Most private institutes say they are in for a good season with offers for summer jobs picking up, despite fears of a global slowdown and job cuts.
Top private B-schools have reasons to cheer with the summer internship scenario hotting up. Institutes have managed to rope in big players from both domestic and international companies across the spectrum, despite the slowdown fears.
“We began our summer placements last week. We are focussing more on engaging companies on campus through leadership talks or case study activities this year. This gives the companies a chance to visit the campus and engage with the students in live projects and assess them. It is proving to be a better tool,” said a placement committee member from the Bhubaneshwar-based Xavier Institute of Management (XIM-B).
Last year, the institute had invited 60 companies on campus, but this year the number has swelled to keep pace with the growing number of students per batch — from 180 last year to 240 students this year.
Most B-schools begin summer placements in October, and the seven top institutes Business Standard spoke to said during the current season the response to summer placements has been good, in spite of the fact that batch sizes have increased between 15 and 20 per cent. B-schools have also been very aggressive, evolving new strategies to woo companies.
Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business said it was working on how to increase the number of offers per company. “If we invite more companies, more of them will go without offers. It’s not a question of more companies coming to the campus, but about how to increase the number of offers per company,” said V K Menon, director-career advancement services, ISB.
“We all know of the global slowdown. But as far as ISB is concerned, we don't run after markets. We look at targeting companies. Already 24 companies have registered so far and we expect 80 more companies. On the domestic front, FMCG and sales development profiles seem positive. Finance and technology seem to be neutral. I don't see any reason why a premier school should be concerned,” said Menon. ISB had 320 companies last year on campus and expects more during the current season.
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At Delhi-based Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), 70 companies have so far expressed their interest to participate. IIFT placement chairperson Munish Bhargava said companies have been very positive and the institute is confident of placing the 209 students for internships.
Last year too the response to summer placements was good for most B-schools, especially so for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). Although the situation in 2010 was better, this year the Eurozone crisis had made B-schools jittery.
Last year there was an increase of anywhere between 10-25 per cent in the number of new companies being invited on the campus and B-schools expect a similar trend this year.
At Gurgaon-based Management Development Institute (MDI), 170 companies had participated in 2010, while 187 companies have already confirmed their participation this year. Among the various sectors, finance companies have registered the highest increase — up from 58 in 2010 to 63 this year.
MDI's placement affairs chairperson Kanwal Kapil said the institute does not see any major impact of the financial crisies in the US and Eurozone. The institute will place 300 students this year, while 24 have already received pre-placement offers.
B-schools however, did not reveal stipend package. “We will have to wait for the placements to complete. Only then will we have a clear picture. Guessing a number here would be hazardous,” said Bhargava.
Last year, Cadbury had offered the highest stipend of Rs 1,00,000 for two months to a student from the Mumbai-based National Institure of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) and the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.
At the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, 120 companies have registered so far. Since the batch size has increased to over 370, it is reaching out to more companies. Last year, over 180 companies had participated. The 375 students were placed in 127 companies. Last year, each company, on an average, had increased the number of offers by 26 per cent, compared to the previous year.
At the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, more companies have been invited to the campus because of a larger batch this year. Amit Dhiman, professor in charge of placement, at IIM-C said the institute expects that the number of offers by companies may go down this year.