Mumbai, May 3rd, 2019: IFIM Business School, Bangalore, one of India’s top six AACSB accredited business schools, today announced the launch of a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) programme at its new campus in Greater Mumbai. The first batch of the programme will commence in September 2019. Beginning in IFIM Business School’s Silver Jubilee year, this is the first BBA programme by any top-ranked AACSB accredited school in the country.

Commenting on the launch of BBA, the Director of IFIM Business School, Dr Atish Chattopadhyay said, “The MBA degree thrived in India because the undergraduate qualifications failed to produce employable graduates  (barring a handful of the institutes), and MBA became a gateway to the first job, especially after the liberalisation of the Indian economy. It is in sharp contrast with the developed economies, where an MBA cohort predominantly consists of experienced professionals being groomed for a general management role. In India, MBA has almost become a required qualification post one’s engineering or commerce degrees for an entry into a professional career.

Through our BBA programme, we intend to make the graduates ready for the industry right after the bachelor’s qualification and eliminate the need for doing an MBA immediately. To me, those who could not make it to a top engineering school like IITs, it makes a lot of sense to pursue this BBA, which saves three years of their time and acts as a gateway to a professional career. I say this with a great level of confidence having led the IFIM-NHRDN study of Industry 4.0 needs and our curriculum being acknowledged and appreciated by the global academic fraternity including at the recent ICAM 2019 of AACSB at Edinburgh.”

The curriculum of the fully residential BBA programme is crafted in order to cater to the Industry 4.0 needs while also integrating Liberal Arts (General Education) streams aligned to the curriculum of the US universities. The curriculum is ratified by the Board of Studies chaired by Prof A Parasuraman (James W. McLamore Chair and Professor, Marketing, University of Miami Business School) and eminent academics from top business schools in the country such as Prof Pritam Singh, Prof Bhimraya Metri (Director – IIM Trichy) Prof Rishikesh Krishnan (Former Director – IIM Indore), Mr. Pulock Bhattacharji (Vice President – BSE India), CXOs from emerging new age companies such as Flipkart and the Chiefs of associations such as NHRDN and UN Global Compact Network. Post ratification, the curriculum was further contextualised with the global fraternity by the IFIM Business School’s International Advisory Board (IAB) comprising Dr Simon Mercado (Dean – ESCP Europe Business School, London), Dr Mathias Falkenstein (Senior Global Consultant – Higher Education Management, Berlin) and Dr Ulrich Hommel (Director – Business School Development – EFMD Global Network, Brussels). Also, an array of accomplished international faculty will deliver a significant part of the curriculum.

Key highlights of the programme:

• The only BBA programme in the country to have pathways to a graduate (Bachelor’s) qualification at an international partner school.
• 2+2 Pathway (Two years at IFIM and two years at international school)
• State University of New York (SUNY), USA
• 3+1 Pathway (Three years at IFIM and one year at international school)
• Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
• University of Wollongong, Australia
• Paris School of Business, France
• The University of Texas at Arlington, USA
• The only BBA programme in the country to offer super-specialisation in the next-gen areas (e.g. Big Data Analytics and Blockchain, MarTech, Financial Analysis and Technology, Digital Transformation and Robotic Process Automation), in collaboration with international partner schools (McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Business, and ESCP London).
• Campus placements right after BBA.

The programme will be delivered at IFIM Business School’s new 17 acres Greater Mumbai (Karjat) campus, having a 1,70,000 square feet state of the art infrastructure including a world-class sports complex with a wide range of sports like Shooting Range, Squash, Tennis, Basketball, Swimming, etc, located in a lush green setting surrounded by picturesque hills. The campus is well connected to Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country.

About IFIM Business School, Bangalore

Established in 1995, IFIM Business School, Bangalore is amongst top 6 schools in India to have been awarded the coveted AACSB accreditation propelling it to be amongst the top 5% of the business schools globally. IFIM Business School is uniquely positioned to cater to the needs of ‘Beyond Tomorrow’ by providing innovation-led solutions.

The institute currently offers three AICTE approved and AACSB accredited programmes: One – Two-year, full-time, residential Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) that is a bouquet of PGDM Finance (recognised by CFA Institute), PGDM Marketing and PGDM International Business; Two – Executive PGDM (EPGDM); and Three – PGDM for Working Professionals (WPP). The school also offers various open and customised short-term Professional Development Programs through on-campus, online, and blended delivery modes.

IFIM Business School is also accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and the South Asian Quality Assurance System (SAQS) and is ISO 9001:2008 certified.

Today, it is a proud alma mater of more than 2500 alumni comprising of eminent entrepreneurs, academicians, artists, writers, CXOs and thought leaders amongst others, in many countries of the world. For more information, visit www.ifimbschool.com.

Annexure

Applications for the above BBA programme begin in the first week of May 2019. The eligibility for applying to the programme is at least 70% (or equivalent CGPA) marks in 10+2 (or equivalent) examination and the selection process comprises the following:

1. Letter of Recommendation (LOR) – Two reference letters from School Faculty/Principal.
2. Statement of Purpose (SOP) – The SOP is an essay about the candidate, her/his academic performance and extracurricular activities.
3. Critical and Innovative Thinking (CIT) – A written aptitude test for critical and innovative thinking.
4. Personal Interview (PI) – A personal interview for assessing the value fit of the candidate with the institute.
5. Merit List – Will be a function of the above plus an aspirant’s academic performance, participation in extra-curricular and co-curricular activities.