The Bharathiyar University was founded during the times of M.G. Ramachandran, at the foothills of Marudamalai. The University was a tribute to the educational spirit of the city. The University decided to launch its ‘School of Excellence’ for Management Studies, named the ‘Bharathiyar School of Management and Entrepreneur Development,’ or B.S.M.E.D.

Eminent academician M.N.V. Nair was at the helm of affairs for some years. He brought in several accomplished teachers from leading institutions for the students of the early batches. These students are now part of the crème-de-la-crème of the Indian business scenario.

Professor Ganesan succeeded M.N.V. Nair, and he continued the golden tradition of the department. It was during his times that Dr. R.N. Swami, the first Ph. D. in taxation law in India, was brought in as a visiting faculty member of BSMED. Prof. K. Ramakrishnan was another wonderful teacher who continues to evoke admiration from the alumni. He was an excellent communicator and used to be really innovative with the students. Statistician Koteeswaran was yet another great teacher, like Prof. R. Shanmugham, who taught Management Finance. One Prof. Bharat from the USA came in as a visiting member for a year. His classes on Quantitative Methods and Operations Research are still being talked about. Prof. Ranganathan of IIM gave an occasional guest lecture on Economics, and the wonderful Prof. Thirumalaiarasan from Trichy was famous for his weekend classes on Personnel Management and Industrial Relations.

The students who belonged to the late 1980s batches were truly fortunate to have learned from the best. The students were undefeatable! They won prizes and accolades at several inter-collegiate events. Those were times when Tamil Nadu had only a small number of business schools and the students used to know each other very well.

In 1990, the students of BSMED began their own inter collegiate event, ‘ENTERPRISE.’ The events were creatively called ‘Savoufaire,’ ‘Rollercoaster,’ etc. BSMED also had its own student-funded magazine library, and a small mutual fund called ‘Akshaya.’ The fund turned out to be a huge success and declared a very healthy dividend during its very first year.

The camaraderie among the students was really strong, and the group study sessions yielded good results. The students used to board buses from Aarvee Hotels for the various inter-college competitions in Trichy, Chennai, and Pondicherry.

The selection process for BSMED admission consisted of preliminary entrance exams. Selected candidates were asked to take part in the interviews and group discussions. Only the best were granted admission. The best outgoing student was given cash prize along with a medal. 50 percent of the marks were internally granted, based on attendance, participation, and performance, and the remaining 50 percent was based on semester exam scores.

‘A’ grade was granted to the top 10 percent of the students, while ‘D’ grade was reserved for the bottom 10 percent. If a student found himself in the last 10 percent the class in more than three papers at the end of the course, he had to rewrite the exams to improve the grades in order to get their programme completion certificate.

It was fun and exciting to do the MBA from BSMED, for one was sure to not only have a good time but also do well in life.