From a humble beginning in 1987, College of Business Studies (CBS) has shown consistently scintillating results in corporate and academic circles. In 2007, BBS and BFIA packages touched Rs. 7.24 LPA. Wellthought improvements in selection process and intense student-industry interaction through CDC have made CBS attain the pinnacle in undergraduate courses in India today.

With the first cut-off lists for DU colleges just around the corner, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, or CBS, as popularly known in India has already concluded its much talked about rigorous admission process with announcing the results of its intake for BBS and BFIA 2007-2010 batcheson June 21, 2007, thus, ready to transform the just out of school kids into budding corporates of future India Inc, , according to a press realease.

Maintaining the initiatives of innovative selection process, CBS has selected a total of about 160 students this year from a whooping figure of 12,955 applicants from all across the country, which translates to 116 applicants per seat in the general category. The strenuous admission procedure involves two stages: a written examination and a group discussion followed by an interview, the panel for which comprises the college faculty as well as industry experts. Prapti Singh, Apeejay Noida Topper (95.8%) with a shock, said, “I was not expecting to be selected in this great institution and I would prefer to enter CBS than to join Eco(H) in any other institute of DU.” Mr. Dhirendra Kumar, CEO, Value Research India and CBS alumnus, says, "It is the ability of CBS to attract the best students. It was also very clear that CBS is an aspired destination for students."

Abhinav Jain, Modern School, Barakhamba Raod (92%) who made it to the final list said, “This is the biggest achievement of my life. It’s the best course at the undergraduate level, just equivalent to MBA program. I have applied to other colleges but now, won’t even consider them.” Over last few years, CBS has ensured active participation of its alumni of its super senior batches in interviewing CBS aspirants. This unique combination of faculty and industry leaders is helping CBS to select the future leaders.

Naresh Priyadarshi, Business Group Director & Head of Business Consulting at Synovate, and alumnus of CBS says, “…we have focused on traits that would make the aspirant a good, successful manager in future. Such traits included overall intelligence and presence of mind, team skills and strong fundamentals in academics.” Other panelists also appreciated the dual benefits of this concept, to ensure active involvement of the college alumni and to draw the benefits of their experience and industry exposure. CDC has further catalyzed the impact through persistent interaction between industry, faculty and students. Dhruv, DPS Mathura Road (93%), another selected candidate said, “CBS is the best place to start your career with. You get the right knowledge with the best skills to arm yourself with.”

What makes CBS so special?

It is a pragmatic mix of its time-tested pedagogy with comprehensive coverage of all management concepts, strong faculty with doctoral and higher education from IIMs/FMS, student-industry interaction through Career Development Centre (CDC), sustained inputs from alumni and an excellent student intake process.

Every year, about 30% of graduating class steps towards MBA/PG courses in top tier B-Schools across the world. The rest, fairly young in life, take up the challenging roles in corporate world and prove their mettle. The Results are Evident – All these factors have made applications to CBS increase by 10-12% every year.

Placements: The big picture

A whopping increase in numbers of companies participating in campus selection process and value of job offers, maintaining CBS legacy of 100% placements. March 2007 witnessed 41 industry leaders visited the campus including giants like AT Kearney, Aviva India, CB Richard Ellis, Deloitte, HCL Technologies, Hewitt Associates, HSBC, McKinsey KC, Synovate Business Consulting and UBS. The highest number of offers was made by a multinational Investment Banker, recruiting 19 students for its arm in Hyderabad. The average package escalated to Rs. 4.44 LPA, a 50.5% YOY leap, while the highest pay package mounted to Rs. 7.24 LPA, a robust 20.6% growth. “…CBS has managed to consistently churn quality managers at the undergraduate level…,” says Surender Mehta, GM, Human Resources, Hutchison Essar and CBS Alumnus.

The numbers speak for the confidence that the industry and recruiters place in the profile of CBS graduates, and have been the result of comprehensive efforts including workshops on resume building and interview and GD skills along with industry interactions, empowering the students with better potentials and thus, futures. These efforts have been duly acknowledged by many recruiters who made upward revisions in their packages. “…CBS has managed to consistently churn quality managers at the undergraduate level…,” says Surender Mehta, GM, Human Resources, Hutchison Essar and CBS Alumnus.

The programme received overwhelming response and support from the industry as well as the students. Sumeet Kanwar, Head, Investment Banking, UBS India, says, “…UBS values the professionalism shown by the CDC student body during the recruiting process and applauds the entire program….” The students have appreciated the simplicity & transparency of CDC’s affairs and the ease with which they can approach the new Placement Cell.

CBS’ first Internship Season was launched on 30th March against a scheduling constraint posed by the Semester (Delhi University) exams beginning mid-April. The profiles offered ranged from business strategy projects to PR projects and recruitment consulting. The Season also witnessed top recruiters like AVIVA India, Creative Crest, DCM Sriram, Jaypee Capital Services, SBI Life Insurance, Synovate India and Xansa, among others, in the short season that spanned 5 weeks continuing through the semester exams. The highest number of offers was made by one of India’s leading PR agencies, which made 16 offers for its Delhi offices.

About CBS

Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, better known as CBS, is a premier institute under the University of Delhi offering professional degree programmes, viz. BBS, BFIA, BSc and PGDCA. It has been the only DU institute providing management education at the undergraduate level, producing the finest set of fresh graduates and interns for the industry every year.

The year 2006-07 has been a renaissance of sorts for CBS with innovations and change touching every sphere. Beginning with the formation of the CBS Alumni Association (CBSAA), to the inception of the Annual Corporate Seminar Convergence, the revamped and multiple-scaled festival Crescendo and the state level stock market simulation competition Finwiz, the college has taken up substantial initiatives many of which have been covered by mainstream media. The ‘renaissance’ can be credited to the relentless efforts of the enterprising and driven students of the college, as well as the principal and faculty who provided the students with the leeway under their watchful supervision.

About Career Development Cell (CDC)

CDC is an 18 member students’ team formed through a rigorous selection procedure and has a structured 3 level hierarchy. The concept of replacing the traditional Placement Cell managed by a single faculty coordinator was proposed by a group of students, along with a plan to revamp the entire placement process and to offer a host of services to facilitate placements. The proposal was accepted and CDC was given the opportunity to prove its mettle from the stage of planning to inviting companies on campus and executing the plan.

The inherent characteristics of CBS - initiative, leadership, teamwork and inquisition amidst a challenging environment found place in the core values of CDC. With its growing network of recruiters and alumni across different sectors such as consultancy & knowledge services; banking, insurance and other financial services; advertising & PR; IT; investment & real estate sectors and others; CDC has transformed into a potent organization that is capable of meeting its objective of career development.