High-quality research should be second nature to a top business school, believes B S Sahay, Director Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon. In an interview with Chitra Unnithan, Sahay says the issue of faculty crunch faced by business schools in the country can be tackled with adequate time allotted to research. Edited excerpts:
On the 10th anniversary of MDI’s Fellow Programme in Management, will there be any specific area you will focus upon?
Research is at the heart of MDI. It is a proud moment for all of us to reach an important milestone in our endeavour towards promoting research. Ten years back we started the Fellow Programme in Management with the objective of developing outstanding scholars for careers in teaching and research at leading business schools and management departments of universities.
To accomplish this, it was a challenge for us to conceptualise and design the programme which provides students with academic knowledge and research skills. Our emphasis has been to make them specialised researchers, with adequate depth of knowledge in various knowledge-domains of management. We also started Executive Fellow Programme in Management, one of its kinds in the country, where working professionals can simultaneously pursue their research while they are in job, and, carry out applied research.
From the very beginning, we were clear that the research done by our Fellow scholars must be published in journals of high standing. This year we have made significant changes in our doctoral programme which includes an internal written test which has been replaced by GRE / CAT / GMAT / GATE / JRF; the scholarship for FPM scholars has been increased; and we are encouraging FPM scholars to have one member of thesis supervisory committee from abroad preferably from partner institutions. All our doctoral students are well settled in top institutions and organisations.
You have also reworked the research policy of the institute. Has it paid dividends?
We feel that high quality research and publication is important for any top business school in the world. As discussed earlier, MDI is committed to high quality research and have made all efforts to attract top researchers in the field of management from different parts of the world. We have reworked our research policy and the bar for has been raised. There has been significant policy innovation to promote high quality research and publications.
Faculty are encouraged to publish research papers in top quality management journals classified in category A, B & C based on the Thomson Impact Factor Index. A cash award of Rs 5 lakh is given to faculty for each paper published in class 'A' Journal. In addition, the faculty gets an opportunity to present their paper at international conferences. MDI has set up Centres for Excellence in contemporary areas with the support of industry and government funding. In order to do quality research, faculty must be given enough space and freedom to do research.
MDI faculty members are actively engaged in carrying out high quality research. Our research is more action and practice focused as we work in close collaboration with the industry, Government and Peer institutions and hence our research outcomes are not only adding to the knowledge pool of the country but also bring forth applications of knowledge to society. We are closely working with our partner institutions and industry partners for collaborative research and case development.
What do Indian B-schools lack when it comes to research?
There are over 2,000 business schools in India and there is an acute shortage of faculty members. Barring top business schools, most of the faculty members in academic institutions in India are engaged primarily with teaching and hence have no time for research. I think India has a great potential and faculty members should be encouraged to do research. Research helps in teaching and training both. Besides government, industry should support collaborative research.
According to the Global Competitiveness Report, India has been ranked very low (44th position) so far as industry-university research collaboration is concerned. I think both business school and industry had to work in tandem to produce high quality research which is relevant to the society and the nation.
Are there any new challenges that the institute expects in the near future?
Challenge is a part of life. This propels you to create some thing new which is good for the society and to the nation. As you are aware, MDI is one of the top business schools in India. We aspire to be one of the best business schools in the world and are working in that direction.
