Dr. Ankita Nanda, HOD of the MBA Department at Model Institute of Engineering and Technology is a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication degree holder. She also holds an MBA degree in HR and Marketing from the University of Jammu. 

Dr. Nanda qualified for the prestigious NET-JRF in 2010 and holds a PhD degree from the University of Jammu. She has several publications in Journals of National and International Repute to her credit. Furthermore, she has also presented papers at various International Conferences. 

Dr Ankita Nanda has a total work experience of around 13 years in academia and has been instrumental in organising various high-level events and conclaves. She has also received grants and funding from various agencies for research work besides delivering several expert sessions in institutions like Regional Training Institute, IMPARD, MSME etc.

Model Institute of Engineering and Technology

What is the latest program that you are offering in your institute/dept. which will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowd?

MIET Jammu is offering Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme with specialisations in Marketing, Human Resource Management, Operations and Information Technology. Post achieving autonomy, we have revised our curriculum which is now at par with some of the best B-Schools across India. We have considered the industry trends and demands and have introduced new-age courses on Business Analytics, Design Thinking for Managers, Business Intelligence, Digital Marketing, IT for Managers, and Placement Preparation to name a few. 

We have also introduced a course on Simulation which helps the students to analyze various real like scenarios fostering their decision-making capabilities. Apart from the regular curriculum, we also offer students various Value-added Courses every semester which enhances their skill set and makes them industry ready. In addition, we have MOU with Coursera through which our students can take up multiple courses free of cost along with the regular curriculum.

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt?

We have taken efforts to design our program to stand out from the competition. Our curriculum has been updated to reflect the latest trends and changes in the industry. We offer summer internship assistance and have achieved 100% placements in the last five years. Besides the regular classes, we hold industry interactions with professionals and experts to exchange ideas and interact with the students. Over 10% of our syllabus is covered by industry experts and through industrial visits.

We also make use of novel pedagogies like flipped classrooms, project-based learning, group assignments, and guidance from top experts. In a bid to further help our students, we have MOUs in place with Internshala, Sarweshwar Food, Ui-path, Infosys Springboard, Ureka Education, CII, ASSOCHAM and NASSCOM to help with special classes, internships or jobs.

What will you say are the “best practices” in the course you’re offering?

Some of the best practices that we follow in the MBA Programme are the use of Harvard case studies to understand the course material better. We have 100 % ICT usage along with Novel Pedagogies. Students complete several applied assignments and mini-projects that help them practice their knowledge. They even receive hands-on training sessions and attend workshops on skills development. Our team organizes several lecture series with corporate professionals to allow students to learn from their experiences.

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What are some valuable insights of the program that you are offering at your institute/dept?

Our institute has designed our program curriculum to be unparalleled in the region. Besides the core courses, we have included specialized practical software training sessions like Primavera software in Project Management, and CRM software like Zoho, HubSpot, No Paper, Salesforce, RPA etc. Furthermore, we provide our students with platforms to build their competency and enhance their soft skills. There are regular group discussions, personality development sessions and psychometric analysis sessions. We understand the importance to develop students’ aptitudes and logical reasoning skills. Towards this, we organize smart training for the student by expert trainers to sharpen the student’s analytical thinking. The program also focuses on team building and leadership skills in the students through organizing events like business fests, TEDx events along with Cultural Night.

How does the program ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

Our MBA programme offers one of its kind Competency Building Programme during the first year of the curriculum. In this programme, we hold various orientation sessions on e-mail etiquette, power dressing, gender sensitizations etc. The students have to mandatorily sit for group discussions and practice personal interviews to prepare them for their summer internship and final placements.

Thereafter, in the second year, the students are required to undergo 30-hour aptitude training in which the main focus areas are Logical Reasoning, Quantitative, English, Data Analysis and mathematical skills. They also attempt a Big 5 Personality test on the basis of which they are advised on the specialisations to pick up for in the second year and careers to opt for. 

In addition, as mentioned before, we have specialised software training on CRM Tools like Zoho, HubSpot, No paper Forms and Primavera for managers. These are tools in use by corporates and our students are ready to work on them at graduation. The case study discussion is a regular feature for all subjects which helps them to analyze various situations and brainstorm for solutions. They also get to explore different career paths according to their specialisations and earn a Professional Certificate through Coursera.

How did you train yourself/faculty to deliver this program to the students?

The MBA Programme at the Model Institute of Engineering and Technology has a highly experienced faculty where almost 80% of the faculty members are PhD qualified. Most of the faculty members have an experience of five to ten years. We all operate in a dynamic environment, and it is important to ensure we possess updated knowledge to impart the correct knowledge and skills to the students. All the faculty members have their accounts as Educators on the Harvard Business Portal through which they have direct access to the Harvard case studies. We encourage our faculty to attend training, workshops and faculty development programmes every semester to upgrade their knowledge base. They also work as consultants in their respective industries and are enrolled as resource personnel in the Regional Training Institute, Jammu.

How do you tend to build an industry connect with this program?

To build a strong industry connection, we regularly invite industry leaders to interact with our students. They share their rich experience and clarify the student's doubts and questions. Industry professionals are also invited as experts for the internship evaluations. We also have a team of industry experts on our Board of Studies who advise us in the process of curriculum and course development. In addition, we have MOUs with top companies across the country to help with internships and placements.

What were the challenges that you faced while inculcating this program in your curriculum?

There are always challenges when managing a large-scale institute. At Model Institute of Engineering and Technology, we have challenges related to finding the right resource person for the delivery of our new and updated courses. We took the lead and solved the issue by training our own faculty members to be competent enough to teach these courses. Moreover, we hire experts from the industry to take up a few modules as and when required.

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What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

The students have to pursue a mandatory internship in different corporate houses where they get actual market exposure and get a taste of the work culture as well. The duration of the internship projects is about 4 to 6 weeks where the interns get a chance to know more about the company, its product, lead generation process to the final closure of a sale. At the end of the internship, students complete a project on the basis of which they receive credits for graduation. Apart from the internship projects, the students also get an opportunity to work on Live Projects and field-based projects that are intended to give them industry experience.

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

Our MBA program is a professional course in itself. Any candidate pursuing this course is eligible for a plethora of opportunities ahead. The students can get placed in the Manufacturing, Banking, Information Technology, and the service industry at various profiles in the field of Marketing, HR, Finance, Operations and IT. Our students have a greater awareness of the global market, an understanding of which soft skills to improve, how to build a professional network, develop the right mindset and have better time management skills.