"The mentorship programme is an unique feature. As per the programme, a group of two-three students would be assigned a mentor. The students can interact with their mentor during the course of their programme," Rajendra S Pawar, chairman, NIIT Ltd and founder, NIIT University, said. Besides, this NIIT University (NU) has also roped in mid-level managers to coach the students. "To make this programme industry-linked, we will also have mid-level managers from the industry whom the students can contact anytime for any kind of help," Pawar added. NU-MBA, as the course is described, will be a two-year fully residential, industry-linked program that will be offered at the University's campus at Neemrana in the NCR.

Even before the course commenced, a group of seven reputed companies, including Biocon, Ernst & Young, Fortis, ICICI Bank, Jubilant Organosys, NIIT Technologies and NIIT Ltd, have already committed placement to all students of the first batch, Pawar added. With the growing needs of the industry for world class managers, the institutes offering MBAs have gone up in the last few years. There are over thousand recognised institutes offering MBA in India, which includes the Institute of Management, IIMs.

However, this kind of mentoring programme is a first of its kind, NIIT University President Rajeev Shorey said. The MBA program consists of 36 courses delivered over six terms, and requires a specialisation in one the six areas offered--Strategy & Leadership, Marketing, Finance, Operations Management, Human Resources and Information Systems. Besides, the NU-MBA also offers students a structured exposure to an emerging economy like China or an African country as a part of its 4-week Immersion Program. Admissions for the MBA program have commenced. At present, NU offers programs from Bachelors to Doctoral levels in areas of emerging Engineering technology and Management. The University admitted its first batch of students in 2009.