KJ Somaiya management college to be given autonomy this year

Of the 48 management colleges which fall under the Mumbai university, KJ Somaiya College of Management Studies and Research, Vidyavihar, has become the first to get autonomy from the University Grants Commission, subject to final approval from the university.

Of the 48 management colleges which fall under the Mumbai university, KJ Somaiya College of Management Studies and Research, Vidyavihar, has become the first to get autonomy from the University Grants Commission, subject to final approval from the university.

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If the university gives it nod in the next few months, the institute will begin independent operations (barring admissions) from the current academic year. With this status, the college can determine and prescribe its own courses and syllabi, assessment and method of exams.

“We are awaiting the final customary nod from the University of Mumbai, following which the college will roll out a new modified course structure, keeping in mind today’s industrial need,” said Dr Satish Ailawadi, director, Somaiya Institute of Management Studies.

“This is a great step towards bettering the future of management studies in the country, and will bring in effective changes in education,” added Dr Ailawadi. While the admission criteria for the institute will remain the same, where the students will have to appear for the CMAT examinations, the curriculum and semester system is likely to undergo massive changes.

“Every subject will have a different board for it and we are looking to change the semester system to trimesters, which will facilitate inclusion of more subjects,” said the director.

Somaiya also plans to collaborate with international management institutes and introduce niche electives like public policy and management in philosophy.

The major advantage of achieving autonomous status, according to Dr Ailawadi, is that subject overlapping can be avoided. “In the current curriculum, many subjects have overlapping theories and make for a chaotic structure. But if we introduce a trimester system, there will be greater flexibility to avoid overlapping of subjects.”