By Jeff Finley, Executive Editor of Light + Life Magazine 

Few universities have a 100 percent placement rate for graduates who receive a Master of Business Administration degree, but Immanuel University in Hyderabad, India, does. Since first welcoming students in 2012, Immanuel has become a go-to place for Fortune 500 companies looking to hire employees for their Indian operations.

Along with major corporations, the impressive track record of the university’s Immanuel Business School also attracts attention from Indian news media. The News You Like magazine recently ran an article titled “Immanuel Means Business School” that focuses on the efforts of “visionary leader Bishop Dr. Joab Lohara” and the other “men of integrity and expertise” who “are committed to actualizing the vision of making IBS an academically entrepreneurial B-school and to offer a cutting edge learning experience that has a real world impact in economic and social transformation.”

Immanuel students can choose an MBA in finance, marketing or human resources. Many Immanuel alumni returned to the campus in January to see the members of the university’s fourth graduating class receive their diplomas. After cheering the university’s 45 newest graduates (including both MBA and Bachelor of Theology recipients), they eagerly shared how their MBA degrees have landed them jobs with top companies.

After graduating from Immanuel, N. Bhasker was hired by Tata Consultancy Services, an India-based information technology consulting firm that Forbes magazine rated as one of the “world’s most innovative companies.” He’s currently working on a consulting project with one of the world’s largest banks.

Bhasker first learned about Immanuel from his pastor. When asked what his life would be like if he hadn’t attended the university, he replied, “I don’t want to imagine that.”

Shivaji K. learned about Immanuel through its website while investigating several colleges and universities. He said Immanuel has superior faculty who pay more attention to the students than at other universities, and he has made lasting friendships with classmates. After earning his MBA, he now works as a specialist handling property taxes through Cognizant Technology Solutions.

“With the proper instruction given by the professors, then I gained confidence to get the job,” he said.
Ananth Naidu said he does not think he would have been able to become a tax associate for Ryan LLC without Immanuel’s “world-class education no other college provides.” He explained, “No other college in Hyderabad or even our state sends students to the U.S. as a part of cross-cultural studies.”

Immanuel has partnerships with Greenville University, Roberts Wesleyan College, Seattle Pacific University and Spring Arbor University in the United States. Some Immanuel students are able to study and travel abroad and visit U.S. companies such as a Boeing factory and corporate offices for Amazon and Starbucks.

“I’ve been to Michigan. I’ve been to Seattle. I’ve been to Greenville [Illinois]. I’ve been to many different places and many different companies. I’ve met great people,” said Mercy Martina, a pastor’s daughter who graduated at the top of her Immanuel class two years ago with an MBA in human resources. Before attending Immanuel, she never expected to be able to visit the United States, and the experience has proved valuable in her career. “I’m really thankful and grateful for Immanuel Business School.”

Martina was hired by AGS Health and later joined QNC Consulting. She’s currently taking a break to care for her 4-month-old daughter, but she said the experience and knowledge of her Immanuel education will continue to help her be able to succeed when she returns to her human resources career.

After earning his Immanuel MBA, Pradat Kumar Jena became an operation executive for Hinduja Global Solutions. He is originally from the state of Odisha — a 16-hour train ride from Hyderabad where he now works.

“Whatever I am today is only because of Immanuel Business School,” Jena said. “I was very poor in communication skill, and after coming [to Immanuel], I developed my English communication skills.”
Jena said Immanuel differs from other Indian universities because of the many visiting professors and students from the United States and “the opportunity to talk to them, to hang out with them, to play with them, so that’s how we develop our communication skills, and we share our thoughts and get to know our cultures.”

Although Immanuel hasn’t even been around for a decade, it already has one of the most impressive and spacious campuses in the Hyderabad metropolitan area, which is home to 9 million people. “No college in Hyderabad provides this kind of facility,” Jena said.

Based on the success of Immanuel MBA graduates, you might assume students all come from prominent families with wealth and social prominence. Many of Immanuel’s students, however, attend on scholarships made possible by the Friends of Immanuel University because these students could not otherwise afford higher education.

“I come from a very poor background,” said Immanuel MBA alumnus Sabir Lohara, an internal auditor for Vijay Electricals Ltd., whose father’s mental issues resulted in him growing up in an AIM Asia orphanage in Odisha from elementary school through his undergraduate college education. “By God’s mercy and God’s grace, I joined IBS, and I graduated. Now I’m working for one of the biggest companies.”

He praised the university’s library and the instruction he received.

“I like the faculty, because they’re very close to every student, and they know what every student needs,” he said. “I’m so thankful to Immanuel Business School.”

Along with the MBA and Bachelor of Theology degrees, Immanuel University is expanding its course offerings with new degree programs that include a Master of Arts in Leadership and a Bachelor of Commerce.

Because many of Immanuel’s students are from poor families or marginalized groups, the university’s education would be impossible without the generosity of supporters through the Friends of Immanuel University. Donors can give $30 a month for a partial scholarship or $90 a month for a full scholarship. To support Immanuel students, visit fmfoundation.org and click the GIVE ONLINE tab and then select Donate and “Friends of Immanuel Univ.” Donations may also be sent by mail to FMF Financial, Box 580, Spring Arbor MI 49283.