The Seer of Career: Manipal University
As a high school student one develops many interests and aspires to build his/her dream career. The missing part is often the path which is not clearly evident to the learner. At such a critical point of time what could be more desired than getting introduced to the oracle of career. A role very much like this is being played by the full fledged ecosystem of Manipal University (MU) with over 20 specialized spheres of knowledge coexisting in a single campus.
MU brings a plethora of opportunities to the learners’ plate to help them build a career path. Students can select one of the many Manipal colleges aligning with their interest in order to start the journey of realizing their ambitions. Divya, a learner at Manipal Animation college reflects “I was interested in animation. But after my 12th, I didn’t know where to join. When I heard about the BSc Animation programme from Manipal University, it was like a prayer answered. Now, here I am in Manipal University, fulfilling my dream and preparing myself to be an animation professional”. Manipal University is nurturing around 20, 000 such students this year, and has a strong base of around 72,000 satisfied alumni carving their own success stories. Alumnus of Manipal Institute of Technology(MIT), Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, currently Chairman and CEO of Juniper capital, FICCI President, former CEO and founder of BPL mobile and also current member of Rajya Sabha, representing Karnataka, is an exemplar of success. The leading Indian heart surgeon Dr. K M Cherian is another proud alumnus of KMC, Manipal, making India proud.
Many other notable alumni like Krishnan Iyer (VP, Sequoia capital), Ravi Bapna(Executive Director of CITNE & Professor, Indian School of Business), Vikas Khanna (an Indian chef, restaurateur, food writer, and humanitarian based in New York City), Mr. Vivek Khuller (Founder & CEO ,Divitas Networks) have ascended the growth ladder creating milestones be it in technology, finance, entrepreneurship, hospitality or teaching.
Youngsters at MU step securely into the big world out there availing the benefit of stream-specific campus placement programs. Information Technology is the sector absorbing maximum students. MIT witnessed 95% placement in 2008, which has grown steadily since 2005. Even in the recession hit 2008-09, 56 companies turned up offering jobs to 948 students, with the best remuneration reaching peak of 10.75 lakhs per annum. Leadership at MIT has made all unique efforts like ‘Practice School’ and hence attracted the best companies of the industry including Microsoft, Yahoo, IBM, Cisco, Honda Motors, GE, etc. A blend of core engineering, R & D, Consultancy and Software companies provides several options to pursuers. When it comes to the managers which Manipal Institute of Management has prepared, 96% of them were assimilated in 2008 by companies like BIG FM 92.7, Aviva, Hydro Majestic Group Malaysia and ICICI, with an average salary of 3lpa. While last year placements touched 84.63%, the average salary was maintained even in the recession. With a majority of students being freshers with no industry experience, the salary figures are significant, highest touching 7.83lpa.
Extrapolating the excellent industry reputation of MU, one cannot help mentioning the Welcomegroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA), which is the major resource for leading hotel chains of India. Groups like ITC, Taj, Oberoi, Le Méridien, Jet airways and Kingfisher airlines sweep away all the graduates ready to take up a job. Others are provided necessary help and resources to pursue higher education. If students from WGSHA are there to take care of hotels, the hospitals cannot be better managed without pharmacy and nursing graduates from its colleges of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Nursing respectively. Leading companies like Cipla, Sandoz, Nicolas Piramal absorb pharmacy graduates while nurses are in high demand in India and abroad, both as teaching faculty and bedside nurses. For specialized disciplines like Allied Health Sciences, Statistics, Information Science and Applied Sciences MU imparts quality education to enhance the capability of students in the professional world. Testifying his experience in Allied Health Sciences, Damien Marwin (Implementer – Imaging, 21st century health managements and Solutions) speaks “I am proud that I have completed my graduation in Medical Imaging from Manipal University, which has directed me to be the part of a leading profession in imaging software. So fellow BMITians, you can be a part of this team too. There are many, in fact plenty of opportunities for you out there”.
MU has made equal advancements to bring high grade talent to industries like animation, communication, media, jewelry designing. Tanishq, D’damas, and the likes come over to pick the jewels from Manipal Institute of Jewelry Management. Manipal Institute of Communication has been producing professionals who have been recruited by leading media like The Hindu, NDTV, The Times Group, The Indian Express, ZEE, etc. At the same time industry big shots like Ashish S K (CEO, BIG Animation Pvt. Ltd.) quote “The 'industry-ready' approach of Manipal's animation degree is precisely what the doctor prescribed for an Industry in dire need of highly skilled fresh talent. Manipal's comprehensive and long term approach to Animation education ensures that students are industry-ready when they join a studio. Kudos to Manipal for a world-class course design.”
MU is helping dynamic, vibrant youngsters to find their niche in the industry. This motley of endowments in MU is at the same time complementing all domains of the industry making MU aptly the seer of career.
