Dr. Sayyed Akhtar Ali, HOD at RIIM, Arihant Group of Institutes has an experience of sixteen years as the faculty of management. He holds a Ph.D. in Marketing and Masters in Business Administration, specializing in (Specialisation – Marketing and HR) from Savitribai Phule Pune University. He has done his graduation in E-Commerce from North Maharashtra University. To match with the dynamics of the corporate world, Dr. Akhtar has developed expertise in subjects like Marketing 4.0, Digital Business, Strategic Management, and Case Studies in Management etc. Dr. Akhtar is also associated with X-culture Collaboration Project, USA as an Instructor and faculty coordinator. Dr. Akhtar has also been involved in publishing national and international research papers related to management, marketing, e-commerce, m-commerce etc. Dr. Akhtar is an author and wrote a book on Management Information System for Vishwakarma Publication. He has also delivered guest sessions on contemporary management topics nationally and internationally.

RIIM- Arihant Group of Institutes

Which is the latest course that your college is offering which will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowd?

With the vision to bridge the Industry- Academia gap by making the existing MBA & PGDM programmes more Practical, Industry relevant and Skill based, our chairman, Prof. Suraj Sharma has started RIIM-Pune. Along with the regular curriculum of MBA & PGDM, RIIM provides two flagship programs i.e. Advanced Employability & Leadership Development Program (AELDP) and Management Development Program (MDP). A very strong Corporate Interface allows RIIM to understand the complex and dynamic expectations of the Industry. The courses are crafted and catered not only considering the current market demand but also the future advancements in the dynamic corporate world. 

What factors make this program the best for the students to opt?

The Learning initiatives at RIIM include certifications like Business Analytics, Advanced Excel, Digital Marketing, as well as domain based certificates for Marketing, HR, Finance and Agri-Business Management are based on 70:30 pattern where 70% is practical and skills focused and 30% is to cover the theoretical aspect of the concept. At PGDM, we get the autonomy to develop the syllabus based on the corporate requirements. The dynamics of the corporate world needs a lot of flexibility. Inclusion of recent developments and exclusion of out-dated terms are feasible at PGM. Under Soft Skills Umbrella, a lot of relevant skills are covered by our Expert Corporate Trainers which enables students to work and perform in multi-cultural environments, team based projects or in leadership roles.

What are some valuable insights of the program that you are offering at RIIM, Pune?

At RIIM Pune, we make sure that the curriculum is updated and meet the recent corporate world developments. Along with the regular academic sessions and certifications, students also learn from corporate experts. Current Affairs, Job Readiness and Placement Training, Mock Interviews, Corporate Connect, Summits and Seminars, and Industrial Visits are the part of the co-curriculum and additional inputs. 

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How does the program ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

RIIM is also called Pune's 1st Corporate Style B-School. The campus has been developed with the futuristic approach, where students get the feeling of corporate. As I already mentioned, the syllabus is crafted considering the present and future needs of the corporate world. Students are not only trained to understand and memorize conceptual aspects, but also they are trained to implement those concepts in real life. Hence, along with the sessions students participate in role plays, business games, case-studies, B-plans, and presentations etc. 

How did you train yourself/ faculty to deliver this program to the students?

Faculty members are aware of the curriculum as well as the robust methodology followed by RIIM. We at RIIM, ensure that the faculty must deliver what we have committed. Most of the faculty are either Ph.D or pursuing. The faculty members are encouraged to write quality research papers in either UGC-Care listed or international standard journals. We also make sure that faculty is affiliated to National or International Management Faculty Associations. The Faculty also has access to the digital library database, where they can access the research papers of the assigned subjects. At the beginning of the session, a proper syllabus orientation is conducted so that the faculty is aware of the regular teaching pedagogy. We also evaluate their performance twice every semester and provide them regular feedback and improvement tips. The faculty is also being asked for Continuous Concurrent Evaluation for their subject. It allows keeping a check on the regular progress of the students.

How do you tend to build an industry connected with this program?

PGDM at RIIM being affiliated to AICTE gets the autonomy to design the curriculum as per the market requirement. We involve the corporate at several stages of curriculum designing and delivering. The corporate experts were the active part of the syllabus design workshop. They gave their best inputs to make the syllabus more robust. To make the firm a domain base, RIIM-Pune holds the corporate sessions for the students regularly. These sessions include Corporate Talk, Industry based sessions, JD based sessions, pre-placement talks, summit and seminars on recent corporate developments, union budget, G20 and business canvas mapping etc.

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What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

Summer Internship Programme is a part of the regular curriculum. It comes up with the benefits like real-world experience, networking, time management, career foundation and pre-placement opportunities. Students can go for projects with their domain expertise and specializations. SIP can be carried out in Corporate Entity, NGO, SME, Government Undertaking, and Cooperative Sector etc. Along with the SIPs students also participate in X-culture Global Collaboration Project and Develop the Business-Expansion strategies for the real companies. Students also take part in winter projects (though it is not mandatory) to understand the current situation.

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

PGDM is a very dynamic field. It opens various doors for the students in Marketing, HR, Finance, Agri-business and General Management Domains. PGDM in Marketing comes up with career options like Brand Manager, Sales Manager, Business Development Manager, Research Analyst, SEO Manager, and Digital Marketing Manager, etc. In HR students can become Talent Acquisition Manager, Training and Development Manager, Labour/Employee Relations Manager, HR Analytics Specialist, and HR Operations, etc. The Finance Students can opt for the positions like corporate banking, financial advisor, merchant banking, portfolio manager, private equity analyst, project manager, financial advisor, risk manager, etc. And the Agri-business Students can get the positions such as Agribusiness Office Assistant, Agribusiness Marketing Coordinator, Farm Manager, Farm Auditor, Agribusiness Food Manager, Agricultural Analyst, Market Analyst, Crop Producer, Quality Controller, etc.