With the aim to provide you information on the admissions criteria and process at one of the top B-schools of the country, MDI Gurgaon, we  brings to you an exclusive interview with Prof. Bhimaraya A Metri, Dean (Graduate Programmes) and Chairman, Post Graduate Program in Management and Center for Supply Chain Management, MDI Gurgaon.

Dr. Metri received his Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. Prior to joining MDI¸ he served at the Department of Management Studies¸ Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani. Dr. Metri has 20 years of experience in teaching¸ research and consultancy.

Excerpts from the exclusive interview:

Q: What does MDI Gurgaon look for in a candidate?
A: We at MDI Gurgaon feel that the most important attribute which a candidate must possess is passion and lateral thinking. By lateral thinking, I mean the ability to think creative and out of the box. We get applications from so many candidates with good CAT scores. They all are academically good. So what makes them different? They have to stand out of the crowd. Hence, we have decided on five qualities which a candidate should possess in order to get through MDI Gurgaon. These are confidence, communication skills, lateral thinking, learning ability and general awareness.

Q: What are the other important factors which are taken into consideration during the admission at MDI Gurgaon?
A: The other factors which are given importance during the admission are obviously the CAT exam scores, which hold 70 per cent of the weightage. The rest 30 per cent depends on the Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GD & PI), the previous academic performances and work experience.

Q: How much important a factor is work experience?
A: Work experience is important but that is not the complete deciding factor. We give importance to the quality of work experience and do not measure it just by the duration of work. Similarly, for academic performance, we look at the consistency of the performance in Class 10 and 12. 

Q: How does MDI Gurgaon keep itself updated on the curriculum?
A: We update our curriculum every year according to the needs and demands of the industry. For example, when the global slowdown started, we were the first ones to introduce courses on business ethics. We review our curriculum in every two years. Our faculty members keep visiting the companies in which the students go for internship. In the interaction with the faculty members, the corporate members discuss what qualities they look for in their employees and what the B-schools don’t teach. In this way find out the industry demands and mould our curriculum accordingly.

Q: The number of CAT 2010 applicants has seen a consistent and significant dip over the last two years. How do you see this phenomenon? Is it an indication that the penchant for MBA is ceasing? 
A: The number of applicants getting decreased is just a temporary phenomenon. I do not think that there is any need to associate this with the ceasing importance of MBA. Everything faces crest and trough situations and so is the number of applicants now. All the sectors of the industry seeks MBAs. Thus the top B-schools play an important role of producing corporate managers and leaders every year. And the importance of the MBAs will increase even more in the coming years.

India is marching the economy. The day is not far when we will have double digit growth rate. At present China has the double digit growth rate but India will soon take the lead. So you should not undermine any factor and if you have the skill set, you should definitely go for MBA. 

Q: What is your advice to the MBA students?
A: When you enter a B-School, you should unlearn and make yourself vacant so that you can learn new things. Life at a top B-School is very tough. You will have to work hard as there are continuous evaluation, projects and assignments. You should be ready to learn beyond the contact hours. But after two years, your hard work will pay off. Enjoy your life as a student and the hard work won’t seem that hard.