Acclaimed institution builder in India, Dr. Bibek Banerjee joins BRIDGE School from the Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad, where he was the Director and Academic Mentor of Group-IMT (India). Previously, he had spent 18 years of his academic career as Professor of Marketing & Economics at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA).

In this Q&A, Dean Banerjee shares his vision for BRIDGE SCHOOL as an “Analytics Education Center of Excellence”.

Analytics India Magazine: Hello Professor Banerjee! You have just joined BRIDGE School of Management recently.  How do you foresee BRIDGE’s role in continuous education for working professionals in India?

Bibek Banerjee: BRIDGE School of Management is uniquely positioned on connecting education to industry and professional practice. With its world class resource base and deep global experience in the space of professional education, I believe Bridge School is at a position to enable full realization of the talent potential that would serve the needs of the industry.

There are several facets of BRIDGE School that are compelling value propositions: both for employers as wells as for the professional workforce.

One, it is focused on RELEVANCE. Every program that BRIDGE offers is co-created with the industry, keeping their needs in mind, allowing us to be lean and business-like in our program delivery.

Two, our EDUCATORS are a mix of practicing professionals and hand-picked academicians. This ensures that theory is always actioned with practicalities of running businesses in every aspect of our program delivery.

Three, high ROI in terms of LEARNING OUTCOMES due to our unique and versatile blended pedagogy of face-to-face interaction coupled with online engagement which gives personalized services to the learners

Four, our collaboration with some of the best professional universities of the world allows us to access and adapt the BEST-IN-CLASS programs very quickly. Northwestern University is among the top schools of the world, and with them we ensure that what we teach in our classes meets the highest quality standards, not just for today’s needs, but for the needs of the industry in the future.

AIM: What can BRIDGE offer, in the Analytics and executive management education that other universities/ institutes can’t? What are the competitive advantages for your students and graduates?

BB:

1. We are strategically positioned close to the industry – both physically as well as intellectually. Our two pilot centers: Cyber City Gurgaon, and Noida; are embedded among the corporate offices of most large and medium organizations.
2. Our resource base comprising of a wide variety of professional courses, workshops, simulators, business games and interactive e-libraries is truly world class. We are able to build this as we can leverage our collaborators from the best across the world. Like Northwestern University, home to the famous Kellogg School of Business.
3. We have customized our Analytics programs, from Marketing to Risk, catering to industry needs in India based on inputs from leading organizations, subject matter experts and industry associations.
4. Tangible take-aways that are relevant, comprehensible and transparent are provided to our students. We usually minimize the abstract and maximize the practical skills and competencies needed to successfully affect the next turning point in their career.
5. Let me also point out that as our faculty comprises senior leaders from leading organizations, they help learners relate real corporate situations and case studies with theory as they are equipped to teach practical and relevant applicable skills in the weekend sessions.
6. We have empanelled over 30 organizations based in Delhi NCR across consulting, e-commerce, telecom, IT, BFSI only for the analytics opportunities. Furthermore, we offer career services for our students who seek greener opportunities. Our consultants work individually with students to provide opportunities to them in successfully unlocking their potential.

AIM: Can you share some light on the Analytics programs structure, content & pedagogy offered by BRIDGE?

BB: 

1. The Certificate in Predictive Business Analytics is a 40 weeks program.  A successful completion of the program will earn aspirants the coveted certification in Predictive Business Analytics from Northwestern University (SPS) & BRIDGE School of Management. This program has been adapted from Northwestern’s MSPA degree program.
2. The Advanced Certificate in Analytics is an 8 week long program. After completing the Certificate in Predictive Business Analytics, students may continue their education and earn an advanced certificate in one or more of the following areas:

I.Marketing and Web Analytics (Joint Certification by Bridge & Northwestern )

II.Risk Analytics ( Joint Certification by Bridge & Northwestern )

III.Supply Chain Analytics( Joint Certification by Bridge & Northwestern )

IV.SAS Analytics* (Certification by Bridge)

3. For fresh graduates, (0- 11 months of work experience), the Certificate in Predictive Business Analytics includes specialization and internship in a 58 week long program.
4. BRIDGE Online’s Data Analytics program offers a foundation program in data sciences with courses in database fundamentals including Core Database Concepts, Data Storage, Relational databases, Manipulating Data and Administering Databases.

Northwestern University’s CANVAS online learning environment provides an innovative learning platform that encourages collaborative approach between the candidates. Weekend Programs delivered by Senior Practitioner Faculty (CEOs/VPs from leading organizations) help employees relate real corporate situations and case studies with theory. Complementing them is a panel of the best-in-class Indian and foreign academicians.  Click here to apply online http://goo.gl/GIObDd

AIM: As an institute focused on Analytics and executive management education, have you established close links with industry?  What are BRIDGE’s strengths with regard to linking education to industry?

BB: BRIDGE School’s curriculum has been created by a highly qualified academia with inputs from senior industry leaders to address the needs and demands of the industry.

These programs have been created with inputs from leaders of large corporations as well as industry associations such as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM).

Each of our programs is led by a Council composed of a Program Chair, academicians with domain expertise, Functional and HR Heads from large Indian and international corporates. This team manages the program in terms of its design, project flow, case studies and lecture-demonstrations, soft skills workshops and delivery structure of specific elements of the various courses. This team is also engaged in periodically reviewing each program in terms of its quality – and initiate appropriate measures to continually improve the programs.

For example this year we are working with TiE members to organize live analytics projects and Case Contests for Bridge students; as well as a few mentorship engagements – this way BRIDGE students get unparalleled exposure to subjects that are current and stay abreast of the dynamical changes in the discipline in practice.

AIM: Describe your vision, going forward, for BRIDGE School of Management as an “Analytics Education Center of Excellence.”.

BB: The academia and industry has lamented endlessly about the lack of co-created value. My vision for BRIDGE school is to build that missing-BRIDGE, in collaboration with industry partners and the academe. I am excited that at Bridge, we have the opportunity and the resource base to truly customize education programs that would be relevant to the needs of the executives and the employers, for today’s context and most importantly, for the foreseeable future.

My goal is to create a portfolio of innovative programs providing world class knowledge, expertise and learning experience for our biggest stakeholder – the young and aspiring professionals who need continuing up-gradation of their skill sets and leadership capabilities to succeed in their lives.