Nurturing a global outlook

Geetu Vaid

Students who wish to be business leaders in the field of economics and business communications are generally in a dilemma while selecting the right undergraduate course. “The Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Economics and the Bachelor of Business Communication have a huge underlying argument of business and management and are ideal for students from the commerce field,” says Prof Sivakumar Alagumalai, Professor & Dean - Undergraduate (Global) at S P Jain School of Global Management, Mumbai. In an interaction with J&C Prof Alagumalai talked about different UG courses being offered at the institute and how a global exposure can add value to one’s degree in management field. Excerpts:

Which UG courses are offered at SP Jain institute?

SP Jain has 4 undergraduate courses that are functional. One is the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Bachelor of Data Science (BDS), Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Business Communication. Out of the 4 programmes, 3 are from the business/management track, and the data science programme is inclined towards computers and Information Technology.

With BBA the students can specialise in marketing, entrepreneurship and finance, so they can easily streamline into a specialisation.

What is unique about these courses?

The new development with these courses is that the students get a choice between completing the first year either in Mumbai or in Sydney, and they do the second and third year in Sydney. All the courses that we spoke about have been accredited by the Australian government.

Thus, the students start in one country and have lived in three different countries by the time the course is finished. For example, with BBA they can start in Mumbai or in Singapore and continue the course in Dubai and Sydney. Here the contact is very different as we are giving students not just a theory of learning, but also the experience of living and understanding different countries, their environments and the markets of the countries.

What is the importance of global exposure for management students?

Global exposure allows students to learn and understand the language of business in different countries. Business now has a global reach and thus it is important for managers and business leaders to have their fingers on the pulse of global trends as well as business ethics.

How can one get admitted to this course?

To be eligible for our UG courses, students must have completed high school/secondary school/junior college or an equivalent form of secondary education. They are shortlisted on the basis of the SP Jain Entrance Test (SPJET) or their SAT score. Students are also required to demonstrate an acceptable proficiency in English. This is assessed during the evaluations. Students who have not been educated in English must have acceptable English language scores in IELTS, TOEFL Ibt or PTE examinations. Applicants are then required to satisfactorily complete a personal interview with the admissions team. The admissions team shortlists applications based on past academic performance, entrance test scores, English language proficiency, subject knowledge, analytical skills and other achievements.

What are the job prospects after these courses?

Students get support for internships. They get courses in how to write a paper or to write an essay to a company, how to address issues in a real work environment. We also prepare our students to face employers from different countries and backgrounds. We also have a shark tank where we invite industry professionals that are the best known in their field and students bring forth everything that they have learned in the last four years.