KIAMS Defines B-School Education With Its Professional Personality Programme

Online, October 6, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS) has added a completely new dimension to its curriculum in 2012. In a first-of-its-kind move in B-schools in India, all individual development needs of an ace future manager identified as a must in the current business scenario, have been put under one umbrella. The programme, known as the Professional Personality Programme or PPP, is a complete 2-year compulsory component of the course for all KIAMS students.

"As a premier management institute, our primary purpose is to prepare young management professionals. Since a majority of the pass-outs start their careers as professionals in industry rather than research or entrepreneurship, our education has a natural industry tilt, with a sharp focus on employability," says Dr. Gopal Iyengar, Director, KIAMS Harihar. "The real key to the effectiveness of professionals is to deploy their skills in the performance domain. Industry requires young management professionals to hit the ground running and perform from Day 1. Hence, entering industry fully equipped with the skills mentioned above is crucial."

The PPP, a brainchild of the Management of KIAMS, has been laboriously crafted in great detail by the faculty at KIAMS. It has two main divisions - Personality Development (in the first-year) which has an overall weight of 8 credit points allocated to it; and Professional Development (in the second year) which has 16 credit points.

The Personality Development rests on 4 major pillars (i) Self Awareness which tracks an individual's attitude and personality, how he or she interacts, observing and knowing one's beliefs, values, attitudes and style; and most importantly, knowing one's own body while one is communicating. (ii) Interaction Dynamics which deals with the complete range of relating and interacting with other with emphasis on interpersonal awareness, group dynamics and team working. (iii) Communications - oral and written (iv) Self-Development Orientation, which includes Global Etiquette and Poise, Grooming Corporate Personalities, etc., amongst various other components

"It was just not possible to have somebody from outside develop this programme," says Professor Priya Venkatesh. "Over a period of time, KIAMS developed the expertise within itself. We had to ensure that the PPP was constructed around the KIAMS values of 'Nurture, Self-Worth and Self- Esteem for Performance' and 'Saluting the Better in Others while Valuing the Good in the Self'. It did take a lot of thought on our part, but we were able to achieve our vision."

The best part of the PPP is that the Personality and Professional Development segments complement each other beautifully, walking hand in hand. The Professional Development Segment, for instance, starts right from career focus at the entry level to identification of the Interests/ Sectors of each student. Over the year, the programme goes on to build professional awareness in areas like Market Reality, Industry Expectations, Industry Vocabulary, Industry Culture, Industry Report/ Case, Viewing Business Channels and Report Submission. It also turns a keen eye on competencies for various industries, recent recruitment practices, etc.

"Earlier, most of the hands-on exposure activities like SIP, alumni interaction, Individual Industry Project, assisting in KIAMS Project, paper with faculty and competitions conducted by CRISIL, ITC innovation foundation, etc. were pretty much stand-alone, and most of it did not form a part of the formal curriculum," says Professor Shruti Das, KIAMS, also a part of the Placement Cell. "The PPP has changed that. All these activities now fall under the Professional Development Programme and performance in these activities adds up to the 16 credit points allocated to this programme."

Most importantly, the programme mandates that each KIAMS student has to interview at least 5 industry personalities and 3 alumni, along with participation in a Community Programme through 'Pragati', the much talked-about Rural Fair at KIAMS. Interestingly, the Personality and Professional segments are so tightly integrated that activities in the second year, although categorised under Professional Skills, depend heavily on the Personality Skills that a student has earmarked for himself. Goal Setting and Prioritising, Time Management, Problem Solving, Planning, PI Skills like making an impact in a corporate interview, Presentation of self as a saleable commodity and a brand ambassador for KIAMS, etc. are all extensively dealt with under the Professional segment of PPP.

In true KIAMS tradition, it is a thorough affair, leaving no scope for 'ifs-and-buts'. The 24-credit point PPP undoubtedly establishes KIAMS as a thought leader in the B-school education space in India.