As per the India Skills Report 2019, 36.44% of MBA graduates are employable. The constant/dire need of the skilled employee and demand-supply mismatch are key reason for this entire scenario.
It has been observed that MBA institutes started giving importance to live projects to provide required industry opportunity that could help an MBA aspirant get a lucrative job in the industry. Also, few companies started organizing campaigns in the name of the live project to provide students with real-time experience and make them industry ready and confidence to work in any company the MBA aspirants would join after completing their degree.
MBA students undertaking live projects are more likely to receive placement, internship offers, or pre-placement offers even before they complete their program. Companies look for candidate application-oriented and diversity.
What is a Live Project?
In a live project, during their studies at a management school, students work with a company in a real-time environment for a certain period. Live projects are primarily aimed at improving students’ job skills and providing industry experience and insights. Applying their management knowledge in a real-time environment is the most practical way for MBA graduates. And, it also enables them to realize how their jobs are going to be once they finish their curriculum.
Nowadays, live projects are conducted both online and offline to make the opportunity available for students across the country. The tasks are designed in such a way so that students can complete the tasks remotely and at their own convenience. Also, many companies conduct live projects in a competitive way to give them the feeling of the competitive market. As the live project approaches towards the end, students will realize that they have enhanced their communication skill, teamwork ability, meeting deadlines and targets, etc which they are going to face in the job market as soon as they enter the industry.
At the end of a live project, the major takeaways for the students are learning to be a team player, coordinating with stakeholders, taking and implementing instructions of bosses, understanding and aligning with the project and the cultural values of the company.
Some of the companies at the completion of the live project also offer the winner’s prize money and pre-placement offers (PPOs) or Pre-placement Internships (PPIs) and internships.
| What alumni students have to say?
Abhishek Sharma, Technical Marketer at Adobe and an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune said, “Live projects do help you in getting exposure on how corporates work. I, personally benefitted from it as I did my live project and job in the same domain. But, there’s a lot of projects out there which are only meant to fulfil a company’s target and no learnings, so choose wisely. Choosing a project is supercritical in achieving your goals.”
Urvashi Sharma, Team Leader, Analytics at Policy Bazaar and an MBA from HPU said, “The experience was very informative, although it was not very beneficial during the job as the implication was very less.”
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Vivek Jain, Chief Business Officer, Shiksha.com said, “Considering the underemployment and unemployment rate of our MBA graduates, the theoretical knowledge is not adequate for making students job-ready for the present corporate world. MBA knowledge imparted in institutions is incomplete without its practical application, companies look for experience in solving the real-life customer problems beyond theoretical knowledge. Through live projects, students get a fair idea about the ground-level realities and limitations and also get a flavour of the organizational work culture, etc. Therefore, it is very important for MBA students to participate in live projects and hone the skills required to complete the tasks and make themselves align with corporate expectations.”
A well-designed live project built keeping in mind the industry requirements can help student land a job. It provides students with exposure to corporate challenges and ambiguity of the business world. They will acquire industry skills and realistic overview while working on live projects which eventually lead to better performance” further added Jain.
There are quite high chances of getting a job after doing a live project because students get to know the industry practices well and understand the corporate culture during projects and that’s what students want from the companies. Companies find it easy to deal with students who have worked on live projects.
Live projects are not only about getting jobs or getting paid. It shouldn’t even matter for students if the project is paid or unpaid. What matters the most is the learning which is the game-changer.
How it increases the spirit of innovation among MBA candidates?
Live projects are similar to the internship for students that show the glimpse of a real-world scenario. It develops the basic ability of employment and experience. The changing start-up ecosystem is absorbing students in larger number. “With the limited number of hours in a day, one has to innovate and be creative to balance time between lectures, assignments and projects. The projects also give you a way to innovate as you’re only told the goals and not the methodology. So one tends to experiment and innovate to achieve their goals” further added Abhishek Sharma, Technical Marketer at Adobe and an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of International Business.
But the scenario is completely different in Tier III and IV colleges internships and projects work are much more a bookish term. The colleges were seen too busy in brand building, placement, vague guidance and students discuss only jobs without any passion for learning. “It doesn’t help the students in many manners and mostly the candidates want to get done with the project to score marks irrespective of the advantages it might have in future” Urvashi Sharma, Team Leader, Analytics at Policy Bazaar and an MBA from HPU.
