BML University-meant for industry, mentored by Imperial College London

Munjal University, (BMU) is a new initiative of The Hero Group - the US$5 billion business conglomerate. A fully-residential university, BMU is located at Village Sidhrawali, District Gurgaon on NH-8 (50 kms from the Delhi International Airport).

Named after the Hero Group Co-founder and Chairman, Brij Mohan Lall Munjal, the University aspires to nurture ethical leaders who are skilled, knowledgeable and have the life skills required for leading their organizations to success.

Bi India chatted up with Akshay Munjal, President, BML Munjal University to get a sneak peek into this unique venture.

How is BML University different from any other institute?
We felt Indian academics have not evolved hand to hand with the country’s needs. There’s a strong gap between what’s being taught and what industry and society wants today. Our approach is heavily focused on research to solve these practical problems.

How do you plan to implement your approach?
We noticed the tremendous focus on rote learning in India. Our focus is to make learning fun. The idea is to introduce practical knowledge in a way the student never forgets.

Ours could be an open book exam. Any way, you can always have access to a book, the internet or a calculator. The challenge is to know how to find the answer to practical problems.

You’ve launched a bunch of professional courses. Any plans to expand?
We’ve started with the most popular courses from the student and industry perspective. In the next phase we’re looking to start Architecture, Liberal Arts, Pure Sciences and develop into a full-fledged University.

You’ve announced industry collaborations with Siemens, IBM and KPMG. You would also be mentored by Imperial College London. How would these collaborations help BML?
High-ranking officials from these companies would be our advisors on what to teach. That way our curriculum would be the most updated and modern.

We are also among the few top Indian institutes like IIT Delhi and IISc Bangalore to be mentored by Imperial College. It offers a great opportunity to our faculty and students to learn from the world’s best. They can also go to travel to Imperial College and do a joint degree.

Why launch MBA in Forensic Accounting?
Across the world, MBAs are pretty constant. However, our courses are all focused on application. They are called, ‘Bringing Ideas to the Market’, ‘Managing People’, and ‘Acquiring and Retaining Talent’.

The job of forensic accounting is important not only to detect, but also to prevent corporate fraud. In the next 10 years, forensic accounting and business analytics would be among the top 10 upcoming jobs in the country as finance companies, banks and IT companies would all need them.

What are your top areas of focus in the years to come?
Advanced Manufacturing, Sustainability, Flexible Electronics, Energy and High-performance Computing.

What would you look for in a student at BML University?
Not just the marks, but the attitude. We try to identify students that have a desire to learn, and train them to be the best.

Image credit: Hero MotoCorp