On Friday, Mumbai-based SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) launched the Two-Year Online Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) on Coursera. Claimed to be India’s first full-fledged online MBA by a premier business school, it’s for those who wish to pursue formal management education from a top-tier school while keeping their jobs and residing in their current locations.
When will it start?
The application deadline is October, and online classes will start on November 30, 2023. The first batch will comprise of 100 students. There is no need to clear CAT or GMAT, but work experience may be valued, and one should have 50% marks in graduation (AICTE rules). There will be an online interview.
What is the curriculum like?
Year one includes functional and general management courses. In year two, students can choose from six industry-oriented micro-specialisations. With a total of 80 credits (equivalent to 2,400 hours of engagement), the degree is delivered in blended mode, providing both synchronous (live online classes) and asynchronous (recorded lectures) learning.
How much will you have to study?
The suggested study time one must put in is 20-25 hours per week. Classes will be scheduled in the evening post 6:00 pm twice or thrice on weekdays and during weekends. Each session will be of 90 minutes duration.
Who are the teachers?
There will be live online sessions by SPJIMR core faculty and visiting faculty, pre-recorded videos explaining the basics, case analysis and discussions, simulations, tutorials, and peer learning through group work sessions.
Is there an offline mode?
Students will have to travel to the SPJIMR campus three times (five days each) during two years.
How much is it priced?
It costs Rs 10 lakh for two years (travel to campus will be at the student’s own expense), and is priced almost one-fourth of a campus MBA at a top school (Rs 30-40 lakh). For foreign students the cost is $12,200.You don’t need to pay in full, but can pay per term.
What was the need?
SPJIMR dean Varun Nagaraj told FE that education should adapt to the needs of learners, and not the other way around. “Participants must be able to pursue higher education on their own terms, fitting studies around their busy lives. The flexibility of online learning offers that,” he said. “We also wanted to reach out to a larger number of people than we are currently able to.”Prof Debmallya Chatterjee, head of the Online PGDM at SPJIMR, added that there are a brilliant set of people — such as from the armed forces who want to enter the corporate world or women who have taken a career break — who may not be able to find time to spend two years on a campus. “The Online PGDM is a perfect choice for such learners,” he said. “You can keep your current job and still be able to study, or you can stay with your kid and still be able to study.”
How is Online PGDM different from online classes during Covid-19?
Online classes during Covid-19 were an exact replica of classroom learning (over Zoom or other video-calling tools). Prof Chatterjee said that the Online PGDM is suited to the needs to working professionals, in terms of time, engagement, the impact it can have on their careers, and so on.
How does industry perceive online courses?
Education analysts told FE that there are not enough data points to indicate what kind of compensation will be paid to such learners, but Raghav Gupta, MD, India and APAC, Coursera, said that Coursera’s India and global experience shows that the industry highly values professionals who have added a degree to their career.
Do other schools have such courses?
All top business schools in India offer a bouquet of online courses, and some even have a unified portal (for example, IIM Ahmedabad has a portal called Online@IIMA). But SPJIMR’s Two-Year Online PGDM on Coursera is the first of its kind for a top-tier business school.