Executive MBA Programs: Indian School of Business vs. IIM Bangalore

In the QS Global EMBA Rankings 2017, two business schools in India vied for a place among the best executive MBA programs in the Asia- Pacific region; the Indian School of Business (ISB) and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore (IIM Bangalore).

The IIMs are a big brand in India, reputed for the quality of graduates each of their 20 publicly funded management schools produces. These 20 schools were not founded in a day - IIM brings with it a rich history dating back to 1961 when the first two institutes were established in Kolkata and Ahmedabad as part of a government initiative to supply the country with managers for its public-sector enterprises. In QS's inaugural EMBA rankings, it is the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, the third-oldest IIM, that secures 14th place in the Asia-Pacific region for its ‘Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management’.

The Indian School of Business (ISB), while more junior in its experience of delivering management programs, has very much caught up with IIM Bangalore in reputation. ISB, in fact, outrivals IIM Bangalore in the EMBA rankings for Asia-Pacific to take 13th place for its EMBA-equivalent program, the ‘Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior Executives’ (PGPMAX).

The next sections aim to compare the executive MBA programs provided by each of these leading business schools in India, with the data used towards QS’s rankings guiding this process. This will hopefully give any candidate in a quandary over which school to choose a better view of the varying strengths of each course.

 

Accreditation – essential for inclusion in QS’s EMBA rankings

In order for an EMBA program to be assessed in the QS Global 100 EMBA Rankings, a business school must have at least one graduating class and be accredited by one of the following reputable bodies: AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS or EPAS.The Indian School of Business is accredited by AASCB and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore is accredited by EQUIS. Both institutions have been delivering their executive programs for a number of years. 

A characteristic feature of all good executive MBA programs will be the seniority of its cohort. ISB has a very senior cohort with participants having 18 years of prior work experience, on average. This is significantly more senior than the global average, which currently stands at around 14 years. Candidates enrolled at IIM Bangalore meanwhile are notably younger, at 29 years of age (versus ISB's 41years) and have amassed a total of seven years work experience, on average.

Two very different executive MBA programs

Seniority of cohort is a defining feature of the Indian School of Business's EMBA program, taught in both Hyderabad and at their new campus in Mohali. The school therefore scores highly for its class proportions of senior managers and c-suite executives (one of indicators used in the QS Global EMBA Rankings). ISB's program is 15 months long with classes held for one week every six weeks, a schedule designed to accommodate the busy lives of its senior professionals. The fees for ISB's program (academic year 2017/18) are currently listed at around INR 4,000,000 (c. US$62k). This is significantly higher than IIM Bangalore's program tuition cost of INR 28,00,000 (C. US$43k). Both totals do, however, include most accommodation and course materials costs. Almost three in 10 senior professionals in ISB's cohort are employer-sponsored, either in full or in part, making the higher fees more palatable for this group in particular.

The format of the executive program at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore presents itself very much in contrast to ISB's. The IIM Bangalore course runs on a full-time residential basis, which effectively means that any candidate planning to apply will need to consider taking time out of work; 12 months to be exact. While the intensive, full-time nature of the program might deter some senior professionals, there is an alternative weekend format on offer in the shape of the ‘Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management’ (PGPEM) that runs over a period of 22 months and is said to be the equivalent of the school’s EPGP.

It is also important to note IIM Bangalore's reputational credentials. IIM Bangalore scored higher than ISB in the academic and employer survey segments of QS’s inaugural EMBA rankings, which together account for 50% of an executive program's overall score and attest to its global reputation for employability and research excellence. The final differential may have been small, but still arguably important.

Program experience at ISB and Bangalore’s Indian Institute of Management

Current class sizes for the EMBA program at each of IIM Bangalore and ISB are the same, with around 70 participants enrolled. Approximately 14% of IIM Bangalore's executive program is filled by women, versus a meager 5% in IBS' class of 2016.

As for the programs themselves, ISB places emphasis on providing a 'C-level perspective', underlining its focus on developing and fine-tuning its participants' already strong business skill set. Nine out of the 12 program modules are taught in India –the remaining three are delivered as international immersion courses in the US and China. The two-week US immersion module takes students to Kellogg School of Management and to the Wharton School.

IIM Bangalore splits its five-semester (term) program into core courses (two semesters), an international immersion module (one semester) and electives (two semesters).The immersion module could be based around either an emerging economy (Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa are given as examples) or a developed economy in Asia (Singapore and South Korea are given as examples). Supplementing the trip to the country in question is a preparatory session featuring guest speakers from country officials and ministers, as well as industry specialists.

Prospects after the EMBA program

Salary uplift, the index that compares a class’ average salary before an EMBA program starts to that earned three months on from graduation, is in perfect parity at ISB and IIM Bangalore – the increase stands at 17% in each case.

Due to the seniority of its participants, ISB does not offer a careers service to its EMBA cohort. The assumption is that class peers and the school's alumni network will provide valuable leverage, alongside contacts made through industry and international school visits. As students remain in work during the program and secure their employer’s official support before enrolling, the school also doesn’t consider it appropriate to provide career services. 

IIM Bangalore does, on the other hand, offer career services for its students, who are, after all, full-time students. Companies are invited or voluntarily get in touch with the school to recruit graduates from its program. Popular industry destinations for recent graduates of IIM Bangalore are the consulting, IT, e-commerce and telecom sectors, with AT Kearney, Bain Consulting, Google, Deloitte, Amazon, Accenture and Ford listed as recruitment highlights in the school’s placement report.