ISB Sets New Benchmarks With its Class Of 2007 - Press Release

ISB Sets New Benchmarks With its Class Of 2007

Increases class size, becomes one of the Largest B-Schools inthe World *

Hyderabad, May 16, 2006: The ISB has increased its student intake by 20% for the current Class of 2007. The Class of 2007 – all working professionals - has 418 students as compared to 345 students in the Class of 2006. The ISB will now be counted as one among the largest, when compared to the top B-Schools in the world.

”We have taken the ISB standards higher this year with 53% students from our new class having secured GMAT scores of over 700. The average GMAT score has increased to 706 from 694 last year. This is comparable to GMAT scores of students at the world’s top B-Schools and is a matter of pride for the ISB and Indian management education,” said Professor Rammohan Rao, Dean ISB

ISB invests in talent

To encourage meritorious and deserving students, the ISB has offered scholarships worth Rs.1.67 crores right at the time of their admission to the ISB. Scholarships have been offered to nearly 20% of the class and will also be awarded by companies like HSBC, Citigroup, Novartis, Anand Group and KC Maritime during the academic year. Scholarships exclusively for women students are also being offered. At the end of the

academic year, the top 20 students who are selected for the Dean’s list will be offered merit scholarships.

Students reject international B-School offers for the ISB

The current class has many students who have rejected offers from B-Schools in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Singapore and have chosen to study at the ISB. Some of the renowned B-Schools from whom the students received and rejected offers include Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia Business School, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Purdue University, INSEAD, University of California - Los Angeles, National University of Singapore, and several others.

“On evaluating various options, I chose ISB because it offers the latest and best in global management practices and draws faculty from the top B-Schools in the world. Moreover the students here are drawn from a variety of backgrounds making the experience at the ISB even more interactive and unique, “said Yashovardhan Gupta, a student who has rejected an offer from Carnegie Mellon University

Women numbers go up

Another highlight of the new class at the ISB is the significant increase in the number of women students. The ISB, which has always encouraged women to take up a management career, has seen an upward trend year after year in women student intake. The number of women students which has gone up to 87 from 67 last year, represents 20% of the Class of 2007, which is comparable to some of the leading European B-schools.

Unity in Diversity

Keeping up the ISB tradition, the Class of 2007 comes from varied academic backgrounds and diverse work experience. Some are Doctors, some are from the Indian armed forces, others are entrepreneurs, architects, model/actor, urban planner, chef, etc. Students with interesting industry backgrounds like media, advertising, real estate and social services have also joined the ISB this year. The class boasts of a mix of students who have excelled and won acclaim for excellence in both scholastic and non-scholastic activities. Few remarkable examples include a student who has won the Operation Vijay Medal for the Kargil war, students who have applied for patents, a student who has won the International Femtor Award for emerging business leader in USA, etc.

ISB nurtures entrepreneurs

One of the key differentiators for the ISB is that it attracts working professionals, including several entrepreneurs, who join here to sharpen their professional skills and acumen. The current class has eight entrepreneurs who have work experience ranging from three to thirteen years in their own ventures.

The Class has an average work-experience of 5 years in a variety of industries and functions such as technology, pharma, media, etc., and in operations, finance, marketing, consulting, entrepreneurship, merchant navy etc. The average age of the students in the Class of 2007 is 27 years.

The recognition that the ISB students have received in the past years show that they are on par with the best in the world and the Class of 2007 is no exception.

About the ISB

The Indian School of Business is a research-oriented independent management institution that grooms future leaders for India and the world. Its association with the Kellogg School of Management, The Wharton School, and London Business School make it one of its kind in Asia. The School offers a one-year Post Graduate Programme; short-duration, high-powered Executive Education programmes for CEOs and senior executives; and a two-year Research Fellowship Programme. The origins and distinctive research of our faculty members ensure that our programme content is contemporary and global in its perspective, and develops our students’ understanding of modern management opportunities and challenges.