Dr M. Chandra Shekar is working as an Associate Professor in the Finance and Accounting area at the Institute of Public Enterprise Hyderabad. He has written articles in professional journals (The Journal of Management Accountants), reputed Magazines (Forbes India & People Matters), and business dailies (The Financial Express & Business Line). His areas of expertise in teaching and training include Accounting, Corporate Finance, and Financial Modeling using Excel. His research interests include empirical research in corporate finance and startups in India. Before his stint with IPE, he worked as an assistant professor at NIIT University (ICICI Business Leadership Programme) and trained M2-level managers of ICICI Bank Limited. Before this, he worked as an academic consultant for PGP and PGPMAX in finance and accounting at the Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad. He has been groomed for a teaching and research career in management at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A) Ahmadabad as a Trainee Academic Associate.

IPE Hyderabad

You have held key positions at various prestigious institutions throughout your career. What is the one thing that made you excited and walk with IPE in the journey?

I began my academic career in 2001, teaching at a UG college and later at a postgraduate institution for two years. My tenure as a trainee academic associate at IIM Ahmedabad was a significant milestone, providing valuable insights into academics and management education. Following this, I joined the ISB Hyderabad as an Academic Consultant. It was an opportunity to collaborate with world-class faculty from esteemed institutions like Wharton and Kellogg. Further, I contributed to teaching materials and assessments, deepening my understanding of global management practices during my four-year tenure. After that, I joined the industry and worked with NIIT Limited and ICICI Bank, training two hundred-plus M2-level managers in finance and financial modelling for ICICI Bank Business Leadership program Executives. In 2012, I joined the Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE), attracted by its unique integration of training, research, consultancy, and teaching. With over 50 years of establishment, IPE is renowned for training bureaucrats and public sector enterprises. Intrigued by the dual exposure to private and public domains, I taught finance elective courses. In 2019, I took charge as the program head for PGDM BFS, marking the continued progression of my journey at IPE.

Can you share your approach to teaching and mentoring students in the banking and financial services program, especially in developing their technical skills and industry knowledge?

Meeting students at various levels, from grassroots to meritorious institutions, has given me a unique experience in understanding their needs and guiding them to be industry-ready. This continuous focus on making students industry-ready is ingrained in my thought process. In the BFS program, I prioritize building core skill sets in BFSI, including core Banking, Finance, Accounting, and Insurance. Students engage in live projects from day one, working with real-time company annual reports and financial models. This hands-on approach aims to prepare them for corporate roles in the BFSI domain. Mentoring is personalized for each student, involving handholding and providing essential materials.

Additionally, experienced seniors who have successfully settled in the industry participate in classes to share their insights and guide students on interview preparation. This senior mentorship has proven effective, resulting in numerous students securing internships that often convert into pre-placement offers. Notably, the BFSI program has consistently achieved high success rates in converting internships into PPOs over the past few years, showcasing the program’s effectiveness.

How do you stay current with the latest trends and developments in the field of Banking and Financial Services and incorporate them into the curriculum and program offered by IPE?

BFSI plays a core role in the Indian economy, witnessing significant transformations and technological advancements. The BFSI domain is the first to implement new technologies such as digital finance, online banking, fintech, digital currencies, and blockchain. This evolution necessitates a parallel development of skill sets among pursuing students. Our curriculum is meticulously designed to empower students with essential core accounting, finance, and analytics skills. Out of the 120 credits, over 50 are dedicated to BFSI-related courses. These include foundational courses like financial markets and institutions, financial accounting, corporate finance, financial econometrics, fixed-income securities, startups and entrepreneurial finance. Importantly, these courses are integrated into the first-year curriculum, providing students with advanced finance skills from the beginning and setting our program apart.

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How well is IPE focusing on maintaining industry relationships with companies to leverage them for live projects, training, and placements for the PGDM finance students?

To enhance industry readiness, we invite experienced industry practitioners, some with over two decades in the insurance sector, as faculty members. These faculty members contribute to teaching Banking and insurance-related courses, bringing real-world insights into the classroom. Additionally, we engage pension fund managers to teach a dedicated paper on pension fund management, aligning our curriculum with industry requirements. Our faculty members not only share their extensive experience in the classroom but also leverage their industry connections to facilitate internships for our students in relevant companies. This approach helps us stay closely connected with the industry, and we extend this connection to our Board of Studies (BOS), which includes industry experts like the former GMs of Andhra Bank and leaders from the Bank of Baroda. Their rich industry experience shapes our curriculum and strengthens industry connections, ultimately aiding our students in securing positions in the industry.

What is something a PGDM Banking and Financial Services aspirant can expect from joining IPE?

The BFSI program currently consists of roughly 70% of students from a commerce background and 30% from non-commerce backgrounds, including agriculture, biotechnology, mechanical engineering, and computer science. It is usual commerce students excel in finance careers. Remarkably, over the last three to four years, non-commerce students have excelled in finance, demonstrating outstanding performance in placements and career progression. An illustrative example not to mention name, a recent pass-out with a background in B.Sc Biotechnology secured a position at Facset, a finance research company, specializing in financial risk as a campus placement. Within six months, the same candidate completed financial and risk management level I certification and is now transitioning to ARCESIUM, with a nearly 40% hike in the package. The BFSI program consistently provides excellent career opportunities, attracting recruitment from BIG4 companies, tech firms, numerous banks, financial research companies, and mutual fund organizations. The industry’s positive response indicates a high demand for BFSI students, showcasing the program’s effectiveness in preparing students for successful careers in finance.

How do you promote and implement experience learning initiatives and mentor the students with their academic requirements?

We are actively working to enhance experiential learning through Bloomberg terminal, SAP-ERP simulations, and Virtual trading applications to make it practical learning. We encourage students to organise various events, and students recently conducted the Fintech and Valuation 101 summit. Moreover, physical industry visits provide practical education to make them understand finance functions and their intersection with other functions. The institute organised several industrial visits, including visits to the National Stock Exchange, NISM, and a few Manufacturing companies, and global exposure trips to Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong during the pre-pandemic. The PGDM BFS program offers a second specialisation, allowing flexibility in choosing areas like Marketing, HR, Operations, Analytics and Entrepreneurship. Despite pandemic-related restrictions, we intensely focus on industry and international connections, constantly updating the curriculum to align with industry needs. This holistic approach has contributed to the program’s increasing popularity among students.

How do you plan to encourage research and scholarly activities among faculty members and students in the PGDM Banking and Financial Services program?

In the mentoring process, I focus on recognising each student's uniqueness. While I acknowledge that not every student may aspire to become a researcher, I strive to provide diverse opportunities for their growth. In the Financial Accounting course for 120 students in Trimester 1, I incorporate real-world topics, connecting them to market transformations, such as Fintech, e-commerce, OTT platforms, startups and electric vehicles. This approach sparks research ideas, leading some students to express interest in specific research topics. Our students grabbed paid internships at NABARD, RBI, Deloitte, S&P Global, Variety and Matrix 4 Analytics. Many have presented their papers at national and international conferences, and some have successfully participated in the TAPMI Bloomberg Challenge, reaching the finals for the past two years. Our BFS students have showcased their research prowess by writing articles in national dailies like Business Line, Financial Express and Dainik Bhaskar. We actively encourage collaboration between students and faculty in research, writing papers, presentations, and case studies. I ensure that relevant communications are promptly shared with students, enabling them to seize academic and professional advancement opportunities.