Demand of the times makes docs, models take up MBA

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Nirma University sees a diverse group of fashion designers, lawyers and chartered accountants join PG programme this year
By Dhwani Pathak
Posted On Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 03:41:42 AM

Students with diverse backgrounds make each study session interesting, says Nina Muncherji, chairperson of MBA programme
Gone are the days when only engineering graduates went on to join for a master’s degree in business administration. Doctors, fashion designers, lawyers, models and chartered accountants have taken up management studies this year at the Institute of Management, Nirma University (NIMU), making it one of the most diverse groups to join the MBA programme at the university.
Dr Prashant Palkar, 24, an MBBS from Thane, decided to “study management before plunging into the pharmacy market, that has great potential”, while Dr Abha Goklani, 28, from Patiala, realised that “there was complete lack of management during my two-and-a-half-year government job in rural areas of Punjab”.Goklani said, “Government aid is not used to its full potential. This is where I come in with my management background.”
Another doctor, a dental surgeon, Dr Ankur Maheshwari, 24, from Bangalore with almost two years of work experience, has joined the MBA programme. Maheshwari said, “With medical and dental tourism reaching its next level, it is the demand of the times to study management.” Same is the case with Abhishek Mandhania who is a chartered accountant and a company secretary. Mandhania said, “I want to get into equity research for which either people with experience in the field are preferred or those with a management background.”
The other reason that made him join the programme was, “CA as a course is not that interactive and doesn’t give one enough chances to hone their other skills, while MBA gives me not only an edge over others but also sharpens my skills.” A practising lawyer, Mridula Singh, 28, from Pune, is another student of the MBA programme. Singh said, “After working as a lawyer, I realised that I wanted to get into corporate law for which getting a management degree made more sense than doing a masters in law as I get a chance to offer something more than any other lawyer.”
Different talentsOther MBA students with interesting backgrounds include 24-year-old Omkar Joshi, who was into film production, Preyas Anand who studied fashion designing, and Aashish Jha, a commerce graduate who also modelled for advertisements. Joshi said, “Production is also a management exercise. If I do a course in management I can handle this very well.” Fashion designer Anand has “plans are to get into merchandising”. Besides, he wants to create his own brand. “For this, I want to be well-equipped with managerial skills,” he said. Nina Muncherji, chairperson of the MBA full-time programme at the university, says, “This is the first time that we have such a large number of students with diverse backgrounds, which makes each study session very interesting and vibrant as there are different viewpoints to any subject.”