A year ago, I had written about ISB (Indian School of Business) having made it to the number 20 spot in the Financial Times ranking of best global business schools.


This year, ISB has done even better. It was ranked at #15 by Financial Times, London.
Click here to check out the ratings.

Dhi better half and Dhi are quite pleased with this bit of news. Our alma mater, The Indian School of Business has been ranked No. 20 in the global B-school rankings released by Financial Times, London.

Here is the official press release:

Hyderabad, January 28, 2008: The Indian School of Business (ISB) has been ranked No: 20 in the global B-school rankings released today by Financial Times, London.

Congratulating the ISB students, faculty, and staff, Rajat Gupta, Chairman, ISB, said, “This is great news! The ISB graduated its first class in 2002 with a vision to establish an internationally top ranked, research oriented B-school in India. I am extremely proud that the students, faculty, and staff have achieved this in such a short time. I am also delighted that the ISB has brought such academic and international recognition to India.”

Within a short span of six years, the ISB has made a mark for itself as a premier, B-School in India. It has successfully pioneered several initiatives in the field of management education by bringing in international best practices and people. The ISB introduced the one year programme, unique portfolio model of faculty, accepting students with prior work experience and diverse backgrounds, the GMAT score as a selection criterion, lateral placements, international quality research and several other initiatives. Being ranked Twenty among global B-schools is a validation of the ISB’s effort to establish an international B-School located in India.

Speaking on the occasion, M Rammohan Rao, Dean, ISB, said, “This is a vision come true for all of us at the ISB. We owe a lot to our faculty for their research work and for publishing in top tier journals. Our students, who are all successful professionals today, and our staff, who are passionately committed to excellence, have contributed a great deal for our achievement. We are also deeply indebted to our Board members, our Associate Schools, the Area Leaders, and our visiting faculty whose unstinted support has made this possible for us.”

“This is indeed a remarkable achievement for us. ISB is committed to world class research and has actively encouraged the faculty to focus on publishing their research work in internationally acclaimed academic journals. It is wonderful to note that our work has earned international recognition so soon,” said Sanjay Kallapur, Professor of Accounting and Associate Dean – Faculty Development.

Celebrations started early today on the campus, when the congratulatory mail was sent to the ISB community in the morning. The entire campus is abuzz with students, faculty, families, staff, and alumni all gathering at the Atrium to congratulate one another.

“We are all thrilled about this news! This recognition firmly establishes ISB as a truly international school amongst B-school aspirants as well as industry, across the world. As alumni, we have watched our alma mater grow by leaps and bounds, we are all so proud of being a part of the ISB,” said Arjun Srinivasan, Founding President of the Alumni Association, ISB Class of 2003.

Going forward, the ISB will focus on ramping up its student numbers, increasing the strength of its faculty and setting up more research centres. The school is committed to becoming a research hub with a focus on emerging markets as well as a knowledge partner to the industry.

Having spent a year at the ISB, I can safely claim that the school has one of the best staff I have ever seen. And by this, I don’t refer just to the professors, but also the administrative and the support staff. Everyone of them is extremely courteous and go out of their way to help the students out. Overall, its a brilliant institution, especially considering the fact that it has been just 6 years since its inception.

You can view the entire rankings here: http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings
An interesting find: Kellogg, a partner school of the ISB, is ranked behind ISB at 24.