Hindustan Times and MBAUniverse.com Mission MBA is back with the GD PI Workshop from February to March 2011. The initiative is taken for the MBA aspirants who are going to appear for the GD PI rounds of the top B schools. The series of workshops will allow you to get the real feel of a GD and also give you the Expert Tips on how to excel in GD PI.

To help all you MBA aspirants in making the right B-school selection, a B-school that matches with your career aspirations, we are now starting the series on How to Select the Right B-school, Based on Your Sectoral Preferences.

This sub-series is part of the Guide to Selecting the Right B-school series under which we have presented to you till now articles on the various factors that you should consider while selecting your B-school. These factors were: Number of Faculty, Number of students sent on student exchange, Number of seats, Cut Offs, etc.

Distance MBA: For the masses as well as classes Unlike most regular in-class MBA courses, programs offered through distance learning are generally affordable and cost-effective. Distance learning eliminates the costs incurred on infrastructure, travelling and a variety of other peripheral expenses otherwise incurred by full-time or regular MBA program students. Distance MBA also provides a golden opportunity to the students living in remote areas to obtain MBA education from renowned management Institutes.

The first year students of IIM Ranchi are excited about their Summer Internships. The MBA students will have the opportunity to work for two months in leading companies of our country and rub shoulders with CEOs and COOs. These students have the honour of being the students of the first batch of IIM Ranchi, which got functional in year 2010.

Following the trend of the IIM students, IIM Ranchi, one of the new IIM which started functioning since last year have launched their mentorship program for the 1422 candidates shortlisted by IIM Ranchi to appear in the GD PI process. The initiative taken by the IIM Ranchi students is called IIM Ranchi Mentorship Program 2011-13.

Following the AICTEs rejection of the B-schools demand for review of the notification issued on December 28, 2010, the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) and Education Promotion Society of India (EPSI) is all set to hold the National Convention of PGDM Institutions on February 7, 2011 at PHD House, New Delhi.

The convention is being held under the theme of Indian Management Education: Call for Excellence, Autonomy & Inclusive Approach. The theme of the inaugural session is The Indian Growth Story and the Contribution of the PGDM Institutions.

Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida, has announced the cut off for CAT 2010 which will be considered by the B-school for admissions to the 2011-13 batch of PGDM. The application process got over on Monday, January 31, 2011.

For the PGDM and PGDM (IB) the percentile cut off for CAT 2010 is 60. For the specialized MBA programs like PGDM in Retail Management, Insurance Business Management and Sustainable Development programs, the CAT 2010 cut off is 50 percentile and above.

The AICTEs rejection of the B-schools demand to withdraw the AICTE notification has added fuel to fire, forcing B-schools to consider seeking legal redressal. MBAUniverse.com met the Directors of top B-schools, XLRI Jamshedpur, MDI Gurgaon, TAPMI Manipal, XIME Bangalore, in New Delhi recently to get their reactions on the AICTE notification.

The MBAUniverse.com Live Expert Series on GD, PI and Essay Writing is yet to continue for long now. With the heavy downpour of questions in the previous chats, it is quite evident that the queries are not to cease anytime soon! The next Live Expert Chat will be held on Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 5 pm onwards with IIM Ahmedabad student Pratik Mukherjee. Pratik is a first year student of IIM Ahmedabad. He has done B.Sc. in Mathematics Honours from St. Xaviers College, Kolkata. He has pursued MCA from Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, organized the HR Summit 2011 on Saturday, January 22, 2011. The summit focused on HR outsourcing, its challenges and opportunities. The event was launched by the top level personalities of the Indian industry and the academia.