New Delhi: Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), India’s premier management school’s Narsee Monjee Aptitude Test (NMAT), the management admissions aptitude test, will soon be computer-based, thus making a transition to a new age digital method, by this month.

For the first-ever computer based NMAT, NMIMS has partnered with Pearson VUE to conduct the exam in 19 cities in India and 11 countries outside India between January 30 and February 8, 2010.

"We executed a smooth online registration process for the NMAT test takers. Candidates were allotted their first choice of city and most of them have been allotted their first preferred date. The NMAT project team is now preparing for the smooth conduct of the admission test that debuts January 30," said Dr. Rajan Saxena, Vice Chancellor, NMIMS.

A key priority for the NMAT project team is to make the process convenient for the test taker.

One of the added benefits of going to a Computer Based Test (CBT) mode was the flexibility to reschedule a test appointment. The team planned for the rescheduling window in the second week of January.

Hundreds of test takers availed of this opportunity to suit their convenience.

The NMAT also offered a planned late registration window for candidates who could not apply during the regular registration window. Apart from that, there is enough buffer capacity during the test period for any contingency so that the test takers can focus on their preparation.

"The NMAT website has an orientation video and an interactive demo to familiarize test takers on how to navigate through the test. The NMAT-2010 user interface has been designed for ease of navigation and overall user friendliness," said an official press release from the institute.

Dispelling the myth that the test dates put candidates at an advantage or disadvantage, Dr. Saxena said, "There is no advantage to candidates who may be appearing for the NMAT at a later date. This is because each session has its own question paper and it should not make any difference whether a candidate tests earlier or later."

NMIMS and Pearson VUE will bring together their experience and respective strengths to select the most suitable candidates for entry into NMIMS.

The test will be held in Chandigarh, Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Allahabad, Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Kolkata and Patna.

The NMAT-2010 will also be offered at the following international locations:

Kuwait: Sharq; Saudi Arabia: Dammam, Eastern Province; Qatar: Doha
South Africa: Cape Town, Midrand; United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai
Australia: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney; Bangladesh: Dhaka
Malaysia: Petaling Jaya, Selangor; Nepal: Lalitpur; Singapore: Singapore
Sri Lanka: Colombo

The institute is also coming up with another campus in Bangalore, largely focusing on executive management education. NMIMS has recently acquired land in Chandigarh and soon will establish a campus in north India as well.