Professor Govindrajan, an IIM Ahmedabad alumni, with 21 years of experience of which 16 years has been in academics, is the founding Dean of Praxis Business School. He is a celebrated professor of marketing at Praxis and also at IIM Lucknow, XLRI and XIM B.
Q: It is good to see a residential B-School of the quality of Praxis in Kolkata. Why Kolkata and why a residential model?
A: Kolkata has traditionally been an important educational hub. However, it does not have a high quality residential B-School except IIM C. Kolkata deserves one! The people building Praxis have been educated (and have taught) in premier residential educational institutions. Based on our own experiences, we believe that a large part of the learning happens outside the classroom (in the hostel/canteen/common room/mess). This is why Praxis is a residential B-School and compulsorily so.
Q: Praxis is a comparatively new B-School that has quickly become a significant name. How did you achieve this positioning in a short time?
A: Positioning emerges out of a consistent focus on quality in all processes of the value chain. The three important aspects of an educational institution are: (a) the quality of students (b) the quality of education imparted and (c) the ecosystem in which this education is delivered.
The intake of students is based on performance in CAT/XAT/GMAT and GD& PI, and academic and professional careers. The faculty ensures that there is constant innovation with the pedagogy to ensure that it remains contemporary.
Our ecosystem is based on the pillars of honesty, transparency and teamwork. This manifests itself in all our processes and our external and internal communication. When the processes are strong, the outcome Placement emerges as natural fallout. Placement is the effect and not the cause of our positioning.
Q: Students link the quality of an institute with its placement record. How has Praxis fared on this criterion?
The first Batch graduated in 2009 and 44 of the 44 students seeking placement were placed with an average package of Rs. 4.19 lakhs. We had some high quality companies across Consulting, IT, Commercial Banking, Investment Banking, Logistics, Consumer as well as Industrial products. Profiles included Brand Management, Business Analysts, Treasury Management, Corporate Banking, Sales & Marketing, Corporate Finance, Project Management.
The second batch did several times better the markets were slightly more responsive and our alumni had done all the selling through their performance. We have added several big names to our recruiters list and our average package has increased to Rs. 4.7 L.
Q: That is an impressive profile for the first 2 Batches.
It wasnt easy, given the state of the economy. B-Schools are inundated with offers of jobs which can be done by an ordinary graduate. We worked hard for profiles which would do justice to the skills, knowledge and attitude we have imparted to our students. A differentiator is that at Praxis the faculty team, led by me, manages the entire placement process, from identifying profile-matches to short-listing of companies and meeting the key personnel personally to the final recruitment interview process.
Q: Praxis is well-known for its faculty. We want to know more about this team.
Faculty is the fountainhead of change in an academic institution. We are proud of our Faculty!
Our team mirrors the positioning of industry readiness. It comprises people with impeccable academic pedigree, followed up by commendable stints in corporates. These people took up teaching because they felt they could make a difference. The fact that they are also visiting faculty at IIM – Lucknow, IIM – Shillong, XLRI Jamshedpur and XIM Bhubaneswar gives a sense of their quality and passion.
Q: When you look back at your 4 year journey with Praxis, what would be your most fulfilling achievement?
There is often some dissonance after a student has joined a B-School. Its a source of great pride for me that our students freely tell us that joining Praxis was the best decision they made in their lives. Visitors to our campus (recruiters, students and faculty from other B-Schools) remark that Praxis students are a very happy bunch. Nothing can give the team at Praxis more satisfaction.
(Note: This is a sponsored article and has NOT been written by the PaGaLGuY Editorial Team. It is intended from an informational perspective only and it is upto the readers to research and verify the claims and judgmentsin the article before reaching a conclusion.)