Indian Institute of Management Bangalore has introduced a one-of-a-kind online BBA programme in Digital Business Entrepreneurship (DBE) in a bid to make its courses more accessible and affordable. Classes for the first batch will commence in September 2024.
According to officials, IIM-B is the first IIM to offer a UG course, while other IIMs offer integrated management programmes on campus.
The course will have three focus areas: Digital technology and business, Entrepreneurship, and Management. It has been designed for three years and will offer 45 credits each year. In accordance with the National Education Policy, it will also have flexible exits at the one-year and two-year marks.
While the first year is focused on management, the curriculum for the second and third years will be centred around entrepreneurship.
Around 50 faculty members will be involved in the course.
“All the classes will be asynchronised (pre-recorded content) to make it more flexible for people who are pursuing this as a second degree,” said Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIM-B. Unlike many other online courses already available, IIM-B plans to make its course more interactive. Prof. Krishnan said despite the course’s nature, content will be created in an engaging and interactive format for students.
“We are figuring out ways to introduce gaming, simulation and other practical tools into the course. We will also use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify students who have missed classes and contact them.” The institute plans to conduct exams for the course with physical proctors in centres across India.
Suresh Bhagavatula, director of the BBA, DBE programme, said, “There will be two live sessions per course along with tutoring sessions and open office hours for students to interact with faculty members in an online format. We will engage students in groups for problem-solving and other projects.”
The first batch will comprise 1,000 students selected through an entrance exam, the dates of which will be announced shortly. The course will be open to Indian students who have scored 60% in their II PUC or class 12. Application forms for the course will be available from June 15. The fee for the course is ₹4.5 lakh (for three years).
Speaking about the idea behind the course, Prof. Krishnan said, “If you compare the priorities of 50 years ago, when it was just core technical education, engineering, and management, now we are looking at how to create people at the undergraduate level who have a broader perspective and, at the same time, also have skills that can enable them to be valuable and contribute to the overall economy.”
While there will be no campus recruitment for the online programme, Prof. Krishnan said that IIM-B will publicise the programme widely to ensure that it is visible to recruiters. To further enhance its accessibility IIM-B is looking at providing multi-language subtitles and content in multi-language format. The new campus of IIM-B, which is coming up at Jigani, is expected to offer more undergraduate courses.
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