ITM Business School
Imagine learning business without ever stepping into the real business world. That is exactly the gap modern B-Schools are racing to close. In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, management education is no longer limited to classrooms and textbooks. With AI, technology, globalization, and changing industry expectations reshaping careers, B-Schools face intense competition to develop professionals who are not only academically strong but also skilled, adaptable, ethical, and industry-ready. Institutions that successfully bridge the gap between theory and real-world business practice are increasingly setting themselves apart.
Standing strong in this competitive landscape is ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai, under ITM Skills University (ISU), led by Mr. Nitin V Putcha, Executive President, and Dr. Lakshmi Mohan, Pro Vice Chancellor, ITM Skills University and Director, ITM Business School. Founded in 1991, ITM has built a 35-year legacy and nurtured more than 26,000 graduates. Its journey has evolved from an AICTE-approved PGDM institution to a State Private Skills University in 2023, pioneering experiential education through its iConnect framework. With more than 700 industry partnerships and 400+ active recruiters, the institution continues to strengthen its position in management education.
At the heart of its approach is a “Modern World Curriculum Crafted by Industry,” developed with industry practitioners and continuously refined through expert, alumni, and academic feedback. Students gain practical exposure through 5-month industry internships, NGO immersions, capstone projects, business simulation labs, live projects, industry certifications, AI tools, and global immersion programs. From Marketing and Finance to FinTech, Business Analytics, Digital Marketing, Applied AI, and E-Commerce, its programs are designed to align learning with evolving business needs while fostering leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, and ethical values.
In the spotlight are Mr. Nitin V Putcha, Executive President, and Dr. Lakshmi Mohan, Pro Vice Chancellor, ISU and Director, ITM Business School, featured in our prestigious “India’s Most Trusted B-Schools from Mumbai and Pune Delivering Excellence in Management Education and Leadership Development – 2026” edition. Read on to discover their insights, leadership perspectives, and valuable lessons on building future-ready business leaders.
Prime Insights: Can you introduce your institution and share its vision for shaping future business leaders?
ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai (under ITM Skills University), leverages a 35-year legacy and 26000+ graduates to deliver world-class skill education. Our vision focuses on creating conceptually strong, ethical, industry-ready professionals equipped with leadership attributes and humility to contribute effectively to nation-building and a technology-driven global industry.
Prime Insights: What inspired the establishment of your B-School, and how has your journey evolved in the field of management education?
Founded in 1991, ITM was inspired by the need for value-focused education that produces life-changing outcomes. The journey evolved from offering an AICTE-approved PGDM, transitioning into a State Private Skills University in 2023, pioneering the “iConnect” experiential learning framework and multidisciplinary pedagogical approaches.
Prime Insights: What makes your institution one of the most trusted B-Schools in Mumbai and Pune?
Trust is earned through the Institute’s consistent excellence and prestigious rankings. Renowned for academic distinction, we are supported by a thriving global alumni network of over 26,000 professionals. Our enduring industry partnerships reinforce our reputation for credibility and relevance. The accreditation and unwavering commitment to student success demonstrate our adherence to the highest standards of educational excellence.
Prime Insights: How do you ensure a curriculum that aligns with evolving industry demands and global business trends?
We utilize a “Modern World Curriculum Crafted by Industry,” co-created with industry practitioners rather than designed in isolation by faculty. Our Board of Studies regularly redesigns programs based on feedback from industry experts, alumni, and established academic peers to ensure alignment with emerging business and technological trends.
Prime Insights: What management programs and specializations do you offer to prepare students for diverse career opportunities?
We offer the MBA iConnect with eleven industry-preferred specializations, ranging from mainstream disciplines such as Marketing, Finance, Human Resource Management, and Operations & Supply Chain Management to new-age domains such as FinTech, Financial Markets, Business Analytics, International Business, Digital Marketing & Media Management, Applied AI, and Retail Management & E-Commerce.
Prime Insights: How do you integrate experiential learning, case studies, internships, and industry projects into your academic framework?
Experiential learning is institutionalized through mandatory 5-month industry internships, 2-week NGO immersions, and capstone projects, spread across semesters. We utilize Business Simulation Labs and live projects in every specialization to bridge the gap between theory and real-world professional practice.
Prime Insights: What role do technology, AI, digital learning platforms, and business analytics play in your teaching methodology?
ITM is a technology-driven campus, embedding 46 AI tools across the student lifecycle, including LISA AI for career coaching and GitHub Copilot for technical mastery. Students gain hands-on proficiency in industry-standard analytics platforms such as SAP, Tableau, Power BI, and Google Analytics. The ITM Social Media Lab opens it’s doors for students with creative writing, photography, video making, designing, event planning etc which help them to be versatile leaders in the competitive market.
Prime Insights: How do you foster leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, and critical thinking among your students?
Our Leadership Lab employs “Theory U” and Bohmian Dialogue to build student consciousness and a growth mindset. Entrepreneurship is fostered through an on-campus incubator with a `1 crore seed fund, startup bootcamps, and strategic partnerships with the Wadhwani Foundation.
Prime Insights: Can you share a success story or milestone that reflects your institution’s impact on students and the corporate world?
At ITM, every year, over 700 students are sensitized to the weaker sections of society through NGO projects. More than 3,000 ventures have been established by our students with the support of Entrepreneurship Cell. Another significant milestone is our training of corporate professionals at Raymond. We have also trained 250,000 candidates to build successful careers in banks like Kotak, Axis and ICICI to name a few. Besides this,our success stories are reflected in our alumni, who hold senior positions in renowned companies.
Prime Insights: How do you strengthen industry-academia collaborations to enhance placements, internships, and corporate exposure?
We have more than 700 industry partnerships and 400+ active recruiters. Collaborations are strengthened through co-teaching by industry experts, “Gyani Lab” workshops led by senior professionals from various organizations, and our monthly CEO Talk Series, which bring real-world insights directly to campus and gives us mileage in the market. We have signed MOUs with various industry associations and corporate bodies. Field projects and industrial visits further strengthen our collaboration with the corporate world. Industry professionals are members of our Board of Studies and Governing Bodies.
Prime Insights: What initiatives do you undertake for faculty development, research, and academic excellence?
Our faculty members undergo continuous development in AI-enabled teaching and Outcome-Based Education. Research excellence is driven by the Nethra Research Cell, resulting in student and faculty research papers and an institutional h-index in prestigious databases such as Scopus and Web of Science. Academic excellence is fostered through Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs), Learning Journey sessions, where knowledge sharing is the focus, and Rapid Research sessions, where hand holding for conducting research is the key.
Prime Insights: How do you support students in developing soft skills, global perspectives, and ethical leadership?
The Corporate Performance Department has an army of soft skills trainers who provide over 300 hours of training in communication, professional development, and personal development. Ethical leadership is developed through mandatory NGO internships with 65+ partners, while global perspectives are fostered through immersion programs in Dubai, Singapore, and Europe. Our Leadership Lab is designed to develop students’ ethical leadership skills.
Prime Insights: What challenges do business schools face in preparing future-ready professionals, and how is your institution addressing them?
B-Schools struggle with the “theory-to-practice” gap. ITM addresses this by mandating a 5-month internship and embedding 35+ industry certifications from global leaders like Google, Meta, KPMG, and EY into the curriculum. This ensures that graduates possess verifiable technical competencies aligned with industry requirements. Having AI knowledge makes them competitive and future-ready corporate professionals. In an era driven by instant gratification, ITM counters this challenge through structured student support systems, including our Leadership Lab, dedicated counseling sessions, and personalized continuous mentoring for students.
Prime Insights: What are your future plans for academic innovation, international collaborations, infrastructure development, and expanding your impact by 2028 and beyond?
Through our newly established Committee for Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Tools, we are set to revolutionize our educational approach by 2028. By constructing cutting-edge learning laboratories and expanding our global network of international collaborations, we are creating dynamic new pathways for student success. We aspire to transform education by scaling access to education, ensuring lifelong employability, and establishing ourselves as a pillar of social transformation.
Prime Insights: What advice would you give to aspiring management students when choosing the right B-School for their career aspirations?
Aspiring students should choose a B-School that focuses on a “skills-first” philosophy over rote knowledge. Programs offering deep industry immersion, long-duration internships, and integrated professional certifications should be the priority, as they ensure graduates become competent, globally aware professionals ready for high-impact careers.
We believe in nurturing Healthy minds, Happy Hearts and Purposeful lives on the campus. The Wellness centre at ITM serves as a dedicated space where students, staff and faculty members can take a pause from their busy schedule, reconnect with themselves and rejuvenate through meditation, mindfulness, creative therapies and wellness activities.
