Despite the overrated presence, many B-schools have shut down campuses in recent time. From 2012 to 2015, over 300 B-schools have already shut down, giving strong signals about the end of a phase, which was ruled by the craze for MBA. Is this the end for the overrated management education frenzy which was ruling the minds of the youth all over the country? Only time will tell.

As per management education experts, applications have declined across B-Schools but not all institutes are seeing a decline in their admissions. While the top run schools are also facing admission dilemmas, they are definitely growing. While the brand of such institutes is highly attractive, other institutes offering MBA courses are on a steady decline.

The premier B-schools woes are not too far down the road; even these schools have not been spared from the shadow of challenges affecting some of the other BSchools in the country. As the curriculum of these premier B-schools goes unnoticed, there is a widespread discontent among the students who are aspiring to reach the pinnacles of success. As the economy gets fine tuned to the trends of international affairs, there is immediate need to restructure the curriculum to sync it with what’s happening around the world.

In current scenario, when ROI of management education is questioned globally, and even the premier BSchools are focusing on imparting practical skills which can earn better post-MBA salaries for their students.

With this thought in mind, let’s delve a little deeper into the effectiveness of the MBA program as a whole. A lot of aspiring students are beginning to question the age-old thoughts, provoking the mind to think, “Is the MBA degree finally obsolete?” This is not all, for many academicians are beginning to think if the ROI associated with the high fee, the course structure, and the brand value is on a steady decline. When you graduate from a premier institute, you don’t know for sure if you will be able to secure a desired job within the next few months. Companies look for skills you bring to the table and the way you are able to use them, given the fast paced economy you will be working in. Will you be able to handle the competition in the long run? What career progression you will chart out for yourself as you move up the corporate ladder? These are some of the questions which should be at the top level in your mind while choosing a higher degree for yourself.

With so many questions in mind, the younger Indian population is beginning to doubt the veracity of the two year long programs. Instead, the trends are beginning to tilt in favor of specialized courses, which help people hone their existing skills versus some of the general skills which are taught in a general MBA program. As this is being said, the pertinent question which pops into the mind is, “Is Analytics going to be the next boom?” This thought definitely gets the mind racing, as loads of queries, statistical programs, and open sourced languages come gushing into the mind.

Is data mining the next generation’s secret mantra to success? Business analytics has emerged as an upcoming stream, catching the attention of many students who are in love with their IT proficient side. As more and more companies are looking at developing strategies to fine tune their policies, there is an exorbitant demand for the mind work involved in Analytical courses. If numbers are believed, over 2.5 lakhs analytical jobs will be up for grabs in the year 2015. This will come as a surprise, since jobs in other related fields, like IT, retail and IT enabled jobs are anticipated to dry up drastically.

For example, if there is a firm with 10000 employees in India, it would have around 700-800 employees in its analytical vertical, depending upon the amount of data being generated on a monthly basis. However, this translates to a total number of 1.25 lakhs employees who are already working in the analytical fields all over the country. There are a wide number of domains which are recruiting people proficient in analytics. Companies located in the following domains are likely to be the top recruiters:

• Healthcare,
• Pharmaceuticals
• Financial Services
• Banking
• Telecom

There are tons and tons of institutes offering customized courses to teach courses related to these fields. Some prominent names which come to the mind are Jigsaw Academy, IIM Lucknow, Myra School of Business, Bridge School of Management etc. But this comes with a word of caution! If you have an analytical side, love number crunching, are gifted with a taste for programming languages and love to do root cause analysis, only then you should consider moving into the analytical side. If all these factors get your mind thinking, then you’re definitely moving in the right direction, for the world will be your oyster and there is nothing which can stop you from exploiting it to the fullest.

The post Is your B-School missing Business Analytics boat? appeared first on EduShine.

Rise of the edupreneur: Thus, emerged the sunrise sector which fast became a preferred business option for many a modern entrepreneur as it catered for the gap between demand for professionally executed modern education and the existing supply of world class higher education institutions. With increasing involvement of businessmen in education soon came the realization that without domain expertise the knowledge sector came with its own peculiar set of roadblocks and obstacles.

Education Advisories: The domain expertise came from a group of education consulting firms who strategized, advised and helped to transform higher educational institutions to bring about relevant economic and pedagogic outcomes. These education advisories with their team of qualified education consultants have repeatedly delivered substantial and lasting improvement in learning and teaching outcomes. These advisories draw upon the expertise of their Consultants, who are generally experienced and with a sound knowledge of their respective specializations in the field of higher education, and can therefore ensure best practices and ideas in developing a high-quality learning environment. The consultants have extensive experience serving colleges, universities and schools – including positions as present and former trustees, presidents, vice chancellor, director, faculty and other senior staff –each with a particular area of expertise in college, university and school leadership and management. Keeping in mind that education is the most important determinant of our economic growth the education consulting firms in India with their large concentration of education experts have been able to provide research based practical solutions tailor made to the need of the clients.

Strategic Consulting: These higher education consulting firms, known to deliver strategically planned consulting, helps to improve the overall education delivering process in multiply dynamic ways. These consultancy firms can help Higher Education providers meet the challenges faced in an increasingly competitive environment, whether curriculum improvement at discipline or faculty level, developing a framework to support continuing professional development or gathering information through surveys – these advisories are there to help institutions achieving its academic excellence.

Strategic Planning for system improvement: Successful strategic planning is the pivot for successful management of educational institutions in our rapidly changing world. The education consultants primarily focus on the primary issues facing higher education in India today like performance of the education system; employment education; talent, university planning, assessment and performance management; operational management; and strategic planning for institutional improvement. When consulted for improving the system performance the consultants support their clients on this journey by assessing the current performance and identifying the most effective opportunities for change. There are many occasions it is found that the education advisers have helped in building the institution as well as the leader. The consultancies are also providing services to large organizations by forging alliances and partnerships and assisting them to start a business school in this highly potential indian higher education sector.

Edutech Consulting: As the world is rapidly transforming and technology is disrupting schools, from K-12 through to higher education and adult learning. Education delivered through the internet (e-learning and MOOCs) is commonplace while areas such as mobile learning (or m-learning) are becoming more prevalent as mobile devices proliferate. The education consultancies being a specialist in education technology in India are adept at helping entrepreneurs understand their market, Education ERP, University ERP and the potential for technology to impact education systems and the education industry.

Market Research: These management consultancies conduct education market research in particularly directed at the Higher education sector for universities, colleges of further education, distance learning providers and other institutions offering advanced study such as academic degrees or vocational qualifications. Such research may cover topics like branding, education industry analysis, market forecasts, course design, student satisfaction, competition overview, staff satisfaction, learner destination surveys, new course development and reputation studies.

India Market Entry: The higher education consultancies integrate the industry expertise with market research experience to assist their international clients in identifying their market entry strategy for academic partnerships and university tie ups through its strategic planning, assessment and implementation services. The advisories with their combination of sector expertise, technical resources and practical local knowledge enable the clients to enter and reach their full potential in India.

The post Emerging Need for Management Consulting in Indian Higher Education Sector appeared first on EduShine.