Offbeat management courses gaining popularity, say experts

Offbeat management courses are increasingly gaining popularity among B-school aspirants as the need for specialist knowledge in such sector-specific businesses has increased manifold, say experts.
Though traditional courses like computing and engineering still remain popular choices, gradually, more students are applying for a wider range of subject areas like sports marketing, luxury brand management, semiotics and brand management, film studies, event management among others.
Commenting on the trend, Anil Sachdev, Founder & CEO of business school SOIL, said, "Students now a days wish to explore new dimensions as they are attracted to new segments."
Social entrepreneurship, design thinking, big data analytics, social media marketing, wellness, green business, rural innovation are all emerging areas, he added.

Anita Sandham, International Marketing Manager, Sheffield Hallam University said, "We are starting to see a growth in applications for courses in tourism, events and hospitality, art and design, sport business management, and PR and communications."
A larger number of aspirants are now opting in for entrepreneurship courses. An increase of almost 90 per cent has been witnessed in the number of applications received by institutes offering entrepreneurship courses, according to IndiaCollegeSearch (ICS), an online portal that provides information about educational institutions across the country.

"The reason behind this could be fading popularity of MBA course, due to dull employment prospects in the market. To conclude, a greater ROI can be one of the major factors driving demand for such courses," ICS Founder & CEO Anirudh Motwani said.

Manaswini Acharya, Professor & Chairperson Branding and Media Relations at IMI Delhi also believes that potentially strong prospects are there for such offbeat courses.
"These are niche sectors and they are in need of specialists who know the domain very well. So this trend is going to increase. They are paid a shade better than the normal MBA," Acharya said.
Experts also loud the hiring prospects for such offbeat courses.
"Salaries obviously vary hugely for different sectors. But career prospects for MSc Big Data graduates, for example, might include positions as data analysts or scientists who can earn salaries which could start at around 25,000 pound- 35,000 pound and reach 80,000 pound and more," she added.

Adianta School for Leadership & Innovation Founder & CEO Aditya Dev Sood said "students with the right portfolio of work, a good internship and a strong understanding of a given sector can earn anywhere from Rs 35,000 to Rs 55,000 off of their undergraduate degrees, and much more with a graduate specialisation under their belt.