There’s an old Chinese saying that goes, ‘When planning for a year, sow corn; when planning for a decade, plant trees; and when planning for life, educate people.’ BML Jain, an IIT (Kanpur) graduate, took that to heart and came up with the idea of a business school that would be an ideal extension of the IITs. His friends from the various IIMs, IITs and the corporate world seemed to share his vision and the Indian Business Academy was born on Kanakpura Road.
The success rate has been a 100 per cent. All 35 students who passed out this year were taken up by companies like Titan, ITC, Madura Coats and Standard Chartered. “If the student seriously pursues his studies for two years, he will most likely land a job,” says Manish Jain (29), the CEO and director of the academy that took eight months to happen.
The campus squats on 12 acres of land next to the Art of Living Foundation. But the built-up area is only over 40,000 square feet, with the landscaping snaking through the buildings. “Right now, the project is 30 per cent complete and is in the second phase. By October, the gym and the health club will be ready,” says Jain.
Last year, around 40,000 students wrote the Xavier Aptitude Test prescribed by India’s premier business school, the Xavier Labour Research Institute in Jamshedpur. And 5,000 of them applied for admission at the business academy. Only 150 made it past the selection committee. “We have picked roughly 5 students from each state,” says Jain. “Most of the students have their own dreams. Many are from business families; others want to work for about three years under someone and then start on their own. One good thing is that all of them have a long-term plan and think what they are going to do 20 years from now.”
It’s a dream world where merit gets its due. “Today, if you are dedicated, flexible and hard working, you can get what you want,” says Jain.
And that’s a tough ask for a few. Being able to afford the course is no compensation for being stupid. Which is why five per cent of the students drop out after the first semester. “In the first year, 30 per cent dropped out,” says Jain. “In the second year, it was 15 per cent.”
The fee is Rs 2.6 lakh for the two-year course. And it includes the return airfare to either UK or Germany for a summer internship with a corporate giant for four months. Says Jain: “It’s difficult to do business in India; we are still facing all kinds of bureaucratic hurdles. But one thing is clear, anyone who can start a business in India can do it anywhere else in the world.”
The moral of the story? “You need to have the spirit to fight and adjust to everything around you and keep going no matter what,” says Jain, who is still single (‘My father gets an offer a day, but I think it’s time for me to enjoy life and the work is far from complete. Marriage will happen when it has to’).
Right now, this mechanical engineer, who worked with Tata IBM in Bangalore to research on Windows NT support services, is taking it easy. “I love going on long drives anytime,” says this former employee of Mico Bosch, Bangalore, who researched on the cryogenic heat treatment of tools.
But Jain does have his watering holes. “I love Amoeba, Opium, I-Bar and Geoffrey’s,” he coos.
But right now, it’s Jain’s next-door neighbour helping him in his endeavour. Says he: “After the induction programme, we send the students to the Art of Living Foundation to learn how to bust stress through meditation and yoga.”
And Jain’s planning on educating more people. His next stop is Gurgaon in Maharashtra two years from now. Like his father, he’s taken that old Chinese saying to heart.
You could reach Jain at: mjain@ibainternational.org
1. ME. MYSELF
Manish Jain (29), CEO and director, Indian Business Academy
Mechanical engineer, BMS College
PG Diploma in business management, Wigan & Leigh College
Worked with Tata IBM, Bangalore; researched on Windows NT support services
Worked for Mico Bosch, Bangalore; researched cryogenic heat treatment of tools
Started export wing at Maruti Udyog Heat Exchanger Private Limited, Hardwar
(First published in City Reporter, 2003)