University of Petroleum and Energy Studies MBA Review By Narendra Kumar

UPES was definitely my last option for an MBA as the UPES School of Business is nowhere near the top MBA colleges. That doesn’t mean it’s at the bottom but it is the best for engineering domains not for MBA. It has 11 colleges on one campus which is quite beautiful. Based on all the factors I would term University of Petroleum and Energy Studies an average as evaluation at PG level is mostly done on the placements it can provide. I may sound biased that rating the institute on one parameter but the reason why most students enroll for PG is placements. If one is dedicated then even an MBA degree from UPES University will take you places. The past degree also helps as many companies do need students with an engineering background to understand the technical background as well. The fees of the University is quite high and therefore many students are offered scholarship programs from the University. A deserving student can have a lot of help and the ones who can afford are also looted well because seriously the fees is quite high. Students of all domains are kept busy throughout the year as the student body organizes the events at the University.

MBA education was relevant and modern and the University is renowned for capturing the latest trends in their studies. It is different from many other Universities as many of my colleague’s colleges and universities operated differently. The course of MBA was fit for modern-day industry and practical which constituted the large chunk in the studies were also mostly related to industrial projects and their case studies assignments is what we had to do for all 4 semesters. There were a few specializations offered by the University in MBA and finance which wasn’t my subject but since the best placements were for finance I also opted for specialization in finance.

The faculty were easygoing and always listened to the problems that most of us had because maximum students were from an engineering background. There were faculty who did their best and motivated us fully. They never mugged up things among the students and also there was no biasedness. They also backed our ideas and it helped us a great deal. Workshops were organized but of medium level as the University is still not that high standard in MBA. The faculty did a great job and never failed in whatever was expected out of them.

UPES placement record is quite strong of the University as enormous students get placed every year by the University. Employment prospect is what brought me to this University and companies like Ambuja Cement, ONGC, and Ashok Leyland were the top recruiters. These are all-time favorites of the University while we had some new recruiters during our batch in OYO, Dell, and ITC among others. I was not disappointed with the way placements happened as the package I was offered after taking the chance from a mediocre MBA college was not bad. It was nearly double of what I was offered after my engineering and I will say it was worth it. The University will help you get the placements but later on it’s the skills that you have will help you survive.

The University has around 16 hostels including both boys and girls inside the campus and nearly 1500 students stay in the residential facility of the University. For every domain, there was a separate hostel and that was a nice idea as MBA students staying with lawyers or other domains wouldn’t have been ideal. UPES hostel rooms were good and spacious. Again the toxic part was here as well as the students did whatever they wanted to and even girls were allowed inside the boy’s hostel till 8 pm. The food and all given was also quite good and it would have been nicer if the hostel had ACs and heaters because winters are quite cold in this part of the world.

UPES campus has cemented roads with trees planted all over and mountains at the back made the campus so picturesque. The classrooms were designed by taking inspiration from IIMs as the classrooms were more or less the same as that of IIM Ahmedabad. The infirmary was there at the campus and there was no charge for visiting the same as it was all-inclusive in the fees. The computing center had over 100 latest Dell PCs. Every domain had its own workshops and labs and in all, they were nearly 50 for sure. Sports is an essential part of almost all the Universities in Dehradun and I still wonder why Dehradun hasn’t produced athletes of international caliber. There was a nice green sports ground and volleyball and basketball courts as well. There’s a food court that not only serves a variety of dishes but they have few counters that serve only healthy dishes. However, the best thing about the entire campus was its residential hostel.

To be honest, the students who fail to get admission anywhere else join the University’s School of Business. Most of the students were from technical backgrounds and therefore we always had a common page to discuss. The fests and events were every month thing and sporting events were held twice a year as first it was between the college and then the college selectors used to select the best team out of that and sent that for inter-state competitions. The life at the campus was cool and it’s still fresh in my brain.