SIMSREE offers two programs, Master of Management Studies (MMS) and Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM). What are the differences between the two courses?

SIMSREE started in 1976 with a one year PGDBM program only. The MMS program was added later in 1983 by the University of Mumbai. PGDBM was later converted to a two year program in 1992 and is our identity program. The selection process for both MMS and PGDBM is the same. The curriculum is also largely the same except for a few elective subjects. As far as evaluation is concerned, the MMS students have to appear for external exams conducted by the University of Mumbai for certain subjects apart from internal evaluations.

In PGDBM program, we have the freedom to change the syllabus with time and need, while the MMS program is completely run by the University. Also, MMS students get a degree from the University of Mumbai while PGDBM students get a diploma from Government of Maharashtra and SIMSREE.

What specializations are offered in these two courses?

We have five specializations in both these programs. These include Finance, Marketing, HR, Operations and Systems.

It seems that Finance dominates among the specializations offered at SIMSREE?

To some extent yes, but all the specializations are equally important for us. All the resources are equally distributed among all the specializations. For example, we have only one student in Systems but it is ensured that proper faculty and resources are allocated to that student without worrying about the expenses.

What is the admission process for SIMSREE after the written exam (CET) ?

We donat have our own process. We follow the process laid by the Government of Maharashtra. We fill all our seats in accordance with the DTE norms. DTE conducts the written exam as well as the GD/PI process after that. Based on how the student performs in these and the past academic record and work experience, a merit list is made based on the cumulative scores and ranks are allotted to students. Then students are then given an option to choose the institute they wish to join on basis of their ranks. This procedure is followed for both the courses.

Are profiles of students considered while making calls to students?

The admissions are conducted completely by Maharashtra Government’s Ditectorate of Technical Education (DTE). They don’t consider profiles while making calls for GD-PI. We are totally synchronized with the DTE admission process but are not involved in its functioning. We have no say in the admissions as of now. It is a completely centralized process.

Wouldn’t a decentralized process be better as it will help you admit students according to your institute’s vision and values?

We will aim for that when the institute is converted into an autonomous body. Looking at the achievements of the institute, the government is considering giving autonomy to Sydenham. But this process would take about two years before we become fully autonomous and can take our own academic decisions.

Do you accept any other test score apart from the Maharashtra CET score?

No we donat. But OMS (Outside Maharashtra Students), who are not writing the CET, can get their other test scores converted to the CET score from DTE. And on basis of this CET score, different merit lists are prepared for different categories.

Does the CET quota for Maharashtra students limit your student body in terms of intellectual, cultural and social diversity?

I donat think so. Maharashtra being such a large state has a very rich and diversified social and cultural heritage. We have a good mix of both in-state and OMS category students.

In a batch of 120 students, only 18 are from outside Maharashtra. Donat you think this number is a little too less?

Yes, this number is small. But we get very good talent even in this small number and it could be better if this number is increased. But this will only happen when we have our autonomy, our own admission process and our own criteria for selecting students.

What is the composition of the present batch in terms of educational background, gender and work experience?

In the present batch about 60 pc of the students have work experience of about one or two years. The male to female ratio is 2:1, which makes for about 40 females in a batch
of 120. We have a good mix when it comes to educational background. 67 pc
of the current batch is composed of engineers, rest we have people from different
background including medicine, arts, commerce etc.

What are a few reasons as to why a top scoring student should choose SIMSREE over Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) or KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, the two other well known b-schools accepting CET scores in Mumbai?

Being a faculty member at Jamnalal Bajaj, I know that JBIMS is an alumni
driven school. However, SIMSREE is a student driven school, where all
the activities including placements are handled by the students. Alumni
do come to SIMSREE but only for assistance. Help comes from alumni but
action is taken by the students.

Also, SIMSREE is an incubator which fosters entrepreneurial talent.
This kind of an attitude is unique to SIMSREE. By giving students the
responsibility to manage the outside classroom activities we give them
opportunity to learn by themselves and support themselves.

How has the placement process at SIMSREE been affected because of the economic slowdown?

The placements have become a little slow. Looking at the scenario, we
have shifted to a rolling placement process which started on January 19. Till now about 30 pc of the batch has been placed and we have
not experienced any setback for the first five days. This is because of
the goodwill we share with the companies and the reputation SIMSREE
holds.

But since the market requirement is less, companies have a more
rigorous process this year and this has slowed the recruitment process.

SIMSREE is not a residential B school. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of this?

This is not entirely true. SIMSREE is a semi-residential business
school. We have reserved a government hostel, right behind the
campus, for 30 SIMSREE students. We provide all facilities including
Wi-Fi to these students.

We do have the resources to move to the suburbs of Mumbai and have a bigger
campus with hostels, but here in Churchgate area we are located at a prime location. Here
we get great visiting faculty from the nearby corporate hubs, Nariman
Point and Cuffe Parade, who would not be able to find time from their
busy schedules to come to a campus located in the suburbs.

Also, the campus is open till 10 pm, so students are basically here all
day. They just go to their houses to sleep. And, the benefit of having
a residential business school is only when the faculty is also residing
in the premises. A school with a hostel for the students is same as any
non-residential business school.

SIMSREE stands for Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research And Entrepreneurship Education, please throw some light on how you foster Entrepreneurial talent.

Earlier we used to have diploma courses on entrepreneurship management and also some courses in the regular curriculum which are still continuing. And now we have brought in an Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell), which gives insights regarding entrepeneurship as well provides sparks to the students to instigate entrepreneurial thinking. We have a lot of alumni who are entrepreneurs, who are very active with the students and often give lectures and provide invaluable guidance to them.

Do you think entrepreneurship can be taught in classrooms?

Yes, there is hardly that anything that cannot be learned. For example, if an astronaut can be taught how to walk in space by stimulating the environment, an entrepreneur can also be given a stimulation of would the outside world be like. Apart from this, we have Sydenham Management Association (SMA) which has various committees like the placement committee, media committee, an alumni committee and an E-Cell. All these are handled and run by the students themselves. There is no faculty or administration interference here. Everything is student driven here. SIMSREE is considered an enterprise by us and its students are budding entrepreneurs.

Could you name a few successful entrepreneurs who have graduated recently?

We have Ashutosh Paibhale and Mandar Chitnavis who started Esquaremc, an educational and management consulting company. They graduated in 2006. Parag Seth, who graduated in 2005, started PACECON Technosys, a tech firm which caters to Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology as well as the IT sector. Neeraj Roy, the founder of Hungama.com is also from SIMSREE. He graduated in 1990.

How is the student life outside the classroom at SIMSREE?

Students have a lot of activities to do in the campus. Learning goes on outside the classrooms as well. Like I said, it is a student driven campus. So a lot of initiatives are taken by the students in various areas. For example, SIMSREE has one of a kind induction program of 20 days which is undertaken by the seniors to help the juniors settle into the SIMSREE culture.

Also, students at SIMSREE have organized themselves into functional clubs aimed at developing the individual skills in the chosen field of specialization, like the financial club and the marketing club. These clubs involve the interested students conduct various activities like competitions, debates mock presentations etc.

The Students Social Responsibility Committee conducts teaching classes for children along with Pratham, an NGO, for children who have been rescued from child labour.