FAST FACTS
Location: Mumbai Dean: Professor Sharit Bhowmik
Approval/ Accreditation: Deemed Univ
Flagship programme: MA (HRM & Labour Relations)
Student intake: 520
Fees (full course): Rs. 115,000
Board & lodging (two years): Included in fee +
some expenses for food Admission test cut-offs: CAT - 85; MAT - 650; GMAT - 550
Full-time faculty: 12 (Professor - 2 Asso. Prof - 3 Asst Prof - 7)
Faculty with industry experience (over 10 years): No info available
Average placement salary: Rs. 10.31 lakhs
Top recruiters: Accenture, Marico, Dale Carnigie, Cap Gemini, Tata Sons
Conferences: Tattva Bodha (management summit)
Student Activities: Manthan (student fest)
Web site: www.tiss.edu
It all began with social work. So working in the field is something which comes naturally to any TISSian.
It’s the only programme in the country, wherein students spend two days in a week working in a firm or organisation. It’s a strictly unpaid and students rotate across companies. “We plunge into real life from Day 1,” a student shares. By the third semester, mutual affinity leads to a host of pre-placement offers.
Professor Sasmita Palo, Chairperson-placements, says about 40 percent of students get placed thanks to this industry experience. Being located in Mumbai and its pedigree, are also advantageous.
The campus, popularly referred to as the annexe, is a visual delight. And thanks to a new hostel construction, life right now for many scholars is in open halls. Not that many mind this too much. It’s community living redefined, quips a resident. The school management is part of a large set up with diverse courses and varied placements. The school goes to extraordinary lengths to even out differences. All students take the core courses together and residential halls are common.
Course work is slightly different. According to a faculty member, as part of a social sciences institution, the curriculum is broad-based and students get a social perspective, missing at other schools. We quiz students whether this results in placements with a difference. They say majority of the jobs are similar but they do get a few good assignments in the development sector. The average package is on the higher side.
Diversity of thought is quite prevalent on the campus; discussions during lunch and dinner vary from the impact of globalisation on labour to Kurosawa movies. A certain research flavour permeates the campus. The need to know and to probe, are visible in many students and the faculty. “We do tend to develop a research bone,” concurs a student. “At times much to the chagrin of our employers, we are prone to the analysis-paralysis syndrome,” she chuckles.
Branding is a major issue with the students. The school is notoriously media shy and alumni interface needs a lot more work. “We need to proactively interact”, is a constant refrain from the students. The students are mostly freshers, and 32 out of 60 in the current batch are girls. This is one school which takes gender balance seriously.
“The school is unbeatable in offering value,” says Professor Sasmita Palo. The programme was completely restructured in 2005 and the courses are updated constantly. Many alumni double up as visiting faculty and recruiters.
Research as of now is concentrated on the labour side of the HRM discipline owing to its social work roots. “We need to beef up knowledge production in the mainstream discipline,” says a faculty member. But then, their intellectual output in the labour studies domain is path breaking, especially on the employment and employability. Field work projects at times get converted into cases, contributing to richer curriculum delivery. All the school needs to do is to increase short training offerings, raise the level of corporate interaction, get the alumni on board and have better brand equity.
