NMIMS - Hyderabad - MBA

While driving towards Big Bazaar Supercenter located in Tarnaka, I came across a board that read Narsee Monjee Institute Of Management Studies, Hyderabad. I became interested and went in to explore.

For those who don't know about NMIMS, it stands amongst the top B-schools in India. Interestingly, Hyderabad is going to be their 5th Center after Mumbai, Bangalore, and a couple of other locations.

Narsee Monjee's Launch in AP (Snippet from the brochure)

"Narsee Monjee (NMIMS), Business World's 7th ranked (overall) best B-school in the country, will soon commence its programs at a state of the art 55,000 sq.ft Campus in Tarnaka.

This building is ideally located on the main Tarnaka Highway right next to Big Bazaar and is possessed of brilliantly designed, technologically advanced Classrooms, Computer Labs and Discussion and Breakout areas.

Simultaneously, work is progressing on 90 acre World Campus, Residential University Campus at GIP, Jadcherla, Mahbubnagar District, A.P."

Hmm, it is anybody's guess then that property prices near NMIMS Campus, Jadcherla can go up. Isn't it a right time to invest some money in real-estate?

About the Courses being offered currently:

Currently NMIMS, Tarnaka will be offering an executive MBA program called Management Program for Executives (MPE).


The course duration is 20 months (conducted during weekends). After initial inquiry, I came to know that the total course fees comes to around INR 4 lakhs approximately.

In my opinion, this is a very good value for money considering the escalating cost of education around the world.

And what more, you need not travel to Bombay (Mumbai) to get yourself a top class Indian MBA degree.

The intake for the course would likely be around 30 students for this year and the commencement date would be around November 15th, 2010 approximately.

For further details, you can contact Ms.Smitha/Ms.Anuradha at 040-27015556/27004842 Or Mr.S.R. Velanand (director) at email hyd at nmims dot edu.

For general MBA students, there is an NMAT exam (online) which has to be cleared. But for experienced executives who want to take up MPE program, the eligibility criteria is

• Graduates with consistently good academic and work record
• Minimum three years of work experience after graduation

The selection process
Candidates will be subject to

• Group discussion (GD) and
• Personal Interview (PI)

Due weightage will be given to length of experience and value-added experience.

Hmm, if you are really not interested in joining NMIMS, their is the good old CAT (Common Aptitude Test) examination due in two weeks conducted for admissions into IIMs (Indian Institute of Managements).

Else, if you are looking for an international exposure, there is the Indian School of Business right here in Hyderabad which is being recognized for its quality education and boasts of world's elite B-schools as their founding associate schools. Only problem is the fees is prohibitive (approx. INR 30 lakhs), for bourgeois like me, which is what most Hyderabadis are still!

My personal choices for an international MBA degree would be:

1. Kellog School of Management (Northwestern University)
I really like their course structure and is one of my all time favorites.
Of course, there are Harvard and Stanford on the top but Kellogs is my personal favorite.

2. Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania)
Who wouldn't love to go to Wharton :-)

After a few of the similar universities of the same ilk, I have some more favorites including:
3. Anderson School of Management (UCLA) not to be confused with Anderson school of management of UNM.


Also, don't confuse Mr. Anderson to be the one from movie "The Matrix", silly.

4. INSEAD, France - one of the best for international exposure.

5. London School of Business - Don't know much about this school but I believe it stands among the likes of Cambridge and Oxford.

6. Rady School - UCSD (San Diego) - I like this university because of its strategic location (yes, near Qualcomm - A dream company for many).

7. NUS Business School - Singapore, again strategic location for APAC region and a global MBA.

Also, lastly you can check out MAT (Management Aptitude Test) conducted by All India Management Association (AIMA) every quarter for admission to more than 450 B-schools in India.

HAM - Amateur Radio - NIAR - Hyderabad

The first time I wielded a wireless radio was while working as a student worker in remote Louisiana, USA. I was perplexed at the working of the radio although I was an Electronics and Communications Engineer by then (what a shame :-).

Then, while working in Bangalore, I happened to see this weird device (sorry but it looks huge while compared to the mobile phones coming out now) again and learnt that my dear Keralite friend used to use this to talk with his brother in the UAE. Hmm, I thought it was a pretty decent way of saving money on ISD call charges.

Afterwards, when I started working in Hyderabad, there were natural disasters (tsunami) that stuck around the world (Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India) which brought back HAM, Amateur Radios back into the limelight as they were the first to respond for disaster recovery. Then, I thought it was about time I learnt about the technology and the working of radios.

This led me to NIAR, Hyderabad (National Institute of Amateur Radio). There are hundreds of links available on the website and there is tons of information available for your perusal.

Here I share small amount of information from the manual I received after I registered for the Radio operator examination.

"Amateur Radio is a fascinating hobby for people of all ages of all walks of life irrespective of age, educational qualifications and status. It is also well suited to the handicapped and elder citizens who are looking for new friends in their life.

Morse code is the most efficient means of radio communication. Nothing beats code for providing vital communication through noise and interference under marginal conditions.

Radiotelegraphy by itself is a language. Not every amateur understands English, but through a recognised systems and combinations of dits and dashes every ham can converse in a common language, the Morse Code.

ONE OF THE AMATEUR LOGO IS "ONE WORLD ONE LANGUAGE" BECAUSE OF THIS MORSE CODE."

What is Amateur Radio?
Amateur radio is a unique activity which puts hundreds of thousands of people all over the world into direct contact with each other every day.

Amateur Radio operators are also known as "HAM" an acronym to those pursuing two way communication as a hobby.

Amateur Radio is a friendly, scientific, Fun-loving, high-tech hobby and is popularly known as HAM Radio. Any individual above the age of 12 can become an Amateur Radio opeartor- no matter what age, gender or physical ability.

Amateurs are fore runners to any technological innovations.

Why Amateur Radio?
For many man-made and natural disasters all over the world, the only communication to the outside world for the first critical tens of hours has often been an amateur radio station.

There are many benefits of joining an amateur radio course including introduction to scientific activity at a very young age, inculcating leadership and communication skills, etc.

Some of the most famous HAMs are listed here.

This was one of those rare places where a mother and a daughter took the exam along at the same time. I happened to take only the written part of the examination and could not take the Morse code exam because of time constraint (had a day job).

I hope more children especially teenagers take up this course and promote this technology.

For the VOIP enthusiasts, there is a detailed explanation regarding "Use of VOIP in Amateur Radio".

So, are you radio-active yet? Just google and ye shall find all kinds of information regarding HAM, Amateur Radio, Morse code, etc.

READERS Stationary

A couple of days back, I was driving down the Old Shivam Road looking for a decent stationary shop. While passing by, I stumbled upon a hoarding that read "READERS". I paused to take a look and as I went in, I got very interested. I once thought, did Staples open up in this remote part of Hyderabad?

Hmm, unlikely but their tagline read "Ultimate Office Supplies Store". They had office supplies, school supplies, computer peripherals, computers and print services. They promised "Free and Fast Delivery" (Ofcourse, on purchases worth Rs.5000 or more). The attendants were very organized and customer-friendly.

The pricing seemed very reasonable and the product brochure clearly stated the MRP and the price at which these guys were selling.

Heard from the attendants that they will soon be opening a store near Madhapur, Hi-tech City area. That would give the business a real boost I believe.

For more information, you can call them at 040-6460 2848, 4220 8018 or email your requirement to support@readers.in. You can order online at www.readers.in or Fax your order to 040-2755 6368.

Shopping is becoming easier for all your back-to-school supplies, office gear, etc.