Class Profile: AMPBA

The Advance Management Programme in Business Analytics (AMPBA) at the Indian School of Business (ISB) is designed for business professionals, and provides essential skills in contemporary business analytics. The programme schedule is designed to maximise learning, with minimum disruption to professional responsibilities. This hands-on, rigorous programme aims to strike a perfect balance between classroom and technology-aided learning.

The AMPBA is a part-time programme, delivered in a blended learning format. The programme starts with pre-term modules, delivered through a technology-aided platform. They are based on Statistics, Probability, Data Management, and Programming in R and Python, enabling participants from varying backgrounds to gain the prerequisite knowledge. This ensures an enhanced learning experience over the following 12 months of course work. The main course work comprises of 3 terms of each four months duration. Participants spend five days at the ISB campus for residential classroom learning twice every term. Apart from on-campus residencies, participants also attend online sessions through a technology-aided platform, and work on assignments, mini-projects, etc. through ISB’s Learning Management System. The three-month-long industry-sponsored Capstone Project at the culmination of the course offers participants an unparalleled opportunity to apply their learning to solve real-world business problems.

The AMPBA’s comprehensive curriculum offers a perfect blend of analytical skills, business knowledge, and a strategic perspective on the Analytics industry. The amalgamation of course modules and the industry-sponsored Capstone Project offers theory-based practical learning. The AMPBA participants typically attend following courses, inclusive of a practicum module and a Capstone Project. The courses are designed to offer comprehensive learning and application of business analytics in various domains. An indicative list of courses is as follows.

• Probability and Statistics using R

• Python and Introduction to Databases (RDBMS)

• Business Fundamentals

• Data Collection

• Data Visualisation

• Text Analytics

• Big Data Management

• Statistical Analysis: Estimation and Testing

• Statistical Analysis: Regression Modelling

• Statistical Analysis: Count Data and Survival Analysis

• Simulation

• Optimisation

• Forecasting Analytics

• Data Mining: Unsupervised Learning

• Data Mining: Supervised Learning

• Deep Learning and IoT

• Marketing Analytics

• Retail Analytics

• Supply Chain Analytics

• Financial Analytics

• Pricing Analytics

• Social Media and Web Analytics

• Practicum

• Capstone

The programme adopts adult learning pedagogies, with emphasis on action and application, rather than just theory and concepts. The pedagogy involves integrating faculty lectures with case study discussions, simulations, group activities, and other interactive sessions. Experienced industry practitioners visit ISB to interact with participants to share practical perspectives and insights into real business problems.

Participants attend classes at the ISB campus during six residencies of five days each, scheduled every alternate month. During a residency, participants attend day-long classes, and spend their evenings on co-curricular learning engagements. Participants are required to stay on campus during these residencies.

An online interactive technology platform complements classroom-based learning that happens during residencies. This platform will be used predominantly for tutorials, mentoring, delivering pre-term modules, and sometimes for course content.

Participants are expected to make maximum use of the learning resources offered, for a seamless learning experience. The resources may include textbooks, business cases, videos, etc. Apart from classroom attendance, participants are expected to dedicate 10-12 hours every week towards assignments, project work, and session pre-readings.

There are two project modules:

1) Practicum

2) Capstone Project

The Practicum module runs through the programme, and cuts across its various modules. This helps participants build capabilities to solve different business problems, by integrating classroom learning from various courses.

The Capstone Project is an important component of the programme. It offers participants an opportunity to apply their overall course learning to solve real-world business problems. Each participant group is mentored by a faculty member and an industry mentor, to integrate theoretical and practical aspects. Participants have an option to work on a live project from their organisation. Alternatively, the Programme Office allows them to bid for projects that it brings from other organisations.

Past participants have worked on Capstone Projects in various domains from reputed organisations such as ABP News, Accenture, Ashok Leyland, Bharti Airtel, Capgemini, Cognizant, Cyient, Deloitte, DXC Technology, Expedia, Flextronics, Ford Motors, Franklin Templeton, GE Digital, HP Global Analytics, IL&FS, iNautix (BNY Mellon), Infosys, KPMG, L&T Infotech, Microsoft, MuSigma, NTT Data, Polaris (now Virtusa), Reliance Games, Snapdeal, Star TV, Variance.ai, Vodafone, Walmart, and many more.

To know more about completed projects and sponsors, please visit, Click here

A unique feature of the programme is to learn and grow together with a diverse, vibrant and motivated cohort of next-generation Data Scientists. Participants bring in diversity in terms of academic background, work experience, and industry domains. This encourages them to look at a problem from diverse perspectives. The past ten classes have typically been a cohort of about 100 participants with healthy representation from both technical and business backgrounds.

More than 750 participants have successfully graduated from the programme (up to Class of 2018, Summer). Most of our past participants have successfully switched to Analytics in a wide spectrum of industries such as Management Consulting, IT and ITES, Finance, Media, Manufacturing, Telecom, Automobile, Energy and Healthcare. Their job roles span various functional areas such as Strategy, IT, Marketing, Finance, Human Resource, and Operations. We are proud to see that many of the ISB-AMPBA alumni have pursued their entrepreneurial dreams, and founded start-ups to commercialise analytical innovations.

The Alumni Engagement office at ISB connects all alumni working in the Analytics industry, and organises learning and networking events through a Business Analytics special interests group. The overall ISB alumni network consists of more than 8500 members, spread across the globe. More than 5% of our alumni hold CXO-level positions within their companies. More than 400 alumni are running their own entrepreneurial ventures or family businesses.

The programme is designed for diverse professionals:

• Those already working in the Analytics domain, looking to enhance their knowledge

• Those with analytical aptitude, desiring to start a career in Analytics

• Those who use quantitative techniques in their work roles

Prior exposure to programming and knowledge of statistics will be an added advantage. Nevertheless, willingness to work and a passion to succeed will always triumph.

ISB invites applications from individuals who are passionate to build a career in Analytics with business acumen.

• An undergraduate/graduate degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Mathematics, or Statistics, or an equivalent qualification in any quantitative discipline.

• An overall experience of at least two years; however, for profiles with exceptional academic qualifications, the experience criterion may be waived

All applicants are required to take the online admissions test conducted by ISB; Click here to download the sample test paper. Applicants may also submit their GMAT / GRE/ NMAT / CAT score along with the online admissions test conducted by ISB.

Applicants shortlisted based on the admissions test result will be called for an interview.

The interview may be conducted in person, over a video conference, a teleconference, or a web/Internet-based tool.

The shortlisting and interviews will be held on a rolling basis.

• Admission Committee evaluates each applicant on several criteria to ensure that the participants selected for the programme are well-rounded individuals. Each component of the application and the interview is essential, and the selection of the participants for the programme will be made considering a combination of many factors, including:

• Quality of relevant work experience such as taking significant responsibility.

• Work experience in Analytics function and the commitment and passion for the function.

• Evidence of professional success

• Likelihood of benefiting from the programme

• Business leadership potential, track-record, traits, attitude/mindset

• Motivation to participate in the programme

• Undergraduate degree performance.

• Performance in the interview.

• The criteria mentioned above are not in any specific order of importance.