Tuesday, September 04, 2007

MDI - a leader on the HR front :)

A recent article in Economic Times has prompted me to write this post. Though time for penning down huge stories is not at hand in these days ;)

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2321241,prtpage-1.cms

The article states that there is a dearth of human resource professionals in the country, and that (I heard this from elsewhere too) we would need around 35000 HR Professionals in the next 10 years. As of now too, there is a huge shortage of HR Professionals in the country's workforce. The article proceeds to say that institutes like TISS,XLRI,SCMHRD are in the forefront in providing education in the field of HR. I was personally surprised (and so were most of my friends and faculty members here) that they did not state the name of MDI in the 'roll of honour'.

Being new here, we judge out possible reasons of the same to be the absence of a 'superb' alumni network (as in TISS/XL) in MDI. These institutes have been known from a long time, and have built their industry relations and a very strong alumni network over the years. MDI is relatively new - only around 13 to 14 years old, but has still made immense progress by leaps and bounds. It has crept up the charts of B-school ratings and is settled in at a number between 4 and 7 (personal opinion). Again the HR course at MDI is four years old, and is again newer as compared to TISS/XL. Though I thought there were certain points which came to my notice in my GD/PI endeavours with these institutes and I thought that I should bring it to notice.

- At the SCMHRD GD, I was told by the seniors there that the name 'SCMHRD' as in '.... Human Resource Development' was very deceiving. Lot of people ditched the institute thinking that it was only for HR - whereas that wasnt the case. In fact the institute is like any other general MBA institute which offers all specializations, and has a lot of stress on Fin/Mar - and has a basket of electives to choose from finally. HR is just a mere specialization there, which might not even get that much importance as much as the name of the institute gives it. Personally I feel that the HR specialization is equivalent to SIBM/IMT Ghaziabad.

- TISS this year supposedly had announced an intake of 80 students for the acclaimed HRM/LR
program. Though when the results were out, they accepted only 64 people. The thought which struck me on reading this article on ET was that - 'Well, in this case are these renowned institutes sufficing the need for HR professionals in India? By not even accepting the intake declared?'

By now you must have given a thought on 'Well this guy is out to boast about his institute' - hell right I am ! :D ;) Especially when there are certain facts about MDI which need to e brought out in public - the sooner, the better. MDI is probably very modest about its image, despite the fact that its in the lead rankings for B-schools in India. Facts which form the bigger picture:

- MDI is the first and only B-school in India to have received the AMBA's accreditation (UK based association of B-schools) - ie a global accreditation. This puts MDI in the forefront in terms of global relations. (The accreditation goes way beyong a mere AICTE approval ;) )

- MDI is ranked no 1 in the country in terms of its foreign relations with other global MBA institutes, and is reputed to have the one of the best exchange programs in the country.

- The course PGPHR was initiated by MDI around 4 years back - by a collaboration with the National HRD Ministry. (well for those who dont know -its the prime HR governing body in the country ;) ) Moreover The syllabus for this course is drafted by the NHRD itself. Need more assurance ?

- MDI has undoubtedly the best HR faculty in India - and I would vouch for this anytime. It probably has the highest number of HR faculty in India - around 80 - some of them very renowned. Recently we have Prof Saini who is the Chairperson in the HR Arena, who has got the 'Best HR Faculty award' on Aug 23 2007 by the Chancellor of the Amity International Business School, Amity University, Noida. And I believe we have received several such accolades in the past - with several BIG names from industry/very very qualified faculty teaching us. Almost every other faculty member I bump into is from an IIT or an IIM ;)

- The MDI HR course is designed to produce holistic HR professionals - HR Managers per se - and not just people who are well versed in the HR Arena. MDI HR products have an overall personality in terms of business understanding, and are wealth creators themselves.

The above all, besides the fact that MDI is normally ranked 4th or 5th among the Indian B-schools holds strong proof enough. Its true that an alumni network cannot be built overnight, and thus probably MDI loses out a bit on the name which XL and TISS have gained over the decades. But probably India needs to awaken to yet another institute which is in the forefront for imparting quality HR Education, and who is known for producing some of the best management professionals of the country.

Hear ye hear ye :) :)