710 GMAT, 7 Years Average Work Ex: IIM B MBA Class Of 2017

71 students have joined the one year full-time MBA programme at IIM Bangalore this year. Nikhil Sen, Managing Director, UNIBIC India shared some interesting lessons with the incoming class at the induction ceremony.

Believe in your product and build the right teams,” said Nikhil Sen, Managing Director, UNIBIC India, to the new batch of the One Year Full-time MBA (Executive Post Graduate Programme – EPGP) at IIM Bangalore.

In his inaugural address, he exhorted the students to chase service and sustainability. “When I recruit young managers, I look for the three ‘I’s: Introspection – the ability of the individual to look inwards and reinvent; Intuition – the ability to anticipate needs and challenges; and Inspiration – the ability to lead people to work beyond the ordinary.  Don’t be a boss, be a leader. Don’t be a missionary, be a visionary. As long as you have clarity of mind, purity of heart and sincerity of action, you will succeed,” he said.

Welcoming the batch of 71 students to the EPGP programme, he declared that as managers they had to learn to be available and accessible. “You must lead from the front. As you go up the ladder, you have to mentor teams, build and nurture relationships. What matters is how much knowledge you have shared with your teams. Wealth should be a consequence of pursuing a passion,” he explained.

On lessons learnt in the course of his own professional journey, the top executive of UNIBIC, who began his career in consumer research, said: “Go beyond the ordinary, know your organization’s needs, be humble and build relationships based on trust.”

One data point that stands out from past years is the lowest individual work experience in the class which stands at 4.5 years this year. As per IIM B’s admission criteria till last year, candidates were expected to have 5 years minimum work ex. This was revised downwards from a minimum 7 years of work ex. which was stipulated in the early years of the course. The B-School’s website shows that the minimum work ex. requirement has been further reduced to 4 years.  

Commending the 71 professionals for moving out of their comfort zone and signing up for a programme as challenging as the EPGP at IIM Bangalore, he said:  “Some of you will take the ‘Make in India’ path and provide employment instead of looking for jobs. Entrepreneurship is not easy – there will be crises. So learn to survive. If you do your basics right, success is sure to follow. When you are in an intensely competitive market with a limited budget, think out-of-the-box to get in there and make a difference.”

Nikhil Sen’s address was followed by an interactive session with the students.

EPGP Chairperson U Dinesh Kumar welcomed the new batch and shared the class profile. The average age of the 8th batch of EPGP students is 29 years, their average work experience is seven years and almost half the batch has international experience. “The EPGP programme is challenging and fulfilling and your peers will contribute to your learning in a big way because of the richness of diversity in the batch,” said Professor Dinesh Kumar.

One data point that stands out from past years is the lowest individual work experience in the class which stands at 4.5 years this year. As per IIM B’s admission criteria till last year, candidates were expected to have 5 years minimum work ex. This was revised downwards from a minimum 7 years of work ex. which was stipulated in the early years of the course. The B-School’s website shows that the minimum work ex. requirement has been further reduced to 4 years.  

Dean of Academic Programmes Sourav Mukherji offered the students a brief overview of life at IIMB. “The one-year EPGP is an intense programme, which will lead to a journey of self-discovery,” he said, assuring them that they would learn to be not only business leaders but also leaders in all spheres of life.

EPGP 2016-17: Batch Profile

Total Students: 71

Average Age: 29 years

Minimum Age: 26 years

Average Work Experience: 7 years

Minimum Work Experience: 4.5 years

Average GMAT Score: 710

Minimum GMAT score: 680

Maximum GMAT Score: 790

Engineering Background: 90%; Non-Engineering: 10%, 5 students have Degrees from IITs; 20 from NITs, 46 from Others

International Experience: 31 students have international work experience