Management

The world of management education is changing and India is right in the middle of change.One term you may be hearing more often now is Hybrid MBA.It sounds fancy,slightly confusing and very future ready which is accurate , but it is much simpler than it sounds.

A Hybrid MBA combines online learning with on campus class experience in a simple meaning. Instead of choosing between a fully online MBA or a traditional full-time program students get the best of both worlds. This flexible model is one of the biggest reasons why India is adopting the hybrid MBA so quickly.

What is Hybrid MBA- A hybrid MBA is a management degree where learning happens in two formats:

• Online learning for theory lecturers, case studies and assignments.
• Offline or on-campus sessions for workshops, group discussions, presentations, networking and practical exposure.

Students attend live or recorded online classes from anywhere while also visiting the campus at fixed intervals for immersive learning. The structure makes a Hybrid MBA both flexible and practical. Unlike a fully online MBA,a hybrid MBA fits perfectly into the shift.

Flexibility for working professionals- One of the biggest reasons for the rise of HYBRID MBA in India is flexibility. Many learners want to upgrade their skills without quitting their jobs.A hybrid MBA allows professional study while working.Apply learning directly at the workplace,manage personal and professional responsibilities.This model respects the reality of modern Indian professionals.

Fees are affordable as compared to traditional MBAs- A full time MBA from a top institute often comes with high tuition fees, relocation costs and loss of income.Hybrid MBA gives them a cost effective program from their comfort zone.It is cost effective quality management education accessible to a wider group of students. For many Indian families this balance between quality and affordability matters a lot.

Another reason to get a first choice for professional to join HYBRID MBA is accessibility to global learning.Many hybrid MBA programs in India are designed with international exposure in mind.Students may attend online lecturers by global faculty.Virtual collaborations with International peers.Short term campus immersion or exchange programs are the attractions to join Hybrid MBA.This global outlook prepares  Indian students for international roles without the heavy cost of studying abroad.

Technology has made it possible to learn it from any corner of the globe.The growth of digital platforms,learning management systems and virtual classrooms has changed how education is delivered . India’s rapid digital adoption has made HYBRID MBA programs smooth, interactive and effective.Students are now comfortable learning online as long as it is meaningful and well structured.

Industry Relevant Curriculum- A strong reason why India is adopting hybrid MBA because it is industry focused curriculum.They talk about the real case studies ,live projects of the companies ,mentorship from industry experts and skill based learning.

A Hybrid MBA is not a shortcut or a compromise. It is a smart evolution of management education.India is adopting it fast because it understands one basic truth,learning should fit into life not the other way around. For students and professionals who want growth without disruption, a hybrid MBA offers a balanced practical and powerful path forward.Ina country like Indiathe hybrid MBA is not just a trend.It is becoming the new standard.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to unveil the Union Budget 2026, 27 on February 1. The Budget Session of Parliament commences on January 28 and the second half is scheduled from March 9 to April 2. The President will deliver the address to Parliament on January 28 and the Economic Survey will be laid on January 29.

The education sector has been setting up a high expectation from the Budget, hoping for initiatives that can raise the quality, increase the access, and bring education to the level of being globally competitive. Teachers point out the role of private universities as partners in national development and propose that the government should grant incentives for the collaboration of industry, academia, entrepreneurship, and faculty development.

Professor Kulbhushan Balooni, Vice, Chancellor of Birla Global University, said, "The Union Budget 2026, 27 must accord the status of strategic partners in the development of the nation to private universities. The government ought to empower such collaborations by providing a suitable policy and fiscal framework that would stimulate synergy, entrepreneurship, and faculty development. Private universities, by virtue of their large student base, are well, placed to impact the higher education system of India positively. We anticipate that the Budget will contain progressive and enabling measures."

"As India progresses towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 by PM Modi, the Union Budget 2026, 27

needs to consider education as a strategic investment for sustained and inclusive growth. It would be critical to have balanced budget allocations for higher education, including faculty development, digital infrastructure, entrepreneurship, and research, to produce skilful leaders capable of realising this vision, " said Jaiswal.

HS Foundation, in partnership with Blockchain For Impact (BFI), organised a research and innovation capacity building programme at the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi. The programme aimed at strengthening innovation ecosystems in tier, 2 and tier, 3 districts, especially across Uttar Pradesh. The three, day residential programme featured 63 faculty members from 35 educational institutions, representing 25 tier, 2 and tier, 3 districts. The participants had a wide range of academic backgrounds, including engineering, medicine, ayurveda, veterinary sciences, law and management. The institutions from the cities of Lucknow, Meerut, Mathura, Moradabad, Saharanpur and Bulandshahr participated in the programme, along with colleges from the Delhi, NCR region. As per the organisers, the programme through the faculty members is going to have an indirect impact on over 1.35 lakh graduate and postgraduate students. Instead of focusing on short term student interventions, the programme stressed on institution, level research and incubation capacity building with faculty as long term drivers of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus.

Faculty led Incubation Focus The main goal of the program was to allow the different colleges that were part of it to be able to set up incubation cells that would actually work in their institutions. The faculty members were trained to identify real, world problems, turn academic research into practical and scalable solutions, and guide students who are interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. 

The programme, which formed part of IIT Delhi's Innovation and Technology Transfer ecosystem, acquainted the participants with problem identification methods; faculty, led entrepreneurship models; funding and incubation pathways; management of intellectual property; and technology transfer mechanisms. Besides these sessions, the faculty members had practical exercises, group discussions, and pitching workshops through which they could practice the concepts in real scenarios.

FITTIIT Delhi, as a part of the initiative, pledged to giving the institutions of the participants the necessary and continuous support in terms of mentorship and guidance as they help the launch of incubation cells and early, stage innovation projects on their campuses. 

According to Ashish Dhar Dwivedi, Managing Trustee, HS Foundation, India needs to take its innovation beyond a handful of cities. He stressed that the only way to make research and start, up environments in Uttar Pradesh sustainable was to spread faculty empowerment not only across different disciplines but also across different areas.

Nikhil Agarwal, Director, FITTIIT Delhi, said faculty- driven innovation was the key to research translation in the long term. He also said that IIT Delhi would be always there to support regional institutions in building credible incubation and innovation capabilities.

The organisers said the programme is expected to serve as a replicable model for expanding research, innovation and entrepreneurship capacity across states, particularly outside major metropolitan hubs.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has announced the availability of seats for the MBA in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DS & AI) course for the 2026, 28 academic year, thus making the program as one of the promising options for those students willing to combine management education with technology skills of the latest trend. Candidates wishing to apply can do so via the official website of IIT Mandi until January 27, 2026.

To equip business leaders of tomorrow with a solid technology background, the MBA (DS & AI) programme at IIT Mandi blends the core management skills such as strategy, finance, and marketing with the advanced topics like artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, and digital transformation. Students can leverage advanced analytics laboratories, high, end computing infrastructure, and the innovation and startup ecosystem at IIT Mandi through its technology incubator, Catalyst. Professor Anjan Kumar Swain, Chairperson, School of Management, talked about the future vision of the program that intends to develop leaders who excel in the fast, changing digital economy. He added that our curriculum is a mix of management, analytics, and technology, which is instrumental in the development of critical thinking, creativity, and leadership qualities.

Eligibility IIT Mandi is calling for applications for the MBA program starting in 2026. All candidates must have a valid CAT 2025 score.

Furthermore, applicants with a Bachelor's or Master's degree from Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs) or from the institutions ranked within the top 100 by NIRF 2025 (overall or engineering categories) are eligible to apply. Comprehensive admission criteria are listed on the institute website. Placement Highlights The School of Management at IIT Mandi has undergone a significant curriculum transformation in the recent past. As part of the revision, a variety of new electives such as Generative AI for Managers, AI, driven Financial Decision Making, and AI for Marketing have been introduced. The changes have been quite effective in placements as well. 

The last batch managed to achieve an average CTC of 18 lakh per annum, with the highest package going up to 49 LPA. Alongside these, the top recruiters have included companies primarily from the fields of analytics, consulting, BFSI, technology services, and AI driven enterprises, which after all, is a clear indication of the program's increasing industry relevance. As the application window is currently open, IIT Mandi's MBA in Data Science and AI is rapidly becoming an excellent choice for management aspirants who want to be future ready.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi - Abu Dhabi campus can expect to see 400 students next year, almost twice the current number, according to an official statement. "Today, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi has a strength of 12,000 students, while the strength of Indian Institute of Technology, Abu Dhabi is 182, which will likely touch 400 in the next year," stated Shantanu Roy, Executive Director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi - Abu Dhabi, in an interaction with visiting Indian media at the campus in Abu Dhabi.

When asked what gives the difference to this campus of IIT Delhi, as opposed to other campuses of IIT in India, Roy said, 'This is a different geography, of course, and this is being aligned with what is important in UAE. India is a much bigger country, much larger populace, the economic spread is larger.' 'This is, of course, the Middle East, which is known to be a fossil fuel-driven economy. But UAE is doing a lot of expansion and diversification. So, what is being built here, in fact, is aligned with that diversification,' said Roy.

"But of course it’s a smaller country, has a very small population and geography, and has a large number of international students," he said. "It’s because UAE being at the crossroads of the world, is linked to Europe and Asia. So, we have diversity in terms of students," he said. He said that the UAE campus is in line with the UAE’s strategy related to energy, sustainability and AI and Smart Materials research which are being specifically targeted.

However, it’s not as if this is not being done in the Delhi campus, as all these are very important to India too. This is not like the campus is not synchronized with the Delhi campus. "We are actually one institution, and not two different institutions. I think that’s very important to understand at the outset," Roy said.

“We are actually one institution globally with three campuses. This is our first campus outside the country. This campus here (Abu Dhabi campus), in the beginning, in the first semester, started with 17 students. We had only one master's programme. But within six months, we started two undergraduate programmes with 50 students at that time. “We are adding a new undergraduate programme every year, maybe a new master's programme every year, and some progress in PhD annually,” Asked how AI is transforming education and research, Roy stated, "It is part of our curriculum in IIT Delhi. There are also masters programs in AI." Roy also clarified that the curriculum in Abu Dhabi is the same as that of IIT Delhi, except for some adaptation that is required in the Middle Eastern setting. "A requirement for accreditation of branch campuses is that you have to retain the ethos of the parental campus," Roy explained. "So far as curricula are concerned, we are very well-aligned. In fact, it is not as if if you're in IIT Delhi, in Delhi, you get an education that is different from what you get in Abu Dhabi."

Addressing the 93rd South Indian Music Conference and Festival organized by the Indian Fine Arts Society at Chennai on December 17, Prof. Kamakoti stated that music and engineering are very much related, especially when associated with patterns. The Indian Fine Arts Society Sabha is among the oldest and leading sabhas at Chennai, which has been acclaiming the classical musical arts.

“Music has a very solid grounding in science—especially mathematics. We’ve been extensively exploring the link between the two at IIT Madras,” said Professor Kamakoti while stressing the benefits of music education for enhancing skills required in technology and engineering.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras

Commenting on the focus of IIT Madras on inter-disciplinary education, Prof Kamakoti said, “We are creating a space where Arts, Culture, Science, and Engineering meet, and this is being achieved through forums such as this, forums such as music, and forums such as this, forums such as—” This will be achieved through the setting up of an “Audio Mic-less Bamboo Auditorium” at IIT Mad

Engineering Requires Several Disciplines

According to Prof. Kamakoti, modern engineering challenges have started requiring more inter-disciplinary work. While citing Operation Sindoor, he said that it was an example of an inter-disciplinary effort that included 10-11 different disciplines of engineering.

“We are emphasizing interdisciplinary education at IIT-M because most of these real-world problems cannot be solved by one area of engineering alone,” said Professor Ninan.

PARENTS AND STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED

While encouraging parents to think beyond the usual career options, Prof Kamakoti revealed that music training must not remain as something apart from academic achievement. “Our usual music education courses can actually supplement engineering courses, as they develop creativity, discipline, and problem-solving abilities,” he stated. “It’s a reflection of the shift in education in India where institutions like IIT Madras are opening up more channels that combine culture and creativity with technology.”

There is indeed a shift in the Indian education system where institutions like IIT Madras are opening up more channels that combine culture and creativity with technology.