Diverse and Dynamic: The First-Ever PGP YL Cohort
ISB PGP Young Leaders Programme 2025 has been launched with its very first cohort of 130 students. This 20-month intensive leadership accelerator is specifically designed for recent graduates and early-career professionals, and marks a major milestone in ISB’s mission to groom the next generation of business trailblazers.
The founding class reflects the diversity and inclusivity that ISB strives for. With an average age of just 23 years, this cohort was handpicked through a rigorous and selective process, ensuring only the most promising candidates made the cut.
- 32% of the students are fresh graduates, while others come with less than 2 years of work experience.
- Nearly half of the class comprises women, a significant step towards bridging the gender gap in leadership pipelines.
- Students hail from various academic backgrounds and all major regions of India, making the cohort rich in perspectives and experiences.
This approach supports ISB’s commitment to nurturing well-rounded, globally minded young professionals who are ready to lead across industries.
Generous Scholarships: Empowering Potential
In a strong show of financial support, 36% of the cohort received tuition waivers:
- 37 full tuition waivers
- 9 partial tuition waivers
This level of funding reflects ISB’s intention to make world-class management education more accessible, especially for high-potential students who might otherwise be held back by financial constraints. It’s a step toward enabling equal opportunity in elite business education.
Outstanding Academic Profiles
ISB PGP Young Leaders Programme 2025 cohort has set a high benchmark for academic excellence, as highlighted in the official press release. Their scores speak for themselves:
- 99.1 percentile average in the CAT
- 731 average in the GMAT Classic
- 677 in the GMAT Focus
- 327 in the GRE
These figures, along with exceptional undergraduate track records, signal the academic preparedness and intellectual promise of this pioneering group.
Dean Madan Pillutla on the Vision Behind PGP YL
Professor Madan Pillutla, Dean of ISB, expressed his enthusiasm about launching the programme:
“We are thrilled to welcome the first-ever PGP YL cohort. Graduates and early-career professionals with solid backgrounds in business, technology, and leadership are the target audience for this program. Under the direction of academics and business experts, this group will immerse itself in a leadership accelerator over the course of the following 20 months.”
Dean Pillutla’s statement underscores ISB’s long-standing emphasis on practice-oriented learning, global exposure, and industry-academic collaboration.
ISB Leads Indian B-Schools in Global Rankings
The launch ofI ISB PGP Young Leaders Programme 2025 comes at a time when ISB is riding high in the Financial Times (FT) Global MBA Rankings 2025. ISB was named:
- #1 Management School in India
- #27 in the World (up from #31 in 2024 and #39 in 2023)
- #4 globally for Alumni Network
These rankings affirm ISB’s place in the top echelons of global management education and validate its continuous efforts toward academic excellence, industry relevance, and global visibility.
Indian B-Schools Rise in Global Rankings
While ISB takes the top Indian spot, other prestigious Indian B-schools also made impressive strides in the FT rankings:
- IIM Ahmedabad – Rank 31
- IIM Bangalore – Rank 57
- IIM Calcutta – Rank 61
- IIM Lucknow – Rank 71
- IIM Indore – Rank 69
- IIM Kozhikode – Rank 86 (with debut of its Post Graduate Program in Business Leadership)
The increased representation of Indian institutions—8 schools in the top 100—demonstrates India’s growing influence in the global business education ecosystem.
What’s Next for the ISB PGP Young Leaders Programme 2025 ?
Over the next 20 months, PGP YL students at ISB will engage in:
- Core management training
- Electives tailored to emerging industries
- Industry immersion projects
- Leadership mentoring from both faculty and global industry leaders
This early-entry MBA pathway is positioned to fast-track careers and prepare students for transformative roles in India and abroad.
Conclusion: A Promising Start for a Bold New Programme
The launch of ISB’s PGP YL is not just a new academic offering—it is a strategic initiative to develop young leaders with strong values, global competence, and business agility. With strong academic credentials, robust financial support, and ISB’s world-class faculty and industry connect, the first cohort of PGP YL is already making a mark.
As ISB and other Indian B-schools continue to climb the global ranks, the PGP YL programme is set to become a model for early-career management education in the years to come.
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