India’s first MBA programme with Product Management specialisation starts in 2024

A new business school, set to commence operations in 2024, is offering India’s first and only two-year fully residential MBA with a specialisation in Product Management. Hari Shankar Singhania School of Business (HSB), set up in Jaipur under the aegis of JK Lakshmipat University (JKLU), aims to meet the growing demand for qualified product managers.

This globally recognised MBA programme with specialisation in Product Management follows a curriculum certified by the International Software Product Management Association (ISPMA). According to the founders of the B-school, the two-year programme is designed to prepare students for the transition from functional roles to becoming leaders.

Describing the programme as “a very important part of India’s journey forward”, Harshpati Singhania, pro-chancellor, JKLU, and MD, JK Papers, said the B-school’s focus on product management will help businesses keep up with the rapidly evolving technological arena.

The two-year course will comprise three parallel tracks — general management, product management specialisation and leadership. The emphasis will be on experiential learning. The faculty will comprise leading industry practitioners, including Hans-Bernd Kittlaus, chairman, ISPMA.

“The ability to adapt and innovate has taken on new dimensions, especially in the context of digital transformation and technological integration, which is forcing all the players to perform or perish,” Harshpati Singhania said.

He added: “This unique MBA programme with specialisation in product management, which integrates management, technology and leadership, will provide unparalleled experiential learning, imparting industry-relevant skills to learners, giving them a competitive advantage in the job market.”

With the first academic year set to commence in June 2024, admission to HSB’s two-year, full-time MBA programme with specialisation in Product Management will be open to candidates preferably with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) background and 2 to 4 years of full-time work experience. The candidates must also have appeared for CAT, XAT, GMAT, GRE, or the HSB Test. The selection process will also involve a thorough evaluation of the Statement of Purpose (SoP) and personal interviews.

Immersive, hands-on training for the future

Sujit Kumar, founding director, HSB, said that candidates from non-STEM backgrounds are also being encouraged to apply. Describing the ideal candidates as those “with fire in their belly”, Kumar said at the school’s launch event in a New Delhi hotel on Thursday, October 12, that the B-school is looking to admit between 40 and 60 students in the inaugural batch and anyone with a deep interest in technology and management would be well-suited for the programme.

“HSB’s MBA programme is designed for those who are comfortable with technology, preferably with a STEM background, and a proven track record of two to four years in full-time industry roles. Through in-classroom learning in year 1 and 6-month full-time experiential learning in Year 2 delivered in collaboration with corporate partners, HSB’s students will be groomed as future business leaders, greatly enhancing their domain expertise and behavioural capabilities,” Kumar said.

Speaking to The Telegraph Online Edugraph on the sidelines of the launch event, Kumar, who has served as visiting faculty at various IIMs, said that over the past few years he has consistently seen the demand for qualified product managers grow rapidly among recruiters. “The demand for product managers and the CTCs offered to young graduates in this role has overtaken those offered in consulting or strategy roles,” said Kumar. With the growth of analytics and data-driven management among start-ups as well as established multinational corporations, product management has emerged as one of the most pivotal elements of business strategy in today’s world, replacing the earlier role of “brand managers”.

Pramath Raj Sinha, board member, JKLU, emphasised that this is a full master’s programme and not simply a course. At a time when executive MBAs lasting three months to a year have grown in popularity, there is a growing need for qualified product managers with immersive hands-on experience. Sinha, who is the founding dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB) and founder, Ashoka University, explained that just like marketing roles were the most sought after in the previous decades followed by strategy and investment banking, today it is product management that is the zeitgeist.