The Hindu Business Line : B-school for the `techie'

IIM-B's Post-graduate Programme in Software Enterprise Management aims to transform professionals with strong technical knowledge into business leaders with equally strong management knowledge and a global perspective.

What is interesting and perhaps unique is that this practice of continuing education came very early and has caught on in the IT industry.

Continuing education for software engineers is indeed a tough proposition. With quicksilver travel and work schedules and tight project deadlines, higher education for the middle manager in the industry was unthinkable. But in the last eight years, about 800 `techies' have managed to overcome time and place constraints to complete a programme in software enterprise management (PGSEM) offered by the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B). Says Vasanthi Srinivasan, Assistant Professor, Organisation Behaviour and HRM, IIM-B: "What is interesting and perhaps unique is that this practice of continuing education (PGSEM) came very early and has caught on in the (IT) industry."

IIM-B launched the Post-graduate Programme in Software Enterprise Management in 1998 as an executive management programme designed for the specific needs of professionals working in the software and information technology industry in India. Commenting on how the programme has evolved since then, Rajendra Bandi, Associate Professor, Information Systems and Chairperson, PGSEM, IIM-B, says, "PGSEM endeavours to provide the most current executive general management education to middle and senior professionals of the software and information technology industry to pursue a career in management. The programme aims to transform professionals with strong technical knowledge to business leaders with equally strong management knowledge and a global perspective."

The PGSEM is a three-year programme with classes conducted on weekends. After the completion of the first year, participants can be away from the programme for one or more quarters if necessitated by work-related assignments, with the Institute allowing participants to complete the programme in six years instead of three. IIM-B has also started conducting classes in Chennai in a synchronous mode using two-way video and audio along with auxiliary technologies supporting rich interaction between faculty members and students in Chennai and Bangalore. Faculty also travel to Chennai every few weeks to conduct live classes and facilitate out of class interactions. Plans are on to kick-off similar programmes in Hyderabad and Pune.

There are three ways a PGSEM can benefit a participant's career growth: vertical growth, lateral growth and value add to the existing role. "I find that an overwhelming number of participants agree that they have realised the third benefit quite quickly, though there have been people who have moved into other work areas and other roles also," Vasanthi Srinivasan says.

H. R. Venkatesh, VP, PES, Japan-Asia Operations, Wipro Technologies, a participant from the first batch of the PGSEM course is candid, "There's no instant gratification here. You have to make a long-term investment to become a better professional." Agrees Deepak Kandwal, Head, Special Assignments, Siemens Communications Software Ltd, "A programme like this is a real refresher. I can now view problems from all perspectives: engineering, programming, marketing, finance, HR and operations." Kandwal says the programme also made him realise that there are no fixed solutions to problems, but one has to find them.

Though some people have changed their careers after the programme, there has been no drastic change in Venkatesh's role. "Yes, I have taken on a lot more responsibility at work." On benefits from the programme, he feels one gets a broader perspective on what's happening in the company and the industry. "Business is changing so quickly that there's a need to run it in an optimal fashion and that's where PGSEM helps," he feels.

Uma Balakrishnan, CEO, Axcend Automation and Sofwtare Solutions Ltd., who got an opportunity to do the programme pretty late in her career (at 40), feels the course helps one look at things in a more structured way. "And because all your batchmates are laterals (with at least three-four years' work experience), the debates and discussions are also at a very mature level. It also gives one some soft skills which is needed at this stage in one's career," says the tech entrepreneur. In Uma Balakrishnan's case, it also helped her build her business better. "Sometimes because you have a degree or a diploma in management, you are viewed differently and this makes a difference to your output though you are doing the same job," she says.

Having enrolled for the programme mid-way through their careers, did any of these engineers feel they should have got themselves a management education early on, perhaps just after their engineering education? "No," says Kandwal, "I feel young people should work for a couple of years and then get themselves an MBA. It's always better to have industry experience because your appreciation of the course is higher and the takeaways also much better."

Agrees Venkatesh, "You meet people from different backgrounds, different work experiences. It is definitely better than an MBA right after your basic education."

The success of any executive development programme has to have total involvement from all three stakeholders: the institute, the participant and the organisation. Have companies started appreciating the need for such a programme?

Bandi of IIM-B says the response from the industry has been extremely encouraging. "The PGSEM programme has specifically been launched with active partnerships from the industry." PGSEM has seven industry partners (Wipro, Oracle, Sasken, Wipro, Motorola, Sun Microsystems, Infosys and Intel).

Both Kandwal and Venkatesh feel their respective organisations (Siemens and Wipro) have been completely supportive. "They have paid for the course and were very flexible to my attending classes on Fridays and Saturdays," says Kandwal.

Vasanthi Srinivasan of IIM-B, however, feels that companies still have a long way to go in this direction. "Companies not only have to appreciate the high motivation levels of these employees who forego every weekend for three years for the programme, but also have to create suitable opportunities for them after the programme."

She feels organisations need to be more proactive in identifying opportunities for these people. They have to have a career forum or perhaps create a cell to identify such employees and integrate them into the system better. "So, companies have to go beyond just nominating or subsidising their education."

In this talent-hit industry, some companies have, of course, used this as a retention tool as paying for the course means having the employee on board for at least three years.

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