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Indian School of Business

A Guide

2009-2010
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 Table of Contents

The Indian School of Business 3

Academic details of the PGP Program 6

Events at ISB 12

Student Life at ISB 14

Admissions Criteria and Process 16

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 The Indian School of Business

The Indian School of Business (ISB), currently placed 15th in the 2009 global MBA rankings released
by the Financial Times, London is the second among Asian business schools, closely following CEIBS
China. For a school that was conceptualized as late as 1995, this surge in rankings is a testament to
the quality and pedigree of the Institution. A very important feature of the ISB is the emphasis laid
on research – the schools hosts more than 7 centres of excellence with a focus on emerging and
transition economies, striving to create synergies between India, Asia, and the global business
environment.

ISB currently offers a one-year Post Graduate Programme, short-duration, high-powered Executive
Education Programmes for CEOs and senior executives and a two-year Research Fellowship
Programme.

ISB Vision and Leadership

ISB envisions being an internationally top-ranked, research-driven, independent management

institution that grooms future leaders for India and the world. In keeping with its vision ISB focuses
on partnership in academics and business to forge its ties with industry and takes inputs from top-
level corporate organizations in its aim for excellence. The Governing Board, which consists of
extremely successful entrepreneurs and leading academicians, heads of Fortune 500 companies
have established a strong foundation of collaborative approach to teaching and research.

Eminent corporate bodies have contributed to designing a curriculum which uses original teaching
and research as its basis. Business leaders and entrepreneurs hold discussions and workshops, to
give students a hands-on and contemporary approach to problem solving. With a dynamic
leadership, the state is steering the nation to new dimensions in the fields of Information
Technology, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Business Management, Construction, Pharma,
Insurance, Tourism and more - to emerge as a land of immense business opportunities.

School Highlights

Academic alliances with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the
Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the London Business School (LBS)
contribute towards integrating the best of global management practices and thinking with ISB’s
curriculum
Programmes, such as the International Student Exchange Programme for the PGP students, give
an opportunity to study for two terms at other leading business schools. The ISB has
partnerships with 26 leading schools from the USA, France, South Africa, Israel, Germany, China,
Pakistan and the UK for exchange programmes.
Over 105 visiting faculty from the best B-schools in USA, Europe, Australia, and various Asian
countries complement the expertise of ISB’s resident faculty.
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 School History and Dateline

Idea for the School was conceived in 1995

ISB Board was formed in 1996
Association with The Wharton School and The Kellogg School of Management in Nov. 1997
MoU signed with the Government of Andhra Pradesh for setting up ISB in Hyderabad in
September 1998
First international Governing Board meeting in New York in October 13, 1998
ISB foundation stone laying ceremony in December 20, 1999
Association with the London School of Business in December 2000
Dr Pramath Sinha appointed as the ISB's Founding Dean in June 30, 2001
First class starts on campus with 128 students in July 2001
First student Exchange Programme started in September 2001
Inauguration of the Centre for Executive Education(CEE) in November 2001
ISB Inauguration by Prime Minister of India, AB Vajpayee in December 2001
Inauguration of the first Centre of Excellence:Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship
Development (WCED) in December 2001
President S R Nathan of Singapore visits the ISB in January 2002
President -Elect A P J Kalam presides over the First Graduation Day in June 2002
Vijay Mahajan appointed as Dean in June 2002
Solstice - The Alumni reunion in December 2002
Aikya, the host family network, launched in July 2003
Artist-in-Residence programme launched in July 2003
Business and Arts programme launched in September 2003
ISB Women’s Initiative launched in January 2004
MR Rao appointed as Dean in June 2004
Inauguration of the Centre of Analytical Finance (CAF) in August 2004
First Global Social Venture Competition in December 2004
ISB K-HUB Launch in December 2004
Inauguration of the Centre for Global Logistics and Manufacturing Strategies (GLAMS) in
November 2005
George Bush, President of the USA, visits the ISB March 2006
Inauguration of the Centre for Information Technology and the Networked Economy (CITNE)
in July 2006
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh visits the ISB in December 2006
First Global Logistics Summit in December 2006
ISB Day Celebrations on Fifth Anniversary in December 2006
Financial Times ranks ISB's programme in management among the world's Top 20 B-schools
in January 28, 2008
Inauguration of the Centre for Leadership, Innovation, and Change (CLIC) in February 2008
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Ajit Rangnekar appointed as Dean in January 2009

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 Financial Times ranks ISB's programme in management among the world's Top 15 B-schools
in January 26 2009
Inauguration of the Centre for Emerging Markets Solutions

Student Demographics for the PGP Programme

For the class of 2010 the ISB accepted 579 students to its flagship PGP Programme. The student
demographics are represented below:

Age Distribution GMAT Distribution

Minimum 23 Minimum 600
Maximum 39 Maximum 780
Median 27 Median 720
Average 27 Average 716
Mid 80% Range 25-31 Mid 80% Range 680-760

Work Experience
Minimum 2 Years
Maximum 16 Years
Median 4.5 Years
Average 5 Years
Mid 80% Range 2-7 Years
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 Academic details of the PGP Program
The Post Graduate Programme in Management at the ISB starts with the pre-term and orientation
courses followed by eight terms of six weeks each. The first four terms cover the core courses, laying
the foundation for the advanced elective courses in later terms. To specialise in one area, a student
has to take a minimum of six electives from that area. Students can choose a maximum of two
specialisations. All courses at ISB are taught through a mixture of Case studies, discussions,
problem-solving sessions, team projects and theory.

The table below gives the schedule for class of 2010. The schedule for class of 2011 should be very
similar.

Mid Term Exams End Term Exams

Term Term Term
Start Start End Start End End
Date Date Date Date Date Date
Orientation &
Pre-Term 12-Apr - - - - 26-Apr

Term 1 27-Apr 15 May 16-May 1-Jun 2-Jun 7-Jun

Term 2 8-Jun 26-Jun 27-Jun 13-Jul 14-Jul 19-Jul

Term 3 20-Jul 7-Aug 8-Aug 24-Aug 25-Aug 30-Aug

Term 4 31-Aug 18-Sep 19-Sep 1-Oct 2-Oct 11-Oct

Term 5 12-Oct 30-Oct 1-Nov 16-Nov 22-Nov 22-Nov

Term 6 23-Nov 11-Dec 13-Dec 27-Dec 3-Jan 3-Jan

Term 7 4-Jan 22-Jan 24-Jan 7-Feb 11-Feb 11-Feb

Interviews 12-Feb - - - - 21-Feb

Term 8 22-Feb 12-Mar 14-Mar 26-Mar 29-Mar 4-Apr

Graduation Saturday, 03 April, 2010

* Workshops, LDP Sessions, ELPs etc. are scheduled during the weekends &
term breaks

Pre Term and Orientation

The pre-term is an intensive programme, with three modules covering Quantitative Methods,
Accounting, and Business Statistics. The program lasts for one week and aims at gearing up the
students for the core terms by acquainting them with essentials tools and skills which come handy
during the core terms.

The Orientation period or the “O” Week (Re-branded by class of 2009) creates teamwork and class
spirit through a variety of social and recreational activities. Given the program lasts for a year there
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 is no overlap between two batches. However select set of Alums from previous batch stay on
campus for the “O” week to welcome the new class, interact with them and orient them. The week
is full of intensive indoor and outdoor activities, presentations, and ofcourse parties. Below is an
indicative list of activities that happen in the “O” week

Bind-Unbind – Outdoor Teambuilding activity

Talent Night

Treasure Hunt

GSB & Club presentations

Department (ASA, CCA, Alumni Affairs, IT & Library) Presentations

Inter Section Sports

Parties, Parties and more Parties!!!

Core Courses

The core courses are taught in the first four terms and cover the basics of Finance, Strategy,
Marketing, Operations and IT Management. Core Courses at ISB include:

Term 1

Financial Accounting in Decision Making: This is introductory level accounting course where the
class gets introduced to basics of accounting – including but not restricted to Financial
Statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flows etc.), Accounting principles, Ratio
Analysis etc. The mode of teaching is primarily lecture based, however students do analyse a lot
of real and complex annual statements of Indian and International companies.

Managerial Economics: Understanding Micro economics – demand and supply fundamentals,

cost functions, market types, game theory, etc is essential part of managing a business.
Managerial economics essentially aims to build such fundamental concepts. The course is
extremely important particularly from the placement angle. The mode is lecture based with
multiple group assignments. Typically considered to be quant heavy.

Marketing Management: This introductory course in Marketing introduces fundamentals

around components of marketing plan (Situational Analysis, Segmentation, Targeting,
Positioning, Marketing Variables), Customer Values, Pricing Principles, Branding, Distribution
Channels etc. The teaching methodology is case based and you will get introduced to number of
Indian and International cases. Very important course for people seeking career in marketing.

Statistical Methods for Management Decisions: One of the most dreaded course by non-
engineers, this introduces students to concepts in business statistics – normal distribution,
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 hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, simple and multiple regression. Uses Jump and other
statistical software. Primarily lecture driven course and extremely analytical.

Term 2

Competitive Strategy: This is an introductory course to strategy which discusses how firms
compete in the market using frameworks and structures. The course follows a case based
approach and is extremely highly rated for stimulating thoughts. As a part of the course students
have to analyze and write a report on the strategy of a company.

Decision Models & Optimisation: Quant heavy course – Poets (non-engineers, non-quant loving
folks) hate it. Linear Programming, Decision Modelling etc are covered via lectures and some
case problems. Uses tools like ARIMA, RISC, and EXCEL Solver etc.

Global Economics: One of the highly rated courses for its content and teaching methodology.
This course introduces to the Macro-Economic concepts like – GDP, GNP, Classical and Keynesian
theories, Monetary and Fiscal Policy, International Trade, Capital and Labour Markets etc etc.
The course uses “The Commanding Heights” series to supplement the theoretical fundamentals
and even draws from current happenings around the globe.

Marketing Decision Making: This is a level 200 course in marketing which goes deeper into
some of the decisions which firms have to make, including – production, resource allocation for
the various marketing levers, customer choice analysis etc. Lectures and cases are discussed in
class and outside class students are asked to play the MarkStrat game. Highly recommended.

Term 3

Corporate Finance: Introductory course in finance and talks about how do firms raise funds,
how do they deploy funds, with details around – Security Pricing, Capital Budgeting, Capital
Structure, NPV Analysis. A mix of cases and lectures are used. Quant heavy but very highly rated
amongst students.

Entrepreneurship: A case based approach to understand the various aspects of

entrepreneurship – Choices of Industry, Business Models, Capital Sourcing and Exit Scenarios.
Students are expected to interact with a real entrepreneur and write a case on his journey.
Some of these cases become part of the teaching material.

Managerial Accounting and Decision Making: Majorly a cost accounting and internal decision
making course which has components like CVP Analysis, Costing, Performance Measurements,
Benchmarking etc. Thought through a combination of lectures and cases. Again a very important
course from interview point of view.
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 Operations Management: Quantitatively rich course which discusses various aspects of
operations management – inventory, process flows, bottlenecks etc etc. Thought through a
combination of cases and lectures, students are also required to play an online game – Little
Field.

Term 4
Government, Society & Business: The aim of this course is how the policies of the government,
the actions of society and the business interact and affect each other. Gives students a very
close understanding of the macro indicators of various countries of the world. Students pick
certain topics, research and present to the class.

Investment Analysis: A relatively advanced course in finance discusses the various asset classes
– their risks and returns, portfolio management, fixed income securities etc. Primarily a lecture
driven course which requires good analytical and quantitative skills.

Management of Organisations: The first organization behaviour course discusses – motivation,

conflict, change management, leadership, organization culture, capital etc through cases and
lectures. A strongly recommended course for people from all background.

Strategic Analysis of Information Technology: In this era of Information Technology it is

imperative for business leaders to understand and execute on the IT strategy. This course uses
cases from across the globe to discuss IT strategies in class

Elective Courses

The ISB offers over 70 electives covering 6 concentrations. Students can pick one or two
concentration areas for their specialization. For each concentration student have to pick up 6
courses in that area in the 4 elective terms.

Analytical Finance

Entrepreneurship

Information Technology Management

Operations Management

Strategic Marketing

Strategy and Leadership

Students can also opt for the Independent Study Programme (ISP) in case their areas of interest
which are not covered in the curriculum. Herein the student will be guided for the ISP by a faculty
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 Leadership Development Program (LDP)

The LDP focuses on individual growth through a three-fold approach of self-reflection, peer
evaluation and facilitator intervention. The 360 degree assessment is a unique feature of the LDP.
This assessment uses carefully structured questionnaires to systematically collect opinions about a
person’s behaviour/ performance from 6 or 7 people- like workplace superiors, colleagues and
subordinates- who have valuable perspectives on the person's strengths and areas of development.
The feedback from these questionnaires is distributed to the individual students during the session.
The students are then assigned to small learning groups with one designated coach. The coaches
help students explore their feedback; develop personal goals based on the feedback they have
received via a developmental plan. Usually one or two strengths and one or two developmental
areas are chosen to work on. These developmental plans are written down based on the SMART
objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time based) and are likely to achieve the
desired results.

Global Consulting Practicum

The Wharton Global Consulting Practicum (WGCP) is a cross-functional, globally oriented

programme that enables students to apply the concepts, tools, and paradigms learnt within the
classroom to real business problems. Students from Wharton and the ISB jointly help Indian
companies to enter the North American market or enhance their positions in the same. The ISB-
Wharton GCP has partnered with Mahindra & Mahindra, Max India, Medusind Solutions, and Apollo
Hospital Group.

Experiential Learning Programme (ELP)

The Experiential Learning Programme allows students to work with the industry on real
world business issues. The purpose of the ELP is to integrate the learnt concepts in the core terms
and to apply the skills of consulting in developing industry specific expertise. Under the guidance of a
faculty advisor, PGP – Project director and a corporate liaison each student team advises companies
on strategic issues across 16 weeks. Upto 250 ISB students may opt to work on such live projects.
The student teams conclude the project by providing recommendations and presenting their finding
to the company’s management.
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 International Exchanges

The Outbound Exchange Programme is treated as an individual course and selection of students is
based upon bidding. ISB currently has exchange programs with the following schools:

Bocconi University (MSc) - Italy

Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business – China
College of Commerce, National Chengchi University – Taiwan
Darden School of Business, University of Virginia – USA
ESADE Business School – Spain
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University – USA
Faculty of Business Administration, Chinese University of Hong Kong - Hong Kong
Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley – USA
HEC School of Management – France
IE Business School – Spain
IESE Business School, University of Navarra – Spain
Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto – Canada
KAIST Graduate School of Business – Korea
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University – USA
Kenan Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina – USA
Judge Business School, University of Cambridge – UK
Lahore University of Management Sciences – Pakistan
Leonard N Stern School of Business, New York University – USA
London Business School – UK
Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne – Australia
NUS Business School, National University of Singapore – Singapore
Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management, WHU – Germany
Queen's School of Business, Queen's University –Canada
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University – Netherlands
School of Business and Management, The Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology - Hong Kong
School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University – China
Schulich School of Business, York University – Canada
SDA Bocconi School of Management (MBA),
Bocconi University – Italy
The China Europe International Business School – China
The Fletcher School, Tufts University – USA
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The Leon Recanati Graduate School of Business, Tel Aviv University – Israel
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 Thunderbird School of Global Management – USA
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania – USA
Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College – USA
University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business – South Africa

Events at ISB
ISB hosts competitions in social entrepreneurship and business development.

Business Plan Competition: The Business Plan Competition jointly organised by

the Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development and the Entrepreneurship and VC
Club revolves around students creating a working business plan from start to finish.

Global Social Venture Competition: The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) provides
students the chance to contribute to the community by creating an entrepreneurial venture
that has a clear social objective. The competition is organised by the Haas School of Business
at the University of California, Berkeley, the Columbia Business School and the London
Business School, and is supported by the Goldman Sachs Foundation. The ISB is one of the
partners for the competition and has the responsibility of promoting the competition in Asia
and organising the Asia Round.

SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES AT ISB

Apart from hosting several research conferences, ISB also hosts Weekly Brown Bag Conferences and
Research seminars. Researchers from around the world present their cutting-edge work at the ISB as
often as once a week in the weekly research seminars. The Brown Bag Seminar is a forum where
researchers present their ongoing work.

CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

The Centres of Excellence provide a forum where knowledge and understanding of business can be
exchanged between the academic and the corporate worlds. This constant exchange provides a
theoretical, empirical, and practical foundation for an informed study of emerging markets. The
research carried out here focuses on emerging and transition economies – the aim is to create
synergies between India, Asia and the global business environment. The school currently has the
following centres of excellence:

Centre for Analytical Finance (CAF)

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Centre for Emerging Markets Solutions (CEMS)

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 Centre for Global Logistics and Manufacturing Strategies (GLAMS)
Srini Raju Centre for Information Technology and the Networked Economy (SRITNE)
Centre for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC)
Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED)

The School plans to establish a Centre of Excellence in the area of Strategic Marketing in the near
future. Currently the school has two research chairs Indu Research Chair In Real Estate And Urban
Studies and the Thomas Schmidheiny Research Chair focussing on the real estate and family
business arenas respectively.

Professors of Management Practice

In keeping with the best practices followed by world class B-schools, the ISB invites eminent
industry leaders and professionals to teach and share their practical experiences and insights with
students. Inspirational encounters with industry stalwarts have proved to be extremely enriching
experiences for the aspiring business leaders.

Some of these influential speakers over the year are as follows:

Ram Shriram, Founder & CEO, Sherpalo Ventures

K P Singh, Chairman, DLF Group

Julia Middleton, Founder and Chief Executive, Common Purpose

Ranjit Shahani, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Novartis India Limited

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chariman and Manging Director, Biocon

Habil Khorakiwala, Chairman, Wockhardt

L Brooks Entwistle, Managing Director and CEO, Goldman Sachs

N R Narayana Murthy, Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor, Infosys

S Mohan, Vice President, Cognizant

Ian Thomas, Vice President, Boeing International and President, Boeing India

Srini Koppolu, Corporate Vice President and Managing Director, Microsoft

Willie Walsh, CEO, British Airways

Michael J Christenson, President and Chief Operating Officer, CA

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Atul Singh, President and CEO, Coca-Cola, India

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 Student Life at ISB
The Graduate Students Association (GSA) coordinates and manages student activities and
initiatives, both academic and extracurricular. It represents all students' interests to the ISB
administration and provides inputs to enrich the curriculum. The GSB members are elected from
among the students about two months into the programme.

A variety of Professional and extracurricular clubs add value to the in classroom experience at ISB. In
addition to connecting students with others who have similar interests, the clubs also provide a
platform to interact with alumni and professionals in related fields thereby aiding formal and
informal networking.

The professional clubs at ISB are:

Business Technology Club

Consulting Club
Energy, Manufacturing Operations Club
Entrepreneurship & VC Club
Finance Club
General Management Club
Healthcare Club
Marketing Club
Media Club
Net Impact Club
Real Estate Club
Retail Club
Women in Business Club

Social Clubs at ISB include:

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Arts & Creativity Club

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 Dance Club
Golf Club
Music Club
Photography Club
Radio Club
International Club
Quiz Club
Theatre Club
Sports Club
Spouse & Family Association

Apart from these clubs – there are several unique aspects to student life at ISB – the Business and
Arts Program, efforts in giving back to the community and the host family network.

BUSINESS AND ARTS PROGRAMME

This initiative is an extension of the curriculum wherein for a week each year the ISB holds a series
of lectures, presentations, and workshops by well-known artists. Students get the chance to explore
the mind of an artiste through his or her art – photography, paintings, or dance – because the
artistes present and explain their work. By balancing academic subjects with an appreciation and
understanding of arts and culture, you learn to tap your imagination.

Among the artists who participated in this programme are Baiju Parthan, Mahendar Singh, Jittish
Kallat, Harsh Goenka, Nagesh Kukunoor, Ashok Salian, Pheroza Godrej, Shekhar Kapoor, Atul
Kasbekar, and Padmasri Dr Sobha Naidu.

Artist-in-Residence

A reputed artist is invited to live on the ISB campus from time to time to help students discover how
artistic expression can give form to unstructured thought. The artist interacts with the ISB
community while pursuing his / her creative activities. Renowned painter Laxma Goud, well known
sculptor Karl Antao, and famous painters Paresh Maity, Sanjay Bhattacharya, and Laila Khan Rajpal
have been participants in this programme.

CONNECTING TO SOCIETY

Giving back to the community is an ingrained feature at the ISB. The student-run Net Impact Club
supports a school for underprivileged children, providing stationery and study material to students
and paying the salaries of two teachers. Funds are raised through various innovative on-campus
drives.

The Spouses and Families Association (SFA) conducts an adult education programme for garden
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 workers on campus. Teachers are drawn from among the students and staff and funds are raised for
buying teaching materials by selling old newspapers to recyclers.

The Experiential Learning Programme (ELP) projects for non-profit and government agencies are
provided at highly subsidized rates. Some of the organisations that students have worked closely
with are:- Moolchand Hospital, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, SHARE Microfinance, Dept of
Economic Affairs, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Institute for Rural Health Studies, Centre for Good
Governance, Ankuram Sangamam Poram, AP First, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Basix
(Microfinance).

HOST FAMILY NETWORK

Aikya, the host family network, is a unique way of bonding between students and families in
Hyderabad. Each year, host families welcome students into their homes over weekends, term
breaks, and festive occasions. With five or six students per family, about 60 families are part of
Aikya.

Admissions Criteria and Process

Admission pre-requisites include:

A bachelor’s degree in any discipline

Preferably two years of full-time work experience after graduation

GMAT Scores of the last five years are valid

TOEFL / IELTS, only if language of instruction during under graduate education was not
English

Student selection is based on the following qualitative parameters:

Leadership Potential

Leadership potential is assessed through the applicant’s ability to take up initiatives in their work
or academics are encouraged to apply. Recommendation Letters and references are taken as
testaments of leadership potential.

Diversity

The ISB welcomes diversity in all forms like work experience, educational background,
nationality among others. But above all, the ISB values the quality of the work experience gained
by individuals and not just the number of years they have been working in a certain sector.
Applicants are encouraged to describe their backgrounds and provide details on how they can
contribute to the classroom experience.
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Academic Background and Analytical Ability

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 The programme is rigorous, and since its one year duration makes it even more challenging.
Therefore the evaluation keenly considers the student’s academic performance. However there
is no cut-off score. Analytical ability is assessed based on GMAT.

Work Experience

The ISB prefers applicants with full time work experience, preferable two years after graduation.
The diverse professional experience of students contributes to the rich and stimulating learning
in the ISB programme.

Application Process

The application process is completely online and hence a PC with an internet connection is a
must. The online application will ask you to complete information which pertains to your
personal details, contact details, education details, work experience details, etc. in addition to
writing a few essays. You will also need to provide names and contact details of two
professionals to write recommendation letters for you based on the format which is accessible
from our online application.

Once you submit your application, you will be taken to a payment gateway where you will be
required to pay INR 3000 (equivalent of USD 60) as application fee using a VISA/Master credit
card or internet banking (ICICI Bank only).

Application Deadlines for Indian passport holders are as given below:

Application deadlines are as follows:

Cycle 1 Cycle 2

Application Deadline September 15, 2009 December 1, 2009

On or before On or before
Offer Decision
November 25, 2009 February 15, 2010

15 days from 15 days from

Acceptance Decision
the date of offer the date of offer

Application Deadlines for international Passport holders are as given below:

The ISB follows a rolling process for international applications. You can apply any time from
June 1, 2009 to January 15, 2010. ISB representatives will conduct personal interviews in Delhi,
Kolkata, and Hyderabad only. International applicants can have a telephonic interview.
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Application Essay Topics

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 1) Give three reasons as to why you should be selected to the class of 2010. These reasons should
ideally differentiate you from the applicant pool and should be backed with some data. (300 words
max)

2) Describe a challenging assignment you have handled (at work or outside) to date. What were the
challenges and how did you handle them. What were the personal learnings you derived from this
assignment. (300 words max)

3) Briefly assess your career progression till date along with your assessment of your future career
goals. Discuss how your career goals will be met by the ISB’s one year program. (300 words max)

4) Please provide additional information, if any, that will significantly affect the consideration of your
application to the ISB. Please do not repeat information which has already been stated elsewhere in
the application. You may use this to clarify any breaks in education/work, inform about any other
item which you think has not been covered elsewhere etc. (300 words max) Optional Essay

5) ISB Scholarship Essay [Optional]

Why do you think that the ISB Scholarship Committee should consider you for scholarship? (300
words max)

6)ISB Reapplicant Essay

How has your profile changed from the time you last applied to the ISB? (300 words max)

PLACEMENT PROCESS

The entire placement process takes three-to-four months. Through a series of on-campus
presentations and hundreds of job postings, the student has an opportunity to learn about recruiting
companies from India and across the world. Placements commence with a series of pre-placement
talks (PPT) by recruiters to the student body about the organisation, their philosophy and their
expectations. Students respond by submitting 'expressions of interest (EOI)' to them.

On their part, recruiters select suitable candidates, draw up a shortlist and inform the Career
Advancement Services (CAS) team, who in turn broadcast the same to the students. They then hold
interviews on campus and make offers. Recruiters can also conduct off campus interviews with
students in special cases. The bulk of the placement process is during a ten day window,
however the process of final interviews and placements continues for more than a month.

The CAS team will equip you with the tools needed to effectively leverage your key strengths and
previous work experience in securing your chosen job. The CAS provides:

Constructive critique on resumes

Interview skills

Psychometric profiling
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Guidance in soft skills

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 ISB ADMISSIONS EVENTS

Apart from participation in the world MBA tour, ISB hosts admissions events in India throughout the
academic year. Further details on these can be found on
http://www.isb.edu/pgp/IndiaLocations.Shtml
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