Question 1

How is the PGDM marketing program at SPJIMR? Also, can you shed light on the placement scenario as well?

Accepted Answer

The SPJIMR PGDM Marketing program is similar to top B Schools like IIM ABC. The key highlights of the same program are listed below. Please note these are not generic and are specifically related to the Marketing program.

Curriculum: The curriculum is almost exactly what is taught at elite B Schools. The relevancy of the curriculum is maintained through unique programs like GFT wherein a 3-week immersion at some of the finest universities of the USA takes place. A very interesting program called ‘A day in the life of a Salesman’ is a much talked about program at SPJIMR. In this, you will get to shadow a salesman from a reputed FMCG company so that you understand the techniques of sales and distribution.

Pedagogy: The pedagogy adopted is usually a case-based approach. Mostly Harvard cases are used to strike discussions in the classrooms. Additionally, live projects are conducted by various visiting companies. Such initiatives help formulate an effective pedagogy.

Faculty: The faculty is a great combination of professors with theoretical knowledge and industry experts. All are highly competent in their respective fields.

Batch: The diversity of the batch can be looked up on the official website by checking the profiles of the Marketing batch specifically. Usually, the crowd is diverse and has an overall good profile.

Placements: The placement statistics can be checked on the official website. The figures are inflated but can be used for comparison purposes only. The table below includes the key highlights of SPJIMR placements 2023

Particulars	Statistics
Highest salary	INR 77.8 LPA
Average salary	INR 33.02 LPA
Top Recruiters	Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever Limited, ITC, Accenture Strategy

Question 2

How is the information management PGDM program in SPJIMR?

Accepted Answer

SPJIMR Information Management PGDM program is suitable for those who want to shift from technical IT to management and business roles. This unique course is updated annually to keep up with the latest developments in the IT field and is on par with the best B-schools around the world.

The faculty at SPJIMR are highly dedicated and valued for their academic excellence and business backgrounds. In addition to classroom courses, IM students learn from industry visits, guest lectures from corporate gurus and CXOs, and live projects designed to facilitate the use of theory in practice.

At SPJIMR, peer learning is highly effective, and there is a collaborative culture in place. Students are selected based on merit, and the competition is stiff due to the high quality of peers. Most IM students come with expertise in various domains, and they work together as a team on activities such as the Cross Course Project, which is a platform to piece together all learnings from the IM coursework and consult on a real IT business challenge.

The placement opportunities available in the IM specialization are regarded as a valuable benefit, and SPJIMR attracts top-tier firms like Microsoft, Amazon, Flipkart, HCL, GE, Make My Trip, Capgemini, Cognizant Business Consulting, Deloitte, and many more. The roles open for the IM area include IT consulting, Business Development, Product Management, and General Management in IT companies and e-Commerce majors, and Corporate IT roles (CIO growth path) in IT user companies. The advantage of the IM specialization is that both you and the firms find yourselves in a win-win situation when it comes to mapping skills versus roles.

Question 3

Does SPJIMR have a different course structure and calendar than the IIMs and other top B schools? If so, is it better?

Accepted Answer

There are a few differences in the course calendar of SPJIMR and the IIMs that you should be aware of.

The major difference is that SPJIMR's flagship 2-year MBA course has Autumn Internship while IIMs have Summer Internship. In Autumn Internship, you will have completed most of your first-year B-school knowledge, which is a plus point when applying for corporate internships. Additionally, SPJIMR's famous Sem-III, which is a semester for Specialization courses, would have been completed by then. During this semester, you will undergo live projects which is like a near-internship experience and helps you a lot in your actual internship. However, this can keep you away from interacting with students from other B-Schools, unlike in the case of the Summer Internship. During the Autumns Internship selection process, roles are Specialization Specific, and having completed Sem-III restricts the roles you can take outside of your specialization.

With the completion of the Autumn Internship, the final placement season is usually 3/4 months away, giving companies time to roll out PPI/PPO wisely and allowing students to choose prudently between PPI/PPO and the option to be part of Final placements. However, this can leave students with less time for preparation for finals if they don't get PPI/PPO or reject those.

There are also a few minor differences in the course calendar. For example, in the summer, SPJIMR has Social Internship, whereas IIMs have a corporate internship. Additionally, in the mid-second year, SPJIMR students fly to the US for Fast-Track Learning, which is not available in IIMs. The second year for SPJIMR students is mostly busy with Sem-III then GFT then Autumns Internship. Thus SPJIMR students take part in corporate competitions (likes of LIME, Mahindra War Room, TBLA, etc.) during the first year itself, although this is just a norm. SPJIMR also offers numerous Minors (viz. Analytics, Finance, Consulting, Strategy, etc.). But the Analytics semester overlaps with International Exchange Semester. This means students can either do a Minor in SPJIMR OR an International Exchange at Foreign Universities.

Overall, while the timing of the internships is different, SPJIMR's Autumn Internship can be an advantage for you, and the live projects in Sem-III can provide you with valuable experience. However, you should also consider the minor differences and how they may affect your interests and goals.

Question 4

How good is SPJIMR's PGDM? I’m looking at the current placement records of over 26L average. Is it performing better than top B-schools like XLRI/FMS/IIM?

Accepted Answer

SPJIMR has been among the top 5 or 10 B Schools over the past few years consistently. Its brand value can be compared to XLRI, FMS, and even IIMs except for IIM ABC. This is because even now there are some roles offered to IIM ABC students that are not offered at SPJIMR. But this is not a major issue as these roles seek only extraordinary profiles and In Fact, many other roles offered at IIM ABC are lower than average.

In SPJIMR even the lowest package is decent and the range of salary is not very broad. This year, SPJIMR's average package stood at INR 33.02 LPA.

Other key points to note in comparison to old IIMs is that our Highest CTC is lower than that of IIMs but our Lowest CTC is higher than that of IIMs. So I will suggest anyone with an exceptionally good profile to choose IIM whereas someone with a decent average profile should go for SPJIMR only. It is important to note that getting roles at SPJIMR is a bit easier than IIMs mainly because of the small batch size and less competition.

Question 5

Which institution is better for MBA in Finance- SPJIMR or IIM- Indore? (For someone who has only 6 months of work experience)

Accepted Answer

Trying to make sure my answer is as objective as possible, I have mentioned the pros of both institutes namely SPJIMR and IIM Indore. The final decision can be made by choosing the one whose benefits appeal to you the most and matches your inclinations.

SPJIMR

Small batch size of 250-300 students makes it possible to develop good bonding between peers. There is almost a family-like feeling. The small batch size also reduces the level of competition and increases proximity to faculty
The average package was pretty decent this year and stood at INR 26.06 LPA
A major USP of SPJIMR is its Rural internship called DOCC and GFT(global fast track program). These offer a unique experience of rural India as well as the foreign market in the same year.
Another distinguishing factor of SPJIMR is the minors offered n other specializations like Analytics, Consulting, etc. This is like a secondary specialization for backup in the future.
The culture at SPJIMR is friendly mainly because of the unique selection process

IIM Indore

The main USP is the IIM Tag
Huge batch size resulting in a larger stronger alumni base
You do not have to choose a specialization at the time of admissions. Specializations are chosen after a year and still, the degree awarded is that of a General MBA only. So if you are not sure of your specialization and want to explore various aspects of Management, then IIM Indore is a better option for you.