In this edition of Eduleader Focus, Professor Sourabh D. Kulkarni talks about the USPs of the FORE School of Management, how management education has evolved over the years, the emerging skills and competencies that empower management graduates for the future, and more. 

Prof. Kulkarni is an assistant professor in Operations Management & Decision Sciences and chairperson-admissions at the FORE School of Management, New Delhi. A Fellow in Industrial Engineering from IIM Mumbai, he also holds an MTech in Industrial Engineering from VIT Pune and a B.E. in Production Engineering from Shivaji University, Kolhapur. With over seven years of academic and industry experience, he has worked extensively on productivity enhancement through Lean-TPM-TOC integration in Indian auto-ancillary firms. 

His research has been published in leading international journals such as IJLM, IJPR, BPMJ, and OPSEARCH, and he serves as associate editor for JGBC (Springer) and Abhigyan (Sage). His teaching and research interests include manufacturing strategy, lean and digital manufacturing, work-system design, and business competitiveness.

How does FORE School of Management differentiate itself from other premier B-schools in India in terms of curriculum innovation, faculty expertise, and industry integration?

At FORE School of Management, our key differentiator is our agility and resilience in responding to the evolving business landscape. This isn’t just about updating our curriculum; it’s about anticipating the future. We have pioneered full-time specialised PGDM programmes in core business management, Financial Management, International Business, and Big Data Analytics to build deep, specialized expertise. Our students today are immersed in the cutting-edge emerging areas like circularity, AI, FinTech, and sustainable business practices, ensuring they are not just prepared for their first job, but are poised to be leaders in the industries of tomorrow. This is brought to life by our distinguished faculty, who contribute a unique combination of industry experience and academic knowledge, connecting theory to real-world application. Crucially, this is supercharged by our unmatched locations in the heart of New Delhi and Gurugram.

Both of our campuses give us direct access to the corporate engine of the NCR. This isn’t a minor detail; it’s the cornerstone of our industry integration. It allows senior industry leaders to be physically on our campuses every year, which enables, our students work on live projects, internships with leading companies as a standard part of their coursework. So, by seamlessly blending a future-ready curriculum, practitioner-led faculty, and deep industry immersion enabled by our locations, we create a powerful learning synergy. The result is what the industry wants: compassionate and innovative leaders who are ready to deliver impact from day one. 

The CAT remains one of the most competitive exams for MBA aspirants. What is the typical CAT percentile cut-off for FORE, and how do you balance it with evaluating a candidate’s overall profile?

That’s a question on every aspirant’s mind, and I appreciate the opportunity to bring some clarity. We understand the immense hard work that goes into an exam like the CAT. For our shortlisting process, while there is no absolute, fixed cut-off, we’ve typically seen that candidates who are called for our interview process have a CAT percentile in the range of 85 to 90 or higher. We also, of course, give equal weightage to other competitive exams like the XAT and GMAT. However, and this is crucial, that score is really just the first filter. It demonstrates academic aptitude, but it doesn’t tell us the whole story. The real evaluation—what we at FORE truly care about—begins after that.

We scout for ‘X- factored profile’ through our rigorous admission process. Our admissions process is designed to identify future leaders, not just high test-scorers. We evaluate candidates on a multi-faceted basis including- academic consistency, Quality of work experience, extra and co-curricular skill sets, diversity of thought. In the admissions rounds, we’re assessing clarity of thought, communication skills, business awareness, and a clear vision for their career. We want to understand their story, their motivations, and their potential to contribute to the FORE community.

So, to summarise, while a strong CAT percentile can open the door for a candidate, it’s their well-rounded profile, their demonstrated potential, and their performance during the interview process that truly earns them a place in our PGDM programme. We are building a class of future leaders, and that requires a much deeper evaluation than a single exam score. 

Do you believe CAT scores alone are a reliable measure of a student’s management potential, or should other factors like academic record, work experience, and extracurriculars hold equal weightage?

That’s a fundamental question in management education. My straightforward answer is no, we do not believe CAT scores alone are a reliable measure of a student’s true management potential. CAT scores provide an objective measurement of a student’s quantitative, logical and linguistic capacity. In a way, they are an excellent indicator of analytical ability and academic diligence, which is why they remain an important component of our evaluation.

But to rely on them alone would be a mistake. I often use an analogy: a CAT score is like a snapshot, whereas we are interested in viewing the entire film. The snapshot might show a moment of brilliance, but the academic record tells us the story of their consistency and discipline. Their work experience shows us their character, professional maturity, and ability to navigate real-world ambiguity. And their extracurriculars—whether it’s leading a college club or volunteering for a cause—reveal the leadership, teamwork, and time management skills that no exam can ever measure. Ultimately, management is a complex, human endeavor. To identify individuals who will become the compassionate and innovative leaders of tomorrow, our selection process must be equally nuanced and holistic.

What emerging skills and competencies do you believe management graduates must possess to stay future-ready, and how is FORE embedding them into its programmes?

That is the central mission of modern management education. At FORE, we believe the future-ready leader is built on a tripod of core competencies- First, fluency in technology and data is the new foundation. This is why we have integrated tech literacy across our curriculum. The most prominent example is our full PGDM in Big Data Analytics, but it extends to all students through core modules in data analytics, AI, and FinTech. Second, an agile and adaptive mindset. The world is too complex for simple textbook answers. We forge this mindset through our pedagogy. Our curriculum has a strong emphasis on problem-based learning, business simulations, and case studies which push students to navigate complex, real-world scenarios. This is further reinforced by our deep industry immersion through live projects and corporate mentorships, bridging the gap between theory and practical application. And third, a compass of responsible and ethical leadership. To prepare students for the ethical dimensions of decision-making, we have integrated modules on global business strategy, sustainability, and responsible leadership directly into our core curriculum.

By combining these three pillars—technical depth, an agile mindset, and an ethical compass—FORE ensures that our graduates are agile, empathic, and globally-minded. They are equipped not just with skills, but with the wisdom to create the businesses of tomorrow.

How is FORE fostering global exposure for its students through international partnerships, exchange programmes, or industry collaborations?

In today’s deeply interconnected economy, a purely domestic business education is simply incomplete. At FORE, we are committed to ensuring our students develop a truly global mindset, and we achieve this through a multi-pronged strategy that combines international exposure with a globally-focused curriculum.

The cornerstone of our approach is the compulsory International Immersion Programme for students across our PGDM programs. This is an intensive, week-long credit program at one of our prestigious international partner universities, such as the Frankfurt school of Finance and Management, Frankfurt, Germany, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore, Rennes School of Business in France and Nanyang Business School in Singapore.

During this immersion, our students don’t just travel; they attend workshops on contemporary global business issues, visit the headquarters of multinational corporations, and engage directly with international faculty and students. The objective is to understand firsthand the cultural and economic nuances of doing business on a global scale.

For students who want an even deeper, more immersive experience, we offer full-semester student exchange programmes. This allows a select group of students to spend an entire term studying at one of our partner institutions across Europe or Asia. They come back with not just academic credits, but an invaluable understanding of a different culture and business environment.

Beyond these mobility programs, our commitment is structurally embedded in our academics. Our PGDM in International Business (IB) is one of our flagship programmes, designed from the ground up to train future global managers. Students across all our programs have the option to pursue a dual specialisation in International Business.  

Furthermore, a global perspective is woven throughout our entire curriculum via international case studies, guest lectures from global CXOs, and regular interactions with international faculty. So, through this layered approach—a foundational immersion for all, a deep-dive exchange for the ambitious, and a curriculum that is inherently global—we ensure that every FORE graduate is equipped to think, operate, and lead not just in the Indian market, but on the world stage.

How is technology—such as AI, data analytics, and simulation-based learning—being integrated into FORE’s pedagogy to keep pace with industry demands?

At FORE, technology is not just an add-on subject; it’s an essential tool that we use to transform the entire learning experience. Our approach is to integrate technology at three levels: foundational, applied, and experiential.

First, the foundation is data analytics. Our state-of-the-art data analytics and business intelligence labs provide students with hands-on experience with industry-relevant platforms and tools like Tableau and Python. While our PGDM in Big Data Analytics offers deep specialisation, these foundational skills are embedded across all our programmes. Second, we focus on the application of AI and Machine Learning in core business functions like marketing, finance, and supply chain management. For example, our marketing students use AI-powered tools for case analysis and sentiment tracking, while finance students build and test machine learning models for risk assessment. It’s about the strategic use of technology. Finally, we make learning experiential through simulation-based learning. These are essentially ‘flight simulators for business leaders.’ They allow students to experience complex, real-world business challenges—like a product launch or a supply chain crisis—in a controlled environment. It is a powerful pedagogy where they can experiment, fail, and learn without real-world consequences.

By integrating technology this deeply into how we teach, we ensure our graduates don’t just know the theory. They have the practical, hands-on experience of having used these tools to solve real problems. They are empowered to be leaders in the tech-driven business world of the future.

What is your long-term vision for FORE School of Management, and what landmark initiatives can we expect in the coming years?

Our long-term vision is to establish FORE as a global knowledge hub, recognised not only for academic excellence but for developing ethical and socially responsible leaders who positively shape society. To bring this vision to life, our strategy is built on three core pillars for the coming years:

First, we are strengthening our cutting-edge Centres of Excellence in the critical areas of sustainable business, digital transformation, and entrepreneurship. These will serve as hubs for pioneering research and deep industry collaboration.

Second, we are significantly enhancing our innovation and incubation ecosystem. Our goal is to provide a seamless pathway for our students to move from ideas to impact, empowering them to become the next generation of entrepreneurs.

And third, we are deepening our global and digital reach. This involves forging strategic alliances with top international universities for joint research, pursuing prestigious International accreditations such as AACSB and AMBA, and expanding our use of AI-powered platforms to create highly personalised, world-class learning experiences.

Underpinning all of this is our unwavering commitment to social responsibility, which we bring to life through community engagement, sustainability initiatives, and field immersion programmes. Ultimately, we are building an institution that creates not just skilled managers, but purpose-driven thought leaders.