Cutting-Edge Curriculum Gives IMT-Ghaziabad An Award-Winning Marketing Department

Online, January 11, 2012 (Newswire.com) - IMT stands for change, innovation, industry interface and implementing learning and trends into the curriculum. This persistent change and innovation that the institute practices won IMT Ghaziabad awards at the 19th Business School Affaire and Dewang Mehta Business School Awards 2011 which was held November 26, 2011 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai. The institute won the Business School with Best Academic Input Syllabus in Marketing and Business School which Encourages Innovations that Lead to Better Development. Earlier this year, IMT Ghaziabad won the 'B-School with Industry Related Curriculum in Marketing Award' at the National B-School Awards, 2011 organized by Star News. Awards went out to institutions that are innovative, modern and industry related in charting their curriculum. IMT was awarded for the institute's path-breaking efforts in the Marketing, Advertising, and Marketing Communications fields.

Asked what the secret is behind IMT's cutting-edge curriculum and award-winning ways, Prof. Kaushik Datta, Area Chair, Marketing, said faculty members are involved in action research in various industry verticals which not only enhances the intellectual capital of IMT but is also a good source of generating teaching content.

"We firmly believe that a B-School can effectively provide leadership when it can generate its own teaching content and pedagogy. Innovation in pedagogical methods like simulation, video cases, industry immersion are the other ways where we deliver our content in tune with the changing profile of the typical student."

Prof. Datta added that curriculum revisions have always been encouraged in the marketing area "and we encourage faculty to come up with more relevant courses to make our students better prepared for the evolving needs of the industry."

Prof. Rajat Gera who specializes in Product management cited new electives such as strategic games in marketing, marketing of innovations and quantitative models in marketing management (QMMM), and also pointed to "allowing freedom to faculty to innovate and launch new electives."

Prof. Gera said: "Some electives, for example QMMM, are being taken by experts from academia and industry. The program delivery is differentiated by the following measures: Focus on experiential pedagogical approaches like case method, simulations, live industry projects with leading B-Schools - for example Kellogg in the U.S.A. - incentives for case writing et al.

"The differentiation is a result of the dynamic and evolving process of launching new electives, updating of content - a mandatory 25 per cent every year - and participant-centered pedagogical approaches."

Prof. Lubna Nafees, winner of the Best Professor Teaching Marketing Management Award said: "The courses that we offer are unique in that we get the students to do live projects based on the theoretical concepts of class which are later evaluated by industry experts."

She said: "The marketing management class of the last trimester ended with students putting up a trade fair and showcasing how theory was put to practice. An online discussion forum was set up all through the trimester on which they interacted with industry experts to give shape to their project and the final outcome was evaluated by a senior alumnus."

In the same vein, she said she gave her strategic brand management and integrated marketing communications students an assignment that "requires groups to actively interact with the branding team of their chosen brand and guide them through their term project. The final report is like a small brand track which students can put in their CVs as a short-term project."

Pointing out the marketing curriculum is reviewed every year, Dr. Nafees said: "New courses are added, modifications are made in the existing courses based on discussions in the area and feedback received from corporate, alumni, students and academia."

Dr. Nafees noted IMT "places a lot emphasis on open discussions with corporate so as to bridge the gap between theory and practice which is deemed significant for management education in general and marketing in particular."

Customer Relations Management (CRM) has become a critical area according to Prof. Sandeep Puri, who said the course at IMT Ghaziabad "is planned with an eye on the latest developments in the global business. The course is upgraded on a regular basis to ascertain that the students get good knowledge of various winning strategies for acquiring and retaining customers by leveraging the latest advanced technologies."

Prof. Puri said: "Students are exposed to latest case studies along with CRM software and guest sessions by industry experts."

And how do students view the marketing scene at IMT Ghaziabad?

"Everything at IMT is not theory," said Punit Sarda, a second-year student specializing in marketing. "Since the first year we were given various short term live projects on positioning and market analysis which helped us to analyze the ground reality."

"To top it all, the various contests and competitions in and out of the institute, most of them conducted by companies like Airtel, Mahindra, etc. where only colleges like IMT Ghaziabad are eligible, actually simulated the competition that happens in the real world and also provided feedback and review from the real experts."