In the B-school survey, Outlook and mdra decided to create a separate list for sectoral B-schools, institutes that specialise in a particular branch of management or have an entry restriction, for example, it admits only engineers. The Mumbai-based National Institute of Industrial Engineering (nitie) tops this list by a mile. Indeed, in terms of points earned, it is the No. 5 B-school, next only to iims A, C, B and L.
nitie, open only to engineering graduates, doesn't teach only industrial engineering, as its name suggests, but all branches of management. Its course structure, based on Course 15 of the Sloan School of Management of the US, involves interaction with industry and provides two training sessions: a two-month summer training at the end of the first year and a four-month stint with the firms that come for placements in January. Typically, once a company offers to hire a student, it is asked to give him/her a four-month project that the student works on from January to April. Then s/he returns to the institute and gets assessed.
Unlike a lot of business schools covered in the survey, nitie has a staff strength of 43 full-time PhDs. That means a faculty-to-student ratio of 1:2. Says director Dr Thomas Mathew: "It has been our effort to design and administer a curriculum that enables the students to imbibe an integrated, holistic, cross-functional overview of industry. We want to equip them with tools that facilitate effective decision-making."
The campus may look a little under-cared for with a strong need for a good coat of paint but the serene view of both Powai and Vihar lakes and a dense forest cover compensate. The students are very charged and completely involved in the myriad activities the institute seems to have, from finance clubs to quizzes to management seminars. Indeed, comments the principal of another college: "With so many activities, when do the students get to study?" But the students say that these have provided a great learning experience for them.