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The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry has tied up with the Eastern Institute of Management to offer an executive MBA course, reports Shabina Akhtar

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The BCCI-EIM course is the answer to the prayers of many an upwardly-mobile executive .

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Afzal Khan was very disappointed when he was refused a job because he did not have a diploma or degree in business management. He realised then that the years he had spent imbibing management knowledge while moving up the corporate ladder — from an executive to the manager of the e-mail management section of a private bank — were of no use. “Big companies want formal degrees,” he rues.

The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) made a similar observation — employed executives often want to do a course in business management so that, empowered with cutting-edge managerial concepts and skill-sets, they can re-position their careers on the fast track. “Executives at private companies often loose out on opportunities while seeking a job change due to a lack of formal training. Since there are very few management programmes for working executives available in Calcutta, we decided to begin such a course as our first educational venture,” says S. Goswami, deputy secretary, BCCI.

So, the BCCI got in touch with the Eastern Institute of Management (EIM), Calcutta — ranked amongst the country’s top B-Schools — for launching a postgraduate diploma in management (PGDM) evening programme for professionals. The diplomas will be awarded jointly by the Bengal Chamber and EIM, which is affiliated with Kalyani University.

So how different is this course from the run-of-the-mill ones? “The curriculum is designed to impart a sound understanding of the theoretical concepts of business management and their application across a wide industry spectrum to participants who already have practical knowledge of management,” says Amit Sen Gupta, director, EIM. “The programme also seeks to enhance their soft skills, with the major thrust being on communication, self-management and corporate adaptability.” Imparting soft skills to students is the USP of EIM.

The BCCI-EIM PGDM is an 18-month programme, comprising 12 months of classroom teaching followed by a six-month project at the students’ place of work. The programme will be laying heavy emphasis on participative learning, backed by requisite mentoring and inspirational support. “The course, which begins on January 14, 2008, already has a huge number of applicants for only 30 seats,” says Sen Gupta.

So, any plans of increasing the number of seats? “Well, we plan to restrict the number to a modest 30 for the first programme. Though the course is open to all working executives, we will be giving preference to the applicants working for member companies of BCCI,” confirms Goswami.

And what is making the executives flock to this course? “Well, I was aware of EIM’s evening PGDM but it was only when it tied-up with the BCCI that the course appealed to me. The fact that the classes will be held at BCCI (which is close to my office) and the timings made things easier and manageable,” says D.L.N. Murthy, senior executive of a private steel and allied consultancy organisation. Murthy had been toying with the idea of pursing a degree in management and saw this course as a boon. “Getting into IIM is a bit difficult. One has to put in a lot of labour, which isn’t possible for working executives. So this course is definitely the best option for me,” says Murthy, who claims to have applied just for the sake of learning and not for professional gains. But whether or not one is seeking professional gain, this course is definitely bound to increase one’s knowledge and soft skills with a battery of teachers and top professionals coming in to take special classes. Khan, who has also applied for this course feels, “This course is value addition for me. BCCI’s association with this course has definitely added brand value to it. This made me opt for it despite the fact that I’m already pursuing a PGDM (correspondence) from Symbiosis, Pune.”

The course definitely comes as an answer to the prayers of several junior and mid-level executives seeking a career boost without having to quit. “Applicants won’t have to appear for a written test. An interview and group discussion is all that one has to clear. The course fee is Rs 1.25 lakh (down payment) or Rs 1.50 lakh (payable in three instalments). One can also avail student loans,” says Sen Gupta. So executives with three years of experience, run and get your admission kit.

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)