In a move to combat the shortage of skilled manpower and develop sound managerial skills amongst the young professionals in the Tourism sector, SVKM’s NMIMS University has signed an Agreement today with Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. - Centre of Learning for launch of one year full-time Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (Tourism) today.

NMIMS University will be providing all the academic inputs to the participants of the Diploma programme, whereas Thomas Cook (India) Limited will be providing the necessary industry exposure to all the participants of this course through guest lectures, workshops etc. Students will also be going through a three month internship with Thomas Cook (India) to get the necessary industry exposure.

Dr. N. M. Kondap, Vice Chancellor of SVKM’s NMIMS University, said that the unique programme is a blend of concept and application. The programme will certainly address issues like quality, services, knowledge enhancement and skill development with specific reference to Tourism.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Prasanth Nair, President and Head of HR, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. said, “It gives us immense pleasure in partnering with NMIMS to develop the Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management - Tourism. The course which is open for all will prove as a solution to the acute talent shortage in the travel industry as well as address the need of sharpening the managerial skills of the many professionals within the tourism industry.”

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About SVKM’s NMIMS University

Established in 1981, as a Management Institute, NMIMS has now transformed itself into a University, with 8 Schools, over 150 full-time faculty members, 42000 books and over 2500 students enrolling every year, transforming from an Institute of single management faculty to a University with many faculty areas. The University is also transforming from a Teaching Institute to Research-Consultancy-Training & Teaching Institute.

NMIMS has taken many new academic initiatives under various Schools like

• School of business Management
• Mukesh Patel School of technology Management & Engineering
• School of Pharmacy & Technology Management
• Balwant Sheth School of Architecture
• School of Commerce
• School of Science
• School of Distance Learning
• Institute of Intellectual Property Studies

Number of innovative Graduate, Post Graduate and Doctorate level programs, meeting the Industry/Business requirement under each school.

Achievements:

• Golden Pecock Award for innovation 2006 & 2007
• BMA Best Management Institute of the Year Award 2004-05 & 2006-07
• BMA Best teacher of Management of the Year Award 2004-05 & 2005-06
• Dr. J J Irani Award for Best Management Institute 2005
• Gurukuljyoti Award for Excellence in Education 2006
• The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has accredited an ‘A’ grade with a score between 85-90%.
• Ranked amongst top 10 B-School in Business Today- Nielsen Best B-School Survey 2007 and Outlook-C fore Best B-School Survey 2007
• Ranked amongst Super League B-School in AIMA-Indian Management Best B-School Survey 2007.

NMIMS also be launching Off-Campus Centres at Shirpur, Hyderabad, Bangluru soon.

For further details please visit www.nmims.edu

About Thomas Cook (India) Limited:

Thomas Cook (India) offers a broad spectrum of travel and related services such as package tours, currency exchange and travel insurance as well as hotel and flight reservations. Thomas Cook has been present in India for over 125 years and operates over 160 offices at various locations in the country and has operations in Sri Lanka and Mauritius. It employs close to 2,500 staff and generated income from operations of Rs 2,862 million for twelve months period (Jan 07 – Dec 07). In its initiative to be a ‘One Stop Shop’, the Company offers unique travel products to its customers. During CY07, the Company launched a ‘Thomas Cook Titanium Credit Card’ and a foreign currency Debit Card. It also came up with products designed specially for students traveling abroad for higher studies. The Company was acquired by Dubai Financial Group LLC in 2006. Earlier this month, Thomas Cook Group PLC has agreed to acquire the Company from DFG. Additional information on Thomas Cook (India) Limited is available on the Company website www.thomascook.co.in