Graphology Plays A Role In India’s Top Ranked SIBM Pune MBA Admissions Process

Pune: Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (Pune) has been ranked as one among the top 14 Institutions of India in Business and Management Studies and within top 500 in the world as per QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic almost all B Schools are conducting the admission process online. Symbiosis Institute of Business Management Pune (SIBM Pune) completed its admission process – The Group Exercise Personal Interview and Written Ability Test (GEPIWAT process) for its MBA, MBA (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) and MBA (Leadership & Strategy) using the online mode. 

Nearly one hundred thousand students wrote the Symbiosis National Aptitude (SNAP) a national level competitive exam from which around 4000 students were shortlisted for the next step of the admissions process by SIBM Pune. 

It is not easy to evaluate the candidate for all aspects using the online mode of evaluation. To ensure that the selection process is robust, SIBM Pune used graphology to get some insights about the aspirants which gave a few insights to the panelists who interviewed the candidates. Graphology or handwriting analysis, as it is otherwise called, is the study of an individual’s handwriting sample done in order to make judgments about the individual’s personality traits or his/her tendency to behave in certain ways. Handwriting analysis offers a way to look beneath the surface and determine whether they fit for the job. For example, an energetic, dynamic personality may mask a weak-minded undisciplined individual who has difficulty with problem-solving. 

The icing on the cake is the fact that the analysis was done by a SIBM Pune startup named ECRIVONS founded by Amya Madan. Her start-up specializes in graphology and gives great insights into what handwriting reveals about a person. 

A Chennai based Software Company named Ish Information Systems Pvt. Ltd., helped in graphically displaying the output created by ECRIVONS to the panelist. Ish Information Systems helps academic institutions to leverage technology for true business transformation, scalability, and customer engagement. 

One can create or outsource the task of writing an SOP (Statement of Purpose) or even the objectives and goals are sometimes written by someone else and not the aspirant. The fact remains that handwriting and signatures cannot be easily copied. Hence all the aspirants who appeared for the GEPIWAT process were asked to write a specific set of statements and sign the same. The candidates then scanned and uploaded it in a portal created by Ish Information Systems for this purpose. Thereafter the handwriting was analyzed by ECRIVONS and specific traits about the candidate were created and were shared with the panelists. The specific traits include the aspirant’s ability and inclination to learn new things and enjoy new experiences and traits like being insightful and imaginative and having a wide variety of interests. Also the aspirant’s ability to be organized, methodical, thorough etc. were created. 

Many organizations today use handwriting analysis for hiring middle and top management jobs and SIBM Pune has followed the same and has innovated the admission process by giving vital inputs to the panelist. 

“This is possibly the first time that an Indian B School is taking the input from Graphology in selecting the right students for its management programme”, says Dr Ramakrishnan Raman Director SIBM Pune and Dean Faculty of Management – Symbiosis International (Deemed University).