There is a big difference between being literate and being educated. One of the strongest disparities is that education is formal but, knowledge is substantial. As shown evidently along the  process of evolution, only the ‘human’ brain has the ability to freely turn abstract elements from one level to the other. In other words, education helps us to learn things and knowledge allows us to understand its purpose and act accordingly.

However, the focus here is on the ‘action’. Any amount of knowledge is a waste if it is not put in use. This reminds us of the words of Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur and author, “Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge, let it lead to action.”

Aurora’s PG College understands this and endorses the value of both being educated and knowledgeable. The principle, ‘creating leaders with moral and ethical values who can bring a paradigm shift in society and field of work,’ is central to this institute.

The institution aims to be a center of excellence in higher education through top-grade academics, quality research, and well-articulated support services while promoting societal and individual development.

Established in 1995, Aurora’s PG College, Ramanthapur is the largest and one of the oldest stand-alone MBA, MCA colleges of Telangana. It operates under the aegis of Aurora Group of Institutions, one of the largest educational groups in the State of Telangana. The college is affiliated to Osmania University and Approved by AICTE, New Delhi.

The college began its journey with two Master’s programs, MBA and MCA, with a student intake of 60. Under the dynamic leadership of the Secretary, Dr. Ramesh Babu Nimmatoori, the college has escalated to the position of the largest stand-alone PG College in the state of Telangana with a student intake of 1200.

It has been accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with ‘A+’ Grade in 2018, in the first cycle of accreditation for its standards of quality in academics, teaching-learning process, extension activities, and best practices. The institution is recognized as one among the top 6 colleges in Telangana to have achieved this milestone.

It is endowed with state-of-the-art computer labs and a spacious and well-stalked Library with modern facilities. The campus is Wi-Fi enabled, ensuring secure connectivity 24*7. All the classrooms are ICT equipped with provision for projectors and facility to watch webinars from across the globe. The campus has cloud connectivity that provides remote access to instructional and information resources to all the stakeholders round the clock. The students actively participate in many digital learning programs organized by the state and central Governments.

The institution has well-constituted Student Clubs in General and Technical areas. These clubs conduct a wide range of activities around the year. The students also actively participate in various community development and charity initiatives.

The Brand Aurora is known for the development of students with integrity and ethical behavior along with excellence in education. The students are trained in a way that they follow the Indian tradition of respecting the elders, treating the fellow beings with compassion, and behaving well in the society with a responsibility towards the society.

The below-conversation with Dr. Madhavi Madireddy, the Director of Aurora’s PG College will help us understand how the institute achieves the aforesaid.

Kindly walk us through the college’s academic programs, the scholarship programs (if any), and other associated activities. 

The Institution offers a wide variety of educational and infrastructural facilities for the overall development of the students. It focuses on five programs offered at the PG level, which include MBA, 5 years Integrated MBA, Part-time MBA, PGDM, and MCA.

Aurora has a unique niche in the higher education scenario of Telangana with its comprehensive teaching-learning process. The ‘Aurora Model’ of teaching-learning was developed by integrating conventional teaching methods, interactive teaching-learning methods, experiential learning methods, and supplementary teaching-learning process to impart holistic education to the graduating students.

This process enables the students to learn the concepts with a strong base along with other industry requisite skills like communication, presentation, public speaking, general ability, reasoning, and teamwork which makes them competent for global recruitments.

Aurora not only provides exceptional educational facilities but also takes various steps to support financially disadvantaged sections of students. They are provided with scholarships and a complete tuition fee waiver for their entire course. The college supports students in applying for government scholarships, trust scholarships, and other financial assistance services provided by various government and non-government agencies.

Eligible students are also provided with suitable part-time job opportunities while they study in the institutions and will be inducted on a full-time basis once they complete their formal education. The top rankers of every batch of students are awarded Gold Medals and Merit Certificates

What are your perceptions over the advancement of technology and its effects on the business management discipline?

Technology has always been an ‘enabler ‘for the modern education system and the discipline of ‘Business Management’ is no exception to it. Technology has been significantly facilitating teaching-learning, evaluation, and assessment mechanisms across the Globe. Remote access to instructional resources and technology-enhanced learning are the popular trends in the educational sector worldwide.

Technology has become a prerequisite for modern-day business organizations.  Business organizations are also witnessing and adopting break-through technologies to cater to the needs of tech-savvy customers. The E-Commerce segment has registered exponential growth over the last decade i.e., between, 2010-2020. Technology has become deep-rooted in the service sector with online services especially in banking, financial services, and marketing. The Healthcare industry has also become tech-enhanced through emerging innovations and advancements in medical equipment and procedures.

How do you cater to the need for continuously updating students about the progress and discoveries in the business management discipline?

The students of the institution are provided with round the clock access to the instructional resources of the programs offered.  Aurora believes in ‘Learning Beyond the Classroom’. The students are provided with ample opportunities for experiential learning through industrial visits, surveys, field visits, focus group discussions with industry experts, extension and guest lectures, etc. Various student clubs of the institution organize events, conduct activities, and observe various days of national and international importance round the year. This environment inculcates socialization, culminates organizing and managing capabilities.

Kindly elucidate over the career opportunities and exposures that the students receive during/after their time in the institute.

Aurora has a duly constituted Training and Placement Cell that actively trains students for various types of recruitment. The students will be provided with a comprehensive ‘Campus Recruitment Program’ with necessary modules as well as with communication, public speaking, and presentation skills. The students shall be provided with 100% on-campus and off-campus placement assistance. The cell maintains much collaboration with many prominent institutions to ensure curricular and co-curricular development of the students.

The institution has an academic partnership with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B). It has joined hands with Harrison Assessment International Limited. This is a training and assessment organization that trains the students in acquiring soft skills and makes them industry-ready. The students who clear the assessment are placed with reputed organizations such as Google, Apple Inc, Unilever, and so on. The Training and Placement Cell continuously monitors the performance of the students and initiates necessary support for placing the students with reputed organizations.

What are the prospects of the institute in terms of expansion, syllabi, and infrastructure?

The institution aspires to have academic ‘Autonomy’ that facilitates the design and development of new programs and courses in unique and emerging areas of knowledge. The institution also wishes to undertake significant research in the areas of contemporary social relevance like online learning methodologies, digitalization of educational systems, technology-enhanced learning, etc. The prospects of the institute include the establishment of Research Centre, Innovation Centre, Incubation Centre, and a Research Laboratory to promote scholarly excellence and meaningful research.