, Federal Bank, Axis Bank, KPMG, Hyundai, HCL, RBS Bank. etc