Students prefer industry-relevant curriculum over brand

Parents and students interact with Rakesh Sreedharan, Head of Marketing and Admissions at Mahindra University, to clarify their queries during the awareness session held in Tirupati on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: K.V. POORNACHANDRA KUMAR

In a shift from traditional preferences, students and parents are increasingly prioritising institutions offering industry-relevant courses, over institutional legacy or brand name.

This was witnessed at an awareness meeting conducted in Tirupati on Sunday by Hyderabad-based Mahindra University. The attendees — undergraduate aspirants along with their parents showed strong support in favour of a curriculum designed in consultation with industry experts and faculty having reputed credentials.

Mahindra University, backed by the Mahindra Group, offers multi-disciplinary education across engineering, education, law, management, design and hospitality. Ahead of the ensuing academic year, outreach programmes were conducted at Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Guntur, Tirupati, and Nellore. Interestingly, for the first time the event was held in Tirupati.

Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the event, Head (Marketing and Admissions), Rakesh Sreedharan, Mahindra University said: “Our curriculum is customised to meet industry demands. We have an academic collaboration with eight international universities. Our state-of-the-art infrastructure and industrial exposure, powered by the Mahindra group’s backing, directly reflects placement opportunities.”

He added that while a majority of undergraduate students prioritise placements, a sizeable number opt for post-graduation. “The number of students aspiring to become entrepreneurs is small, and rising,” he said, pointing to the presence of an impressive incubation infrastructure on the campus, meant to help startups from the stage of ideation to marketing.

The universitiy’s admission process concludes in the first week of July and classes will commence in the first week of August.