ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, India, is a famous destination for aspiring management students. It is a part of the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Learning, a deemed university as per the UGC Act, 1956. The school was given A** rating by CRISIL, an Indian rating agency. Having been previously accredited by SAQS (South Asian Quality Standards) in 2006, the school was re-accredited in 2013 for another five years.
IBS has the largest MBA programme in Asia admitting about 1,000 students each year. The school admits about 200 students for the BBA programme and about 20 students for its PhD programme each year. It also offers a part time doctoral programme for working executives. The courses have five different areas of specialisation – finance and accounting, marketing and strategy, economics, operations and IT, and human resources and soft skills.
Admission to the MBA programme is held through written tests like CAT, GMAT and IBSAT (IBS’ own entrance test). This is followed by group discussion and individual interview after which a final list of selected candidates is prepared.
The school has an eco-friendly campus spread over an area of 92 acres with state-of-the-art infrastructure. Students, through 35 different clubs, organise various events aimed at improving their leadership and interpersonal skills. Other events like extending marketing assistance to small firms are held from time to time. Students are also taken for industry visits.
A total of 170 faculty members are entrusted with the responsibility of imparting management education to the students. The Centre for Management Development facilitates industry interface for the faculty members. Case studies developed by the school’s Case Research Centre have been used world over for teaching, in textbooks and in the industry. The school promotes case study-based pedagogy for its MBA programme. IBS strives to provide a healthy international exposure to its students and faculty. A significant number of students and faculty members have benefitted by participating in exchange programmes with several foreign universities. It has collaborated with 16 foreign universities from the US, UK, Australia and Malaysia. IBS is planning to start a dual-degree programme in collaboration with foreign universities. It also plans to grow its executive development programme. It aspires to establish centres of excellence headed by chair professors.
