PGDM or MBA? It is an ongoing debate that seems to be never-ending. It is challenging to pass a judgement in favour of any one of the two. Every aspiring management student has his/her reasons for choosing PGDM or MBA. PGDM courses expand to Post Graduate Diploma in Management, and the prefix of Diploma often pushes students away from pursuing this course. This perception is outdated, and before you decide which course to choose, it is essential to understand that although Diploma is different from Degree, it, in no sense, is inferior to the latter. The main reason it is called Post Graduate Diploma and not Master’s Degree is that it is offered by autonomous colleges, not affiliated to any university. And autonomous colleges/ institutes cannot offer MBA degree.
You should be aware that PGDM has been declared equivalent to an MBA by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) in 2008. Some of the very best business schools in India offer PGDM courses, which in every sense can compete with the degree of MBA. If we see the scenario of Ahmedabad, we would see that the city has absolutely no shortage of popular PGDM colleges. With a dominant business culture, any aspiring management student would find it a favourable deal to take admission in any of the top PGDM colleges in Ahmedabad.
However, if you are still looking for some valid reasons to choose PGDM over MBA, here are our top picks.
- AICTE affiliated: Post Graduate Diploma in Management is offered by autonomous institutes under the approval of AICTE. Now it has its advantages. Since the universities do not design the PGDM course, they retain more flexibility than the MBA course. Colleges can often change the course structure and content as per the market trend and need, which helps the students to get updated information and industry knowledge. Moreover, the course content mainly covers a lot of case studies, industry visits, etc., to help students better understand the industry.
- More focus on practical experience: Top b- schools of Ahmedabad, like SKIPS, MICA, and others, tend to focus more on the practical exposure of the students. These b- schools design their course to enhance the skills of their students, which can suit the current industry scenario. When you are put in the real-life system, the chances of building a robust corporate network increases, which can help you in constructing better career trajectories. PGDM course can also be a fantastic option for you in terms of getting institute- sponsored internships, intense classroom sessions, interaction with the industry leaders, etc.
- PGDM specializations: There are a wide range of specialisations to choose from if you pursue PGDM. Top PGDM colleges in Ahmedabad offer students the scope to choose from specialisations like PGDM in Finance, PGDM in Marketing, and PGDM in HR, etc. You can always choose your specialisation according to your preference and interest.
- A gateway to real-life business skills: As we already stated, PGDM courses focus not only on classroom training but also on offering real–life exposure to the students. The environment of a PGDM classroom is always interactive, which can provide you with a plethora of opportunities to delve deeper into real-life business skills. If you take admission to top b- schools like MICA, EDII, and SKIPS, you will get hands-on exposure to the real-life business scenario. Such opportunities can enhance your academic skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and so on.
- Placement Programs: Some of the top business schools in Ahmedabad offers some excellent employability enhancement programs. To boost your chance of performing better in the placement interviews, such institutes offer programs like English language class, personality development class, psychometric tests, communication enhancement class, SWOT analysis of self, workshops on improving body language, etc. St. Kabir Institute Of Professional Studies or SKIPS has ranked among the top in this regard. The students of this institute undergo rigorous placement enhancement programs to boost their corporate readiness.
- Enhanced interpersonal skills: A professional management student is expected to display a high level of professional and interpersonal skills. Top corporate houses expect candidates to be adaptive to the changes and flexible enough to mould their operations as per the changing market trends. Hence, if you opt for PGDM over MBA, the chances are high that you would get to brush up on your interpersonal skills like communication, time management, teamwork, etc. In other words, you can be sure to experience a smooth transition from your academic life to a better career world.
- Better placement opportunities: Better business schools offer better placement opportunities. Like SKIPS, MICA, and others, Top PGDM Colleges in Ahmedabad have strong placement cells developed through active networking. SKIPS needs a special mention here, as the college has developed 6 successful placement seasons. It has succeeded in reaching out to various industries and form a strong professional network with top companies like ITC, Nestle, Asia Paints, MRF, Coalgate, Kelloggs, Zomato, Byju’s, Federal Bank, HDFC bank and Axis Bank, , to name a few. Moreover, another factor to be mentioned is that PGDM course offers a flexible course matter, which helps the students get industry-ready. On the other hand, MBA tends to have a more rigid syllabus, which sometimes lags behind. Consequently, the option of PGDM looks more lucrative than an MBA degree in this regard.
- Entrepreneurial Skills: Since PGDM is more practical oriented, students who aim to become entrepreneurs in their future should opt for PGDM over MBA. Real-life examples and teachings can help them understand the nitty- gritty of the industry, which can help them start their own start-ups in the long run.
The concluding thought
The gist of the whole thing that we present to you in the sections above is that the PGDM course is more than just books. The course is inexhaustible, as you would get plethora of chances to implement the theoretical knowledge in the practical business world. It is an excellent idea to do some in-depth researches on the top PGDM colleges in Ahmedabad and go through their websites to learn what they teach and how they teach it. While searching, you would find that most colleges there pay attention to interactive teaching processes where the students are kept at the centre of everything. Although, in some cases, the cost of PGDM may go higher than that of an MBA degree, better exposure, placement opportunities, practical implementation of knowledge, etc., are some of the factors that can act as reinforcements while choosing the former. It is also not wrong to consider PGDM as a win-win course for you, as with it, you get to learn about the fundamental tenets of management as well as better practical exposure in the form of internships and placements.
