Relevance of MBA

Many engineers prefer to join MBA after BE. There is fundamental difference between MBA and BE. Whereas BE is knowledge-based, MBA is skill-based. For example an engineer wanting to design a reactor or design a structure must know and understand the mathematical formulae required for the purpose. On the other hand, there is no formula or a set path to manage a business. Managing a business is a skill till date. Every businessman evolves his style of management, based on the manpower (skill sets), equipment and materials required for the purpose. The structured training in management helps him manage better. The importance of work experience before joining MBA needs to be understood in proper perspective.

After graduation, one joins a job. The real nature of the job, say production, services, finance, marketing, etc., is known only after working in a particular area for few years. After some years (3 - 5) of working, one comes to know about the additional skill sets required to become efficient and successful in the profession. That is the stage when MBA course, with a specialization in the relevant area of management, should be joined.

As an engineer, I would say, every graduate engineer joining the industry should go for postgraduate qualification in management. After some years of work experience, most engineers rise to the level of GM and above. At that stage, the management skills are more important than the technical knowledge.

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Boost for research

India's apex industry chamber, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)), is set to sign three MoUs for cooperation with three leading US institutions. The MOUs will be signed by the Prime Minister during his visit to US.

The first MoU with IC² Institute at the University of Texas at Austin calls for the implementation of new, distinctive programmes in India with the aim of helping Indian innovators bring their ideas to the world. The interdisciplinary research unit of The University of Texas at Austin, the IC² Institute has advanced the Theory and Practice of Entrepreneurial Wealth Creation.

With sponsorship from the Lockheed Martin Corporation, FICCI and IC² Institute teamed together in March 2007 to launch a first of its kind initiative ­ "The India Innovation Growth Programme" with the prime objective of assisting Indian innovators across the country and across a diversified range of sectors to take their R&D work to global markets.

The programme has successfully completed three years and has signed 73 business deals in India and around the world. Major deals have been signed under the programme in the sectors of waste management, rural technology, life sciences, avionics and green technology. The FICCI and IC² Institute have also jointly assessed 200 technologies from 26 DRDO labs across India and 7 licensing agreements have been finalised in India

The second MoU with the Polytechnic Institute of New York University commits the organizations to a culture of innovation in India. Under this pact, NYU-Poly and FICCI will design and host activities to promote an understanding of how partnerships between government, industry, and educational institutions can spur advances in research and bolster economic activity in India.

The two organisations have agreed to bring their respective strengths to meet India's growing demand for world-class research and development facilities that attract global talent. NYU-Poly, New York City's most comprehensive engineering and technology institutions of higher education, will showcase the successes of American models of private-public partnerships at events in India.

FICCI in turn will engage academic, research, government, and business entities in the cultivation of public-private partnerships.

The third MoU with the Institute of International Education, Inc. (IIE) outlines an agreement to partner to promote and facilitate educational and training exchanges between the United States and India. The IIE, a leading not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States, will collaborate with FICCI to facilitate more student exchanges and build academic partnerships between the two countries.

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