I’m in the final year of a hotel management degree programme. Is it worthwhile to press on for an MBA in marketing/finance to better my career prospects?
Naresh Rao, Bangalore
An MBA degree will multiply your options for employment across all industries including hospitality, media, banking and finance. If a hospitality industry job is under consideration, you will have an edge because of your prior training in hotel management. You should study diligently to secure admission into one of the premier business schools.
I’m a final year B.Tech student and want to write the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). Please advise.
Suresh Patil, Pune
Admission into postgraduate degree programmes which offer scholarships/ assistantships in engineering/technology/architecture and pharmacy is open only to students who clear GATE. However some colleges/institutes specify GATE as a mandatory qualification for admission into self-financing courses as well. GATE qualified candidates are also eligible for the award of junior research fellowships in CSIR laboratories. Your GATE score is valid for two years. The exam notification appears in major newspapers in September and the exam is usually scheduled for the second Sunday of February. For further details visit www.iitkgp.ernet.in/-gate.
What’s the eligibility criteria/admission procedure for the MCA programme offered by Mumbai and Pune universities? Since I haven’t studied maths in Plus Two, do I qualify for admission into an MCA programme?
Ravi Bajaj, Mumbai
Pune University and JNU, Delhi offer the most reputed MCA (Master of computer applications) study progra-mmes to those who haven’t studied maths at the Plus Two level. Admission into the Mumbai University MCA programme offered at VJTI is on the basis of performance in the CST examination conducted by NCST in January every year. To qualify to write this exam you need to be a graduate who has cleared Plus Two maths. Pune University announces its new admissions in November-December and usually conducts the entrance examination in February.
After graduating next year, I want to qualify as a feature films director. Please suggest some government approved courses in this field, the names and addresses of reputed film institutes and their admission procedures.
Sreenivas Iyer, Chennai
The best reputed institutions are the Film and Television Institute of India, Law College Road, Pune 411004; Xavier’s Institute of Communications, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai 400001; Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, EM By Pass Road, Kolkata 700004; Film and TV Institute of Tamil Nadu, Chennai 600113; Asian Academy of Film and Television, Marwah Studios Complex, FC-14/15, Film City, Sector 16A, Noida 201301.
Check with each institute about its application process and admission deadline. The selection process usually involves a written test followed by personal interview/workshops on campus. There is also the option of training under a reputed film director and acquiring on-the-job practical work experience. However, a career in films is full of uncertainties, and you must ready yourself for good times and bad.
After completing my B.Sc next year, I want a career in hospital administration. Please advise on courses in India and abroad and their admission criteria.
Seema Puri, New Delhi
A bachelor’s degree in any stream is the minimum qualification for admission into hospital management study programmes. For admission into hospital administration programmes, there is usually an entrance test (on the lines of B-school entrance tests) followed by a group discussion and interview. Among the institutions offering hospital administration study programmes are Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai 400088; Indian Institute of Hospital Management Research, Opp. Sanganer Airport, Jaipur 302011; Department of Management Studies, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021; Administrative Staff College of India, Bella Vista, Khairatabad, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500821; and Apollo Institute of Hospital Administration, Apollo Hospital Campus, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad 500033.
Please suggest reputed colleges or universities which offer study courses in rural development.
Jagdish Desai, Ahmedabad
Rural management is mostly offered as a postgraduate programme. The Institute of Rural Management, Anand (www.irma.ac.in); Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (www.ximb.ac.in); Indian Institute of Rural Management, IIRM Campus, Jaipur (www.iirm.ac.in); Centre for Studies in Rural Management (CSRM), Gujarat Vidyapith (www.gujaratvidyapith.org/); Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot, Satna, MP (www.ruraluniversity.chitrakoot.org/ruralmgmt.html); Tata Dhan Academy, Madurai (www.dhan.org); Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (www.tiss.edu) and University of Kalyani (www.klyuniv.ac.in) are among the institutions offering rural management/development management and allied study programmes.
I’ll be completing my final MBBS exam next year and want to follow a career in health informatics. Please advise.
Celine Dias, Panjim
Health informatics is a broad field covering areas such as electronic medical records, access to knowledge-based information and digital libraries, digital imaging systems, telemedicine, clinical decision support, health policy, etc. It involves acquisition of skills which enable you to work with hospitals and other healthcare providers, including pharmaceutical, medical software and telemedicine companies; public health organisations, in academia, with the government and NGOs. Health informatics offers bright employment prospects and is ideal for individuals with strong technology skill sets and research orientation. The UK offers great opportunities for the study of health informatics at the postgraduate level.