Curtains down

This Friday, the 14th of December 2007, eMEP-06 had its certificate award and valedictory function. Like other campus visits this day long function was indeed a very well organized one.

The day started with an talk on – ‘Quantum Mechanics, Post Modernism and Management: I, in a new understanding of my confusion’ by one of the finest professor at IIMK, Prof. Unnikrishnan Nair. Needless to say this talk was yet an other classic delivery by the professor.

We had a meeting with the alumni committee, as we would be first batch of eMEP to be inducted into the alumni of IIMK.

Post lunch, we were systematically lined up according to roll number for a group photograph along with the chief guest and faculty members. Then like school kids we walked in a line to the the auditorium and were seated as per roll numbers. The auditorium had four sections, one for the passing out students, one for the faculty members, one for the guests and another one for the staff members. The chief guest, Class Neumann, President of SAP Labs India, distributed the degree certificates to all the 76 students (out of 110 who passed out) who were present. Each of us proudly walked up to the dais to receive our certificates. Udhav Phondba who topped the batch was awarded with a cash prize.

As soon as the function was to end, our friend and TheBusinessLawLecturer requested us to hold back for a few minutes and he distributed prizes to those who did well in his course, Business Law. His enthusiasm as a teacher and professional is truly infectious.

With certificates in our hand, for the one last time, we all clicked away as many photos as possible of the most picturesque campus in the world. It was indeed a very nostalgic moment for those present. For most of us this would be the last formal education in our life. It is indeed an achievement to have gone back to school many years after completion of education, having balanced work and study, having sacrificed more than hundred weekends (many were long weekends in 2006-07) and having completed more than 15 term papers and 23 mini assignments.

With curtains down on eMEP-06, we Sandeep Sekhar ( as adriankatts) and Vivek V (as sigsegv) thank you for reading this blog, which has consistently received more than 50 hits per day (some days peaking up to 100). We hope we were able provide you an overall coverage of eMEP-06 at regular intervals. This post would be the last post in this blog. With this we hand over the baton to the eMEP-07 blog http://emep07.wordpress.com/.

Wishing you all the very best!

Ignited minds

“Education is not the filling of a pail; but the  lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats

 

A few of my classmates have already proved what WB Yeats said. They have combined their entrepreneurial instincts with the skills acquired at IIMK to go on their own. Take a look: http://www.dockko.com/

 

Wishing them the very best in their en devour.

 

PS: Valedictory function for emep-06 is scheduled on 14th December 2007. Will have a detailed blog post for that.

What we feel about eMEP

With the curtains almost down on eMEP-06, we went on to ask a few participants of the 2006 batch as to what they feel about the course they have just completed. Here are a few selected responses.

 

“I had seen a quote from Bill Beattie ‘The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think–rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men’ I think eMEP gets full points in this regard” – Sashidhar Shadaksharappa, Business Head (Mobile devices), Subhiksha

 

 

“This programme is for those who aspire to hone their skills and learn the modern management techniques and jargon but cannot devote full time for studies.  As the participating students are from wide spectrum of industry with rich practical experience, the knowledge that is shared on the platform is of immense value which gives different dimension and approach to various issues that are discussed. Most importantly, it needs commitment, well in terms of effort, time and money from the participant. Learning does not happen just like that as you spend years at work” – Rajsekher.N.R, Chief Operating Officer, United Breweries 

 

“It has been a year long journey of learning. Suddenly lazy laidback weekends were hectic hotspots for discussions, quizzes and challenges. While the topics covered were broadbased, the biggest takeaway has been the basic tools and analytic techniques imparted, that will I hope will sustain the learning process that we typically put on the backburner due to the hectic demands corporate and family life.” – Preethi K, Project Manager, Patni

 

 

“eMEP had been the corner stone of my career and could not have a expected a better executive management programme than eMEP. The highlight of the programme had been its rigor, strenuous schedule, comprehensive reading and grueling evaluation mechanism. Passion and approach demonstrated by the IIMK faculty has been worth appreciating and their approach towards the programme has been the same as it has been towards the PGP course and making us and the world realize that distance doesn’t matter when it comes to grooming gen-nex of India.”  – Prem Vijoy, Asst. Consultant (Manufacturing BPO- Business Development), Tata Consultancy Services Limited

 

“Introspecting into my expectations from eMEP, I had clearly defined Tangible and Intangible expectations from the eMEP.

Starting with the Intangibles, I wanted to have a better perspective of all the functions of an organization rather that specializing into a specific one. Undoubtedly, this course had added a huge lot of value in this regard and exceeded my expectations. I also had the priviledge of comapring eMEP from IIMK to a few other similar cources offered by other IIMs (since a couple of very close friends and colleagues are doing it from other IIM’s)  but the Rigour, Content, Seriousness and Pedagogy of eMEP is simply uncomparable. At the end, I am proud that I choose IIMK.

Coming to tangibles, I was obviously looking at ROI in terms of better Job Profile and a better pay cheque. But to be a little frank and direct, I am not very sure of exceeding my expectations on this parameter.

 I would sum up saying that if you want an IIM tag in your CV in addition to pleanty of learning and hard work, sign up for eMEP from IIMK blindly. But if you are just looking for a decorative certificate, there are many other cources.” – Kaul Yash, Sales Manager – Speciality Business, Boehringer Ingelheim India Pvt Ltd

 

Chak De eMEP-06

We had the last class of eMEP-06 yesterday. Some got a bit nostalgic and some relieved. It is difficult to believe that we would not be spending our Wednesdays, Sundays and Saturdays at the virtual classroom any longer. With exams to go within 2 weeks, all that we can tell is “Chak De eMEP-06”

Good Bye Prof.Mac

Communication – would never again be taught at IIM-K like it used to be. Prof. Wilson Mackaden passed away this morning. Prof.Mac (he wanted us to address him as just Mac) taught us “Managerial Communications” and his energy was infectious, considering that he was the senior most faculty of the institute. The last we saw him was on the online platform and he was very impressive even on that.

May his soul rest in peace.

Term three ends

Term three ends and without a break term four starts. Let me summarize.

 

Top three faculties who taught us this term:

 

Adv. Sebastain Tharakan – Business Law

Prof. KK Ramesh – Cost Accountancy

Prof.Saji Gopinath – Supply Chain Management

 

I have a feeling that too many things were packed into this term. So was the learning all that effective? One thing that needs to improve is the web portal for the course. The portal seems to have serious problems for almost 40% of the times hindering timely access to learning materials.

 

After the three terms I have felt that kind of 80-20 rule seems to work on this course also. Almost 90% of learning comes from assignments, which has an evaluation percentage ranging from 20 to 50% depending on the course. How about increasing it to say 70-80%? Then the challenge will be to design assignments in a manner that makes it difficult for students to cheat.

 

Meanwhile time to think as to how exactly we can leverage the learning and the IIMK brand to further our careers.

 

We are busy!

For those who stop by this place for some candid information on eMEP from IIMK, sorry to disappoint you this time around. Nothing much to write as we are a bit too busy with eight 2-credit courses this term (there are 4 terms and 4 exams). Last minute study for the exams is no much fun nor learning. Any serious learning happens only while doing assignments. So why not have some 90% of course evaluation based on assignments? Do I have a say?

Meanwhile, if you are waiting for your management program to start in a few days or weeks, you are strongly recommended to read “The Goal” by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. A must read for aspiring managers and management students to grasp things faster. 

So wish us luck for the forthcoming exams.

The Businesslawlecturer

We do not have a subject called ‘Business Law’ but only one called the ‘Vibrant Subject of Business Laws’. We do not have a professor called Sebastian Tharakan, but only ‘Our Friend and The Businesslawlecturer Sebastian Tharakan’. Advocate Sebastian has made the otherwise concluded ‘dry subject’ of Business Law, really VIBRANT. His energy is infectious. His teaching style is truly amazing. His knowledge is supreme. Something very unique to his teaching style is that his case studies have characters whose names are that of the students of the class, which brings a greater involvement of the students in the course. Many a times I have felt that a subject is made vibrant by the teacher, the subjects by themselves have no life.  Although this post is very short and has no meat as such, I thought I still should have a post on this brilliant teacher.

Just took the bold step?

“Where are you doing this course?”, “How good is the course?”, “Since you are doing, I think I can also do it”, “Send me the link to your program, let me have a look”, “Oh…I heard they select everyone who applies, so let me also try”

 

That was some select comments I have come across when my acquaintances learn about me doing an executive management education. Well, none of them have really even made an attempt to apply. To make the first step aside your regular work is easier said than done. And probably for the first time in your life you are planning to enroll for an educational program without your parent’s money or pressure. Taking the first step is not easy. It needs commitment, well in terms of effort, time and money. Learning does not happen just like that as you spend years at work.

 So if you have applied for eMEP-07, hats off to you. You have taken a bold step, which was shunned by many. Brush up some basic aptitude test questions for a few weeks before the test. All the best.  

Choosing a distance education program

Distance education has come a long way in India from the very affordable and technology independent Indira Gandhi Open University to the not-so-affordable and technology dependent oriented interactive distance education programs. If one has a quest for learning while earning long after completing one’s formal education, these distance education programs offer a variety of ways to fulfill one’s quest. However the distance education space is crowded with a variety of offerings, of really good ones and also sub-standard ones, which makes it a difficult task to choose a particular program over the other. One needs to evaluate a program on the following parameters and then make a comparison rather than going by gut feeling or word of mouth

· Rigor

A combination of assignments, quiz and exams for evaluation will enrich the learning process. While assignments will make you dig deep into subject, quiz will be a continuous feedback mechanism. When the number of components of the evaluation increases, it is an indication of the seriousness of the faculty towards the course.

· Conduct of classes

The more the hours spent in campus the better. The in campus sessions are free from all distractions and its really back to school in every sense.
For the off-campus module it is preferable to have classes during weekends as on weekdays it’s a bit strenuous. Further, attendance needs to be compulsory – lot can be learnt from classes, if a course does not require any attendance, then the learning will be less

· Certificate awarded

The certificate awarded depends on the hours of class room. The requirement for a diploma and degree should be significantly higher than a certificate. Any institute awarding a higher degree without sufficient course work will carry no value

· Duration

A typical part-time certificate course should get over in 12 to 14 months. A diploma course should take more than 2 years. If there is any significant deviation from these, one needs to investigate.

· Total hours of classroom

This is necessary to measure the rigor as well as the cost per hour of class.

· In campus module

In-campus module should have a purpose and not for the sake of it. In campus session should be at the start of the course so that the learning process is rightly set in the students. Further, it is necessary for the students to attend the professor’s class in person so that the effect continues in the online platform.

· Access to learning resources

Term papers and other assignments will need extensive review of management literature which is not available at free of cost in the internet. If the institute can provide you with remote access to the digital library, it would be the best thing you can ask for. Further one should find out if the institute has tie-ups with other libraries in various cities.

· Selection process

The selection process is important to weed out the non-serious candidates from joining the course. A weak selection policy with no written test or interview would mean entry to all and sundry and thus diluting the course effectiveness.

· Alumni network

Entry into a good institute’s regular alumni network means that the institute themselves recognize the course and its participants to be of high value. A separate alumni network or no alumni network indicates that the program needs to mature

· Distant Classroom Technology

Two-way live audio-video is the best one can get in a distant education. A one way audio would not be as effective as it would sound like a FM radio! Playing of recorded video has no much value or a class room atmosphere.

· Upgrading of the course

The value of a course increases if it has the scope of upgrading to a higher degree by the way of specialization or via extra course work. This also indicates the seriousness awarded to the course by the institute

· Reputation of the institute

The reputation of the institute granting the certificate does matter. But the caveat is that reputation does not necessarily mean that the part-time course offered is equally good as their regular course.

· Expense and availability of funding

Availability of loan from banks and tie-ups of institute with banks can be helpful for the needy.

· Availability of centers across the country

This is useful if your work demands lot of travel.