After institutions like the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Mumbai-based Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) is also rethinking how a university connects with its students.
By collaborating with Salesforce, NMIMS – set up in 1981 – is moving away from the fragmented data silos that often characterise large-scale institutions. “We are creating a unified, AI-powered platform designed to manage admissions at scale, while delivering a personalised experience,” Sharad Mhaiskar, Provost (Administration), SVKM’s NMIMS told the Financial Express. “We have tied up with Salesforce for this transformation.”
Breaking the Silos
NMIMS – which has eight campuses, 17 specialised schools, and over 26,000 full-time students – is deploying Agentforce Education and Marketing solutions, integrated with MuleSoft, to transform its ‘lead-to-admission’ process.
“The platform enables end-to-end lead management through automated capture, nurturing, and tracking of prospective students across digital channels, along with AI-driven personalised engagement tailored to individual interests and behaviours,” added Arundhati Bhattacharya, president & CEO, Salesforce South Asia. “It also streamlines admissions through unified application processing, document management, and onboarding workflows, while ensuring real-time data integration across systems for improved decision-making and operational visibility.”
AI-Driven Student Journey
This creates a more efficient, data-driven admissions engine that enhances conversion, improves responsiveness, and delivers a more integrated and personalised experience for prospective students at scale. “The aim isn’t merely about automating administrative tasks, but about creating a data-driven engine that tracks and nurtures prospective students across digital channels,” said Amrishbhai Patel, chancellor, NMIMS. “Through AI-driven engagement, the university can now tailor interactions to individual interests and behaviours, ensuring that every touchpoint feels seamless and responsive rather than transactional.”
Mhaiskar said that the student is the overall winner. “Instead of navigating fragmented portals or waiting for email replies, prospective students will get a personalised experience, from application to enrolment,” he said. “The platform will provide instant updates to students on their application and tailor information to their specific interests. Because all data is unified, students won’t have to repeat information or resubmit documents across different departments.”
Apart from NMIMS, UPES, and MAHE, other universities like Amity, Ashoka, Jain, and SRM also use CRM (customer relationship management) tools – including from LeadSquared and ExtraaEdge – to achieve faster admissions, personalised emails, and mobile-friendly portals.
Basically, if in the past departments such as admissions, finance, and exams functioned separately, these CRM systems ‘stitch’ those departments together so that to a student the university feels like a single, intelligent person who remembers their names and preferences.