How are you selecting students for the PGDM – Communications batch this year?

Essentially as an institute we use the CAT score conducted by the IIMs as a screening process. The test helps us understand the capabilities of students as regards logical, data and quantitative capabilities. We need to balance these capabilities with the so called softer skills which involve other parts of the brain since MICA is a communications management institute. These include the ability to work in teams, manage people, verbal and written abilities, good presentation skills and also some degree of general awareness about the environment. We broadly define them as creativity and psychosocial competencies. Over the years the MICA admissions test or MICAT has metamorphosed into managing and understanding those aspects of individualsa capabilities. We believe that the student we are getting is not only very well managed with his left brain or logical faculties but also with his right brain and creative and team orientations. This is reason for the MICAT being followed by a group exercise and not a group discussion. The purpose behind the group exercise is to seek agreement between the group members on an issue of concern or interest and see the process by which people listen to various ideas and views and identify their own views in order to arrive at a midway point.

What parameters are given the highest importance during this screening process?

The parameters for evaluation at each stage are in terms of what I just described. For example, in CAT there is also a verbal comprehension section. Clearly besides the overall percentile, which this year has been kept at 90, we also look the individual sections and we give reasonably equal weightage to the sections of data interpretation and quantitative techniques but the verbal comprehension has a higher cut-off because we are looking for are people who are more communications enabled rather than those who merely think in terms of number crunching. There are a number of reasons for this. We teach data analytical skills and quantitative techniques on campus and therefore we believe we can enable students while they are here.

MICAT on the other hand is very clearly intended to judge the studentas disposition towards lateral thinking and ideas which are slightly out of the ordinary. The MICAT assesses the studentsa abilities to express themselves in writing and comprehension or written communication. It is such that we know whether they have grasped the core essence of an idea rather than that they simply have good grammar or English. So, itas not a test of the English language but really a test about the ability to grasp ideas and build on these ideas.

How do you screen applicants at CAT and MICAT stages? What is the number of applications received for this year and how does number of MICAT calls compare with total seats available?

At the CAT stage, the percentile sectional cut-offs are 50 and 50 for quantitative analysis and data interpretation and 60 for verbal comprehension. Of course for MICAT we determine the mean scores of candidates who appeared for MICAT and then determine the sectional cut-offs based on these scores. This year we have received about 3,500 applications. Our first look at the screening after CAT indicates that possibly 2,000 students would be invited to appear for MICAT. Our experience from earlier administration of MICAT has indicated that maybe 600-800 applicants would be called for GD-PI and after that 120 would be offered admission. So you see that 120 candidates are finally selected from 3,500 applications.

What is the weightage or importance given to work-experience?

As far as work-experience is concerned, we would ideally like people with relevant work-experience in areas such as media, advertising and marketing. Currently we are observing that students are coming to us with work-experience gained in larger sectors. The weightage we offer to such experience is more in terms of trying to balance the overall age and maturity level of a class. This is because we have commenced another AICTE approved program for working professionals with work-experience and therefore an executive post graduate program. We are looking at a maturity level for a class and an amicable blend of fresh graduates and work-experience so that the discussions which take place in class have a greater depth than just knowledge available in books. But no, more than that extent we do not give weightage to work-experience for the two year program while we do obviously give weightage to work-experience when it comes to the one year executive program. That analysis of work-experience takes place much earlier because at the time of the personal interview we like to know more about the educational background of students up till thecollege level and look for consistency of academic record.

The 2008-10 class of students at MICA has a high number of students with work-experience. Is MICA making a gradual change in student profile?

Management education the world over in any case requires students to have a minimum level of work-experience before they can pursue management education. In India I suspect that this is happening a little bit by accident because the number of opportunities for quality MBA has remained constant at about 60,000 if one were to consider the top 50 institutes whereas the number of young Indian graduates from the social sciences, engineering and technical backgrounds is in fact outstripping that number. Hence you have a lot of young, education enabled people who cannot at this point in time avail of quality management education and so they themselves work for a year or two until they can get into a good management school. So over the years the nature of applicants we are receiving itself is that of people with work-experience. Visibly we are getting a base of people with work-experience from which weare selecting and therefore itas turned out that way.

Itas more of an accidental development but we have discovered over the last two years where the percentage of students with work-experience has increased from 25-30 percent to 40-60 percent that in fact a higher number of students with work-experience improves the quality of interactions in class and also thesis and project work done by students. So, regardless of whether a higher number of students with work-experience is by choice or accident, it is a good development. MICA has forged over 25 international partnerships with leading communications management universities from across the world. It is necessary to look at the issue of work-experience in light of this fact because with the age group of students at schools abroad and students from MICA availing of educational opportunities overseas, at least we are able to find the required maturity level.

MICA is increasingly being perceived as a marketing management school because of the pattern of placements. Is this making the advertising and public relations part of the education obsolete?

There is no intention at all to phase out the communications focus at the institute. Over the years, more and more industries from various sectors and specifically various marketing businesses have begun to realize that communications is an important skill especially when you are trying to build a dialogue with your customer or consumer in the 360 degree type of communications environment. This is keeping in mind the digitalization of communications, the fragmentation of media and the choices that consumers can exercise about where they get their information from. I think we are seeing marketing companies wishing to recruit from MICA because they are recognizing that communications is an important competitive skill in their management and in the interface between their business and the customer.

The importance of the service sector in the economy clearly indicates that the skills required are less the linearity of traditional b-schools and more the service orientation offered by communications which is more direct customer orientation. As business is competitive we are trying to build their corporate brand identity and corporate communications becomes a communications skill. I think thatas where people will find the nature of the industryas competitiveness and the need to talk to consumers is why more marketing companies are coming on campus. This is leading to the broader impression amongst young students that we are becoming a marketing school. But is any effective marketing possible without communications?

Many organizations are of the opinion that a domain or sectoral MBA imparts training in only a particular aspect of management and this is done at the cost of a deeper understanding of other key aspects of management such as finance and human resources. What is your view?

We are in all programs at MICA strengthening the management components in terms of giving the students an understanding of how businesses understand finance and financial resources, human resources and therefore interpersonal dynamics of organisational behavior. We are strengthening certain management aspects in our education without compromising on topics such as consumer insight mining, culture, communications, advertising, metaphor studies and so the student here is getting a much heavier course burden than what one would find at other institutes. Weave had CitiFinancial, insurance businesses, and ICICI bank recruiting from here and so I donat think that the financial industry is not available as an opportunity for MICA graduates.

What are the main sectors that graduates from MICA usually work in?

A
large number of MICA graduates are building careers in todayas digital
media space, Value Added Services (VAS), marketing that Google and
Yahoo! are doing now and other aspects of digital media and
entertainment. A lot of MICA graduates are involved with traditional
media such as print media which are building brands in their own light.
Advertising agencies are evolving from purely creative advertising work
to becoming, if you like, communications consultants and they are
themselves branching into public relations, health care communications
and consultancies. Graduates are also finding a career opportunity in
this regard. Businesses that use data analysis for creating corporate
strategy also provide areas of work for MICA graduates. MICAns are
gradually moving into newly emerging sectors of media and
entertainment. Micans are quite interested in getting into
entrepreneurship, setting up businesses of their own and these are in
print production, event management etc.

How has the economic crisis affected placements at MICA for the graduating PGDM Communications batch?

The first change is that there are newer sectors recruiting that earlier were never on the list. These are sectors such as education and Pharmaceuticals. Secondly, there is a better realism among students in terms of salary expectations. So earlier, the bonuses, future benefits and stock options that used to constitute the Cost-to-Company (CTC) component are now absent. So the students know that the salary they’re getting is the exact in-hand salary and that helps them decide realistically how far that job will help them in paying their education loan back.So the basis of looking at renumerations among students has changed.

How has the salary levels changed as compared to previous year?

I would say that the salaries have become more balanced and value-driven than earlier. The highest salary is as healthy as it was earlier, if not more.

As of today (March 4, 2009), how much of the batch been placed?

We’re almost done. Aboit 90 odd percent of the batch has jobs.

What are the Post Graduate Program in Communications Management and Entrepreneurship (PGPCME) and executive MBA programs at MICA all about?

We believe that the communications businesses lend themselves to entrepreneurial capabilities. We started the PGPCME with an incubator that would incubate entrepreneurships. Several graduates from the first batch of the program have already set up entrepreneurial business; these range from making short films and advertising film documentaries to setting up event management, public relations and digital VAS companies. We believe that in a majority of the strong economies such as Europe and the United States, entrepreneurial activities drive the economy and especially so when the economy is becoming more and more service oriented. Hence we thought that we should get into the entrepreneurial sector in communications. We have also recognised that in todayas competitive environment people need to reskill themselves and hence the executive post graduate program was started at MICA. This program caters to leadership of communications industries and is suited for people who wish to move into senior management and CEO positions.

What have PGPCME graduates been doing after graduating and what assistance is provided to them by MICA?

Approximately 15 out of the first batch of 70 graduates set up entrepreneurial ventures almost straightaway. The remaining have joined startup businesses and are therefore part of small teams of two-three people and playing an entrepreneurial role in these businesses. Very few graduates have gone into the more established businesses such as STAR. As far as supporting entrepreneurs is concerned, we are establishing an incubator for enabling and providing an office and other facilities so that a person need not worry about investments and funding and start a business, nurture it, cultivate the idea, mature the business and then move out. An incubator makes this possible and about seven businesses have been aided in this manner in the last year. The idea is to vet proposals by an advisory board and see which of these is considered by the board to be a viable idea.

What kind of jobs are executive MBA program graduates getting?

The placements from this program are largely of the nature of what would be called laterals in the traditional two year course and are for positions at the middle to senior management level as opposed to the starting level. Graduates are placed primarily in the media and broad communications industry such as digital and entertainment media which are at this point in time strong and excellent. Presently about 80 percent of students of the current batch stand placed and the average compensation structures have remained healthy. The best compensation secured so far this year is in the region of Rs 13 lakhs with a bonus which can take it up to 18 lakhs. There have been many new companies coming to recruit from MICA. More and more students are showing interest in media and are willing to make a compromise between the compensation structure that other industries offer and the career orientation provided by media.

What kind of work experience do you look for during executive MBA admissions?

As far as work-experience is concerned, we examine issues such as quality and relevance of the work-experience and also how that work-experience has been used by the applicant to build his or her career. We considered candidates with work-experience of three-five years for the first batch of students in this program. We have decided to slightly raise the bar and are looking at applicants with preferably seven years of work-experience for the second batch of students in this program. We screen applicants through MICAT. Many of them have an earlier CAT or GMAT score and while we do look at these scores too, for us the MICAT score is more important. The work-experience accounts for a personas basic capabilities such as his or her learning from that experience and we also request a statement of purpose explaining why a candidate wishes to get back to education and more importantly what he or she intends to do after the stint here.

(With inputs from Apurv Pandit)