Agnish Sarker's Review On UPES, Dehradun

In a nutshell, UPES - The Nation Builders University as it is known nowadays is a great place to study. It's a good university with great faculties. The teaching pedagogy is really excellent. Only the negative aspects of UPES are that it is too much stric

I was looking for MBA but something unique, not a traditional MBA in Finance or Marketing or HR. When I came across the vast arena of outstanding unique courses like MBA in Petroleum, Logistics & SCM, Aviation, Port & Shipping, Energy Business, I knew this was my destination. Appeared for MAT - September 2008 (conducted by AIMA), scored 95 percentile, sat for GDPI when called for and got selected.

MBA in Logistics and Supply Chain Management was a very unique course back in 2008-2009 not many institutions used to provide it the curriculum was really brilliant apart from the various aspects of Logistics and Supply Chain, general management subjects like Finance, Marketing, HR, Business Intelligence, Quants, Communications were also taught as per the Masters Level by highly qualified and experienced faculties apart from this, the regular flow of Visiting Faculties and Industry Experts & Speakers gave us an in depth knowledge in the program.

Like many other institutes, the Business Internship at UPES is a 2 way process both College and Student Driven. There is a specific Internship Committee at UPES, represented by the HODs of all departments and the CRs of each class. Being a CR, I was also part of the committee which allowed me in helping my fellow classmates to be placed for Internship in the core companies logistics, Aviation, Ports, Pharma, Multi National, Construction, Cargo etc. I arranged my Internship with Britannia Industries Ltd., at Kolkata. The Internship was for 2 Months and helped me get in depth practical knowledge of the industry. Stipend - Some Companies paid stipend, while others didn't. I used to get a monthly stipend of 4.5k

100% Placement Assurance is provided by UPES there is a dedicated Placement Department with highly qualified and experienced Placement Officers they work in close coordination with the HODs and CRs and have got an exceptionally good connect with the Industries. Salary is not a bar for the right candidate. Now salary again depends from batch to batch, course to course for the passouts of 2011, the Highest Package was 21LPA. All my classmates were exceptionally placed apart from the ones who joined their family business or started their own venture.

Well, we always used to look forward for Uurjaa the Annual Cultural Festival at UPES it was held in a really grand scale and used to go on for 3 days, with various Competitions, Fashion Show, DJ Party, Live Band Performance and all apart from it, Freshers Welcome, Farewell Party, Inter Departmental Competitions etc. were all celebrated.

Well fees at UPES is a bit Expensive during my time, 2009 - 2011, the Course Fee was Rs. 6 Lakhs apart from it, Hostel Fees was separate apart from it, Students are required to pay for Security and Caution Deposit, Industrial Visits, Alumni Fees, Personality Development Fee and so on.

Scholarship is generally not provided by UPES, but Final Semester Fees Waiver to the Batch Topper is there. UPES is UGC recognized and thus getting a bank loan is not that much of a problem. The University has tie-ups with State Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce. Apart from these 2 Banks, other Banks also provide Education Loan. I took my Education Loan for the program from Central Bank of India. One thing to be kept on mind regarding Education Loans is that it is completely on Bank's Discretion - After verifying Students and Parents' Documentation, Annual Income, Source of Income and Market Debts also, UPES provides a 10% discount to Students from Defense Categories.

UPES has got dedicated Labs for all departments concerned. A lot of interdepartmental and inter college competitions are held in the campus, which include games like football, cricket and annual sports - UPES has got a real life cricket field, Rifle Shooting Activities, Mountaineering and Trekking, Robotics Competition, Jugaad - Battle of Trashes, Seminars by various departments, etc. Also Hostel Parties are conducted, but generally in the Private Hostels as the Campus Hostel is quiet strict in the manner. Generally the Student Strength is in the ration 60 (Male):40 (Female). Students from all cultural backgrounds, socio economic status, religion and India and Abroad studies at UPES.

The UPES Campus Hostels are on Triple Sharing Basis with Common Toilet with Mess Facilities. Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Snacks and Dinner is provided. But most of the students prefer to stay outside either in Rented Accommodation - They Arrange for their o

UPES strongly focusses on Alumni Networks and every year Alumni Meets are organized in various cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Dehradun, etc. The belief is that Alumnis can pave the way forward for the Institute. Also, UPES constantly stays in touch with the Alumnis, as the Alumnis also help in a large way towards the placement of the students.

All courses in UPES are in Semester Pattern. For MBA, there used to be 4 Semesters. Each Semester had the Mid Semester Exam and the End Semester Exam. The Final Marks was computed on the pattern of 20% (Mid Semester Exam) + 30% (Class Performance and Viva