With more than four decades of academic legacy, Manipal-based TA Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) is among a handful of B-schools with the double-crown accreditation of AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and AMBA (Association of MBAs). Alongside its focus on core management streams, TAPMI is committed to developing socially responsible leaders who are also equipped to harness emerging technological advancements. Rajeev Kumra, who assumed charge as TAPMI Director in January, shares his views and plans for the institute. Excerpts:
What are the challenges and opportunities in management education?
Management education is undergoing a metamorphosis. Digital and technology interventions have changed education drastically. Old teaching models, pedagogies, course contents will not be effective any more. Location is also immaterial because you can reach different groups through digital.
Next is (the task of) creating sensible and socially responsible managers.
We are developing managers not just to drive profitability for companies...
Then come the operational issues. Are we having a course curriculum that is cutting-edge, and as per industry needs? Are we having alum guiding us to change as per market requirements? These are the various challenges that a B-school has to grapple with.
Are you planning any new programmes?
We have great plans, and are already working on them. The process for seeking approvals from AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) and UGC (University Grants Commission) for MBA in AI and data analytics will be initiated soon. TAPMI plans to launch the programme for student intake in July 2025. This MBA will be a gamechanger.
How so?
We, as MAHE [Manipal Academy of Higher Education], have an inherent strength. We are collaborating with Manipal Institute of Technology. They will bring the data analytics part, and we will bring the management part. We are co-designing the course and will co-deliver it. It will be a unique two-year programme. To the best of my knowledge, we will be the first to do it, and we are sure to lead the way for others to follow... because industry needs it a lot.
Do you have more non-engineering students these days?
We are highly focused on diversity. We are trying to reduce the number of engineers, and increase student intake from other streams. More importantly, we are trying to bring in gender diversity. We have increased the proportion of women students to 48 per cent this year. This is the first thing I did when I joined this B-school.
How do students from different streams add value to the learning atmosphere?
They bring very distinctive values because they have different ways of looking at things. Let’s say there’s a pharmacist, and a case in marketing. Others will discuss the case in a normal FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) or B2B (business-to-business) setup, but this person will discuss it in a pharmaceutical context and bring that particular knowledge to the table. It enhances the learning of the group.
How do you plan to strengthen the faculty?
We have increased the faculty strength from 60 to 75, and will make it 85 by the year end, and eventually 100. I have visited various IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) and made a presentation to new PhD holders on how good we are. I’m happy to share that we have taken on 25 faculty members, about one-third our strength, from IIMs.
What is the status of your research activities?
Any school is known just not by the knowledge it disseminates but also the knowledge it creates. Research happens to be the backbone of our school. We have created a lot of differentiated strategies for this.
Faculty in our research track produce high-quality work. We are very active on grants. We do cutting-edge consulting and research for industry. I myself am working on research projects for companies. We have created a conducive environment on campus for great research.
Tell us about your industry partnerships.
We involve industry in various ways. To start with, in our curriculum development we have industry partnership. For every programme, whether it is MBA core, marketing, or finance, we have a board with alumini and industry experts guiding us on cutting-edge developments.
We have industry professionals coming to Manipal and guiding students for corporate life. Then we have placements, internships, and guest lectures. Around 200 companies are repeating their visit to our campus to recruit students. So that’s how we are connected to the industry.