JK Lakshmipat University (JKLU), a Jaipur based academic institution has launched Hari Shankar Singhania School of Business (HSB). The university claims that this is India’s first and only two-year fully residential MBA programme with a specialisation in Product Management. The newly launched MBA programme is based on the curriculum certified by the International Software Product Management Association (ISPMA), Sujit Kumar, director, HSB, told FE Education. “Our students will receive a worldwide certification rooted in the ISP curriculum. Furthermore, we’re partnering with seasoned product experts from a variety of companies spanning different industries, including Amazon, Microsoft, SAP, 3M and more, to instruct product management within their specific domains,” he said.
The university states that its HSB programme, which spans two years and encompasses six terms, is designed with a framework based on three parallel tracks – general management, product management specialisation and leadership. These tracks run throughout the entire programme duration. The inaugural class is set to begin from June 2024. JKLU also offers an additional course known as ‘Integrating Technology Design and Business.’ This course is intended to assist HSB students in navigating the realm of product management and formulating a business model. “In this course, select HSB students will form groups, collaborating with peers from the computer sciences field and those with design backgrounds. Multiple groups will be established, each tasked with addressing a specific problem. These groups will collectively engage in the various stages of product management, ultimately crafting a viable business model,” Kumar explained.
HSB asserts that it has a specific enrollment target of 40 students, as this number is deemed necessary to facilitate meaningful class discussions and interactions. On the other hand, the programme seeks to avoid exceeding 60 students, as surpassing this threshold is thought to potentially impede the overall quality of classroom learning outcomes. “Moreover, to be eligible for the programme, students are required to hold a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a STEM-related field and possess two-four years of prior work experience. The fee structure is set at Rs 24.5 lakh for the entire duration of the programme,” he said.
Interestingly, JKLU claims that following the initial year of the HSB programme which essentially is a nine-month academic period, students will not be confined to classroom learning for the subsequent six months. Instead, they will engage in a traditional two-month summer internship, followed by four months dedicated to working on live projects within startup environments. “This approach ensures that, by the end of this phase, students will emerge as fully prepared and industry-ready full-stack product managers,” he said.