Beyond The Obvious

B-Schools are breaking the age-old two-year programme template to meet the demand for niche skills.

- E . Kumar Sharma

 After working for 12 years, Lakshmi Ravindran decided to take a break from work to look after her two children. Two years later, she decided to return to the corporate world and started looking for work. But there was a problem. While she was at home, the world had moved ahead, with the industry (her last job title was relationship manager, commercial banking, HSBC) swearing by buzzwords — deep tech and block chain, data analytics, et all. She knew she would have to reinvent herself. At a loss, sometime around August last year, she learnt that S.P. Jain Institute for Management Research, or SPJIMR, was starting a 12-month “Returning Women Programme.” She decided to give what the school calls as the world’s only such programme a shot. She is finding it enriching, albeit hectic, and says that only support from husband and parents has made it possible for her to pursue the course, which started this January with 20 students. The aim is to help women who have taken a mid-career break get back to work. The women should have a minimum work experience of five years and taken a break of at least two years. The reason can vary from child care to attending to family or a medical emergency. The idea, she says, “is to help women upskill themselves and get back into the corporate world on a better footing.” The programme teaches regular management subjects but with greater emphasis on getting students up-to-speed on current trends with the help of an assigned mentor and a coach, she says. It is followed by an internship and help in placement. “It has built my confidence and taught me to go beyond my comfort zone,” she says. She is now looking forward to a strategic role in the industry.

SPJIMR’s programme is a perfect example of management schools trying to break out of old patterns. The aim is to offer specific skills and knowledge to thrive in today’s complex world. One-size-fits-all is passe. Customisation an