Surely the majority of readers of this article are not acquainted with the name of Knowledge Academy. It happens to be an initiative of Lalbhai group in the private education space in the Indian state of Gujarat and has introduced a programme on Power MBA at its campus. Together with an initial batch of 60 students, Power MBA combines MBA degree from UGC recognized University and professional qualification of certified financial planner.

The two year Power MBA Course will be offered for a fee of Rs 1.5 lakh per annum, while a degree of Karnataka State Open University will be conferred to the students.

"The program assures the student the best of both worlds; MBA degree plus global certification in the fastest growing profession of financial planning. In today\'s competitive world the general qualification like an MBA is not going to be a great differentiator when competing for career opportunities with thousands of other MBA graduates. In such a situation specialised knowledge and skills for which there is growing demand from the industry is going to enhance students\' employment opportunities. As there is shortage of skilled professionals in the field of financial planning, a Power MBA program offered by Knowledge Academy appears to be superior to a generic MBA pursued by so many students," said Milan Shah, director, Knowledge Academy.

Citing an Ernst & Young report, Shah said that there is a deficiency of in the region of 80 per cent of wealth managers in India. "Moreover, at least one lakh financial planners are required while only 1,500 financial planners pass out every year. In these cases, programmes like Power MBA is what will equip aspirants to stand out in the field of financial planning," he added.

Speaking at the launch of the programme, Sanjay Lalbhai, mentor of Knowledge Academy said, "Different growth phases of economy create the requirement of newer skill sets. Unfortunately the traditional education system is not nimble enough to meet with such emerging requirement in quick time. In this scenario Knowledge Academy seeks to create alternative education model, a model which does not focus only on awarding degree but is also committed to building career of the students."