Top 5 Analytics Programs in India (2014 – 15)

We created our first set of rankings of analytics programmes about 18 months back. We didn’t expect the roaring response those rankings received. The rankings still continue to be one of the most visited page on our website – a way to connect with people who probably need help the most!

However, a lot has changed in these 18 months. A lot of new courses have come up, A few courses which were there, at that time are no longer available. We have also become wiser with time! Hence, it was time that we refreshed our rankings and did a more holistic job at ranking various institutes running analytics programmes in India.

Latest Rankings 2015 -16 : Top Business Analytics Programs in India

Which programmes are covered in these rankings?

As part of these rankings, we are covering only long duration courses (more than 9 months). We are not covering short term certification courses here. Those will be done in a separate article shortly. Also, we have excluded MOOCs from the rankings as they would form a different consideration.

 So, here are the rankings:

1.  Certified Program in Business Analytics (CBA) – Indian School of Business:

The offering from Indian School of Business (ISB) continues to retain the top spot in this year rankings as well. The course covers several topics and is run in a format where the students have to attend class rooms every alternate month. The course uses technology aided platform during the months of no classroom. There is ample industry interaction and a 3 – 6 month project at the end of the course. With the ISB brand and tie-up with SAS, the course provides almost everything a person would have wished for!

I say almost because the only thing which goes against the course is considerably higher fees compared to other courses. Add the expense of travelling to Hyderabad every alternate month and you might end up thinking twice, even if you get selected for the program.

2.  PGPBA – Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai and Gurgaon

Great Lakes arrived with its analytics programme slightly late into the game, but when it came – it came in style! It comes closest to challenge ISB with its focus on structured thinking and business application. The format is again a mix of classroom and tech aided platform. Significant industry interaction, tie-up with Jigsaw Academy to deliver online content and option to choose from 2 destination are some of the reasons why this course makes it to this spot.

My discontent with this course is mainly the lack of focus on a particular tool. While tool is only a means to an end, depth on at least one tool would make the offering very compelling. You can read detailed review about the program here.

3.  Certificate program in business analytics for executives (CPBAE)- IIM Lucknow

This course is taught jointly by faculty from IIM Lucknow and Kelley School of Business. The course is divided in 4 modules and requires a residency in each module. In addition, there is a tie-up with SAS for E-Miner training at the end. The positives for the course include 2 (or 3 if you take up SAS training) big brands backing it up with a wide range of topics.

The main discontent with the past participants of the programme has been the gap between what is taught in the classroom and what is required on the job. As per discussions with one of past participants (with 6 years of experience in IT before taking this course) “The focus on practical aspects and applications needs to be higher.”

4.  Executive Programme in Business Analytics – IIM Kolkata

The course is spread over a year and is divided in 10 modules. With only 2 visits on the campus, majority of the course is delivered through Hughes Education. While the programme has lower work experience requirement compared to some of the counter parts, relatively lower class room interactions make it a less desired choice. Again, the focus is on covering a range of topics and the theory behind them as opposed to practical applications on the job.

5.  Business analytics and Intelligence – IIM Bangalore

IIM Bangalore was probably the pioneer in starting the one year executive programme in Analytics. This course is again a mix of classroom and online platform, with an optional module to cover SAS E-Miner at the end. The positives include a course which covers wide range of algorithms and topics and is backed by the brand of an IIM.

Special mentions

I have not ranked these courses in the list because of different nature of offering they have to offer:

Post Graduate Programme, Praxis Business School, Kolkata

Praxis gets brownie points for taking a different approach to solving the talent gap. A full time programme which is open to freshers as well as professionals with experience and is probably the only one which takes ownership to solve for placements of students by its industry tie-ups. So, if you have relatively low work experience and can afford to take a break, this might be a good choice.

CPEE- Big Data Analytics & Optimization-International School of Engineering (INSOFE)

INSOFE has not only crafted a niche by focusing on Big Data and Optimization. It also has tie-ups with universities in the United States. A few students are sent to these universities as part of their tie-up. So, if you want to learn Big Data Analytics or aim to settle down in the US, this might be the preferred route.

Note – How have we ranked these programs?

We have used the similar framework, which we use to rank all the programs on our trainings page. It is based on 4 parameters:

• Coverage of the course: Coverage refers to the breadth of material covered during the program. Do the programmes cover aspects like structured thinking? Advanced topics like Big Data? Data Visualization tools and methods. The broader the coverage, the higher the score on this attribute.
• Quality of the content: Quality of content refers to depth of the core topics in the program. In takes into account factors like industry interaction, pedigree of the faculty, time spent on class room interaction etc.
• Industry Recognition: This refers to the recognition a program has earned in the analytics industry – it is somewhat synonymous with the brand value of the course. Since we are looking at long duration courses, this recognition would reflect in placements of the candidates
• Value for money

Once we have the score on all these parameters, we weigh them up and compute overall score:

Program effectiveness score = a x Coverage score + b x Quality score + c x Brand score + d x Value score

In the current version of ratings, we have used following weights: a = 0.2; b = 0.4; c = 0.2; d = 0.2. Once we have the overall scores, we rank order the programs.

End Notes:

Hope these rankings and information would help our readers in making the right choices about their career. If you have been part of any of these courses or want to add further information, please feel free to add it through comments below or on the individual course pages.

Disclaimer: I take guest lectures in Great Lakes Institute of Management, but that has not affected any of the views presented in the article. These views are completely ours, which we have formulated by our own research and interaction with people undergoing these courses.

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