NMIMS curriculum to focus on emerging market opportunities

Tarun Narayan in Mumbai

To derive placement opportunities from sectors that are set to witness a boom, the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, (NMIMS), has now instituted a corporate-supported insurance cell.

Insurance majors like Tata AIG, ING Vysya and Bajaj Allianz are some of the corporates which are pro-actively supporting this campus initiative. Constituting a cell that is dedicated to a specific sector is a pioneering initiative that NMIMS has embarked upon.

“A dedicated cell for insurance assists us to carry out a practical and more elaborate analysis of the threats and opportunities. We are also able to deploy our resources and initiatives towards making a more comprehensive networking with all the players in this sector,” says Mr Arun Narayan, PGDBA, Class of 2002, NMIMS.

“The insurance sector is looking at utilising management talent to capitalise on the boom. The rationale of having this cell is also to channelise our competencies to match up to the demands of the insurance industry in the near future,” explains Mr Narayan.

Interestingly, after this new initiative, the institute also plans to roll-out similar academic ventures to attract corporates who are into call centre services and agri businesses. “These are the sectors which are also growing and have the opportunity to turn big. Aligning with these corporates and profiting from it will also be our core focus,” explains Mr Sameer Shah, Class of 2002, Masters in Management Studies (MMS), NMIMS.

The institute also hosts various seminars for corporates on the contemporary trends and potentials in the insurance industry. “ Being at a very nascent stage, the industry too is turning to academic initiatives to formulate business strategies that can exploit the existing growth avenues. Our events provide a platform to highlight some of the growth possibilities to the industry from the perspective of the academia,” explains Mr Shah.

As an offshoot of this cell, there are also some extensive field research and market assignments that are conducted for all the corporates. Such research endeavours, according to the students, helps them to understand the extent of growth potential that lie in this traditionally less-chartered sectors.

The insurance cell is also concentrating on garnering corporate research assignments that can assist them in structuring futuristic strategies for the corporates.

“For instance we would be undertaking assignment studies with companies to understand the rural penetration possibilities for the insurance sector. This is so because every upcoming sector has
to expand its base to the rural end for consolidating a profitable base”, informs Mr Kaushal Satam, trainee, specialising in rural
marketing.

“In the slowdown our thrust will have to be in undertaking studied investigations so as to understand the alternate sectors for potential employment. Having all such dedicated cells and specialist project teams is the initial step towards attaining the larger objective of getting employment in the hitherto lesser explored avenues,” sums up
Mr Narayan.