Inaugurating the First Batch in Prestige University

 This is a brand new venture of a group that has been in industry and education for over a quarter century. But it's a special feeling to be a part of a new brand launch, no matter where you are. A sense of being pioneers. A few difficulties do face a newcomer, but overcoming them also requires creativity, and persistence to achieve your goals.

Happy that the initial resistance has been overcome, and an initial Orientation program held. Now, it will soon be time for the serious stuff. Academics. We look forward to moulding some young managers who will go on and embellish the brand, and spread the word that they were among the first to have travelled this path.

Exciting times ahead, for all of us. 

The front entrance.

An intro to Entrepreneurship by Dr. Sanjeev Patni.

Above- Silky, an incoming student, and Dean Arun Bhattacharyya.

Below, the Prestige University team..

Setting Up a New University

 I am now in the position a brand manager for a new brand finds himself in. It's an exciting process, with a lot of things to be done. With a usual product-based brand, it's about the Go-to-market plan/strategy. But with an educational brand like ours, it's a lot more than that. It's a vision, that has to translate into action on multiple fronts. I am involved as the VC, in setting up Prestige University, a new venture at Indore.

The most difficult part in any educational endeavour is getting the right people. In a university like ours, it's three kinds of people- the students, who would become our Brand Ambassadors, the faculty, who will be the torch-bearers, and the non-teaching staff who will support these without questions.The physical infrastructure is the easy part, and is a hygiene factor.

So we are now on a quest to recruit the best faculty we can find. We have a range of niche MBA programs, so it's not an easy ask. Sustainability, Supply Chain, Analytics, E-business, and Agri-business/Food are the areas we will cover. We also plan to offer a 5-year integrated MBA program, made popular by IIM Indore and others.

Students would come through CAT and similar competitive exams conducted on a national scale. We also have plans to offer programs for experienced people in an online mode, because that enables executives to enroll without leaving their jobs. A lot more is on offer, and will be rolled out at an appropriate time.