“We must accept finite disappointments, but never lose infinite hope” – Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous saying holds true for MBA aspirants who might not have secured admission to their dream institution on multiple counts. For MBA aspirants in India, the IIMs have traditionally epitomized the Indian dream, simultaneously validating one’s academic calibre and acting as a Launchpad for a prestigious and successful career.

Over two lakh candidates appear for the CAT, of which approximately ten thousand get admission to the nineteen Indian Institutes of Management. Those who do not secure admission to the IIMs are often bitterly disappointed at having missed out on what they see as a make-or-break point. They should in fact not feel that they are settling for simply what is available to them; indeed of the 4500 management institutions in India, many are doing an excellent job of delivering high-quality management education attuned to the contemporary world of business and enterprise.

Bridging the gap between theory and practice, integrating learning and living, and synchronizing the classroom with the workplace, these new-age institutes are giving these students a robust foundation to build their future upon and the opportunity to explore their individual strengths.

Interestingly, and not surprisingly, they draw from many of the same principles that distinguished the IIMs even when they were first set up. There is,in the case of the better schools, a tremendous focus on the individual student’s education experience–they promote a spirit of discovery, creativity, problem solving and innovation among students, and make learning an enriching and engaging experience. The focus is on creating graduates who are both able and aware enough to take charge of their professional growth - whether it is in a legacy organization, a growing one, a family business, or one’s own company.

In fact, the current success of the IIMs is in many ways derived from the fact that they take in a pool of very bright, focused individuals. The accomplishments of such a pool is to a great extent an outcome of its pre-existing abilities and attitudes, the institution’s contribution being incremental. The growing organizations, on the other hand, pay a lot more attention to their students on multiple aspects in a much more personalized way. One might argue that their contribution as academic institutions is in

absolute terms even greater than those of the IIMs given the extent of value they add to those often written-off as average students.

With increasing competition in the market, the non-IIM business schools are continuously contemporizing their curriculum, improving their teaching standards, and fostering research initiatives

Sifting through the lot, one will find institutions with tangible differentiators in their program offerings. In addition to curriculum and pedagogy at par with the best internationally, what distinguishes these institutions are their faculty members with a deep commitment to institution building. Their mentorship often plays a big role in helping still-confused students get a clearer sense of what they are best suited for. Along with state-of-the-art infrastructure and academic facilities, these campuses offer multiple opportunities for corporate/industry exposure ranging from guest faculty lectures to live projects. The leadership in these campuses is also familiar with the aspirations of the student body and is increasingly working towards creating an eco-system which encourages and supports entrepreneurial initiatives. Great Lakes Institute of Management’s Karma-Yoga project is an interesting example of integrating social impact into the MBA programme by getting students to understand immediate challenges faced by the twenty villages surrounding the campus.

The perceived gap between the IIMs and other B-schools is narrowing down quickly. With increasing competition in the market, the non-IIM business schools are continuously contemporizing their curriculum, improving their teaching standards, and fostering research initiatives. These institutes draw visiting faculty from the best in both the academic and the corporate worlds. This gives students more breadth in their approach to problems along with practical insights from the professional world compared to a traditional theoretical approach.

BML Munjal University (BMU)’s curriculum, for example, has been developed in consultation with leading thinkers and practitioners globally. Imperial College London and Singapore Management University have actively collaborated in ensuring the curriculum has an international perspective while being rooted in the Indian context. Two of the MBA specializations are offered in association with IBM and KPMG and are therefore moulded by immediate industry requirements.

Students have the opportunity to work on internships, projects and live business cases to gain an understanding of how real professional spaces function. Skill and Perspective courses at BMU equip students with professional skills and an understanding of the humanities and social sciences.

In Shiv Nadar University’s I-Global MBA, in addition to a primary specialization in traditional areas, students can opt for an advanced specialization in growing and niche areas such as Entrepreneurial Leadership, e-Commerce, Digital Marketing, Analytics, and Sustainability and Environmental Management.

What is particularly important for MBA aspirants is that such institutions also look beyond scorecards and conventional methods while evaluating applicants. They are looking to identify driven individuals keen to make the most of opportunities made available to them. Their success is directly linked to their ability to develop creative, entrepreneurial problem-solvers and change agents who will shape the rapidly shifting world of business and enterprise in the coming years. Students therefore, should look beyond templatized routes for success and growth, and match their individual skills and interests with an institution which will nurture them.