A passage to India

The 'India Initiative' is high on the agenda of global business schools, which are vying for a slice of the executive education pie.

Schools like the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth, and Singapore Management University plan to provide executive education to Indian corporate houses while, the other research-oriented schools like the London Business School, Stanford University and UCLA Anderson School of Management are in the process of setting up an India centre towards the same end.

For instance, the Tata Group signed an MOU with the Singapore Management University which covers internships, research and executive education.

The Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth, which opened an India centre in January this year is in talks with some big Indian corporate houses to deliver executive programmes.

"We are exploring a chance to work with major commercial entreprises, particularly ones that tend to be multinational in their outlook. We have a broad-based international programme called 'Global Leadership 2020', which has five international companies "" Rolls Royce, John Deere and company, Colgate-Palmolive, British Telecom Group and Corning Incorporated "" in its consortium and we are bringing that programme to India next year with a view that Indian companies too would form a part of the consortium," says Professor Colin Blaydon, director of Tuck's Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship.

Tuck will conduct 'Global Leadership 2020', a three-module programme, in Chennai in January 2007, where senior business executives from the afore mentioned international companies will participate in the programme and study "" the Indian multinationals; visits local companies and villages; their technology and global strategy breakthrough; government's role in economic process; managing creativity and innovation and multinational strategy for India.

The programme aims at educating senior, fast-track directors and managers who would assume global leadership responsibilities. Tuck will hold the second module of the programme in Chennai and the third module Shanghai, China.

There are two things that brings these schools to India "" importance of the growing economy market and a research need. Professor Blaydon says, "Around the world today, capital is flowing in to India and China where there is growth and potential for growth. So, if any international business school is not involved in India, they are simply not participating in the major change and development going forward in business world internationally. No school can afford to ignore it. Also there is a need to educate senior managers who are operating in this particular environment."

The charges of these schools varies as its based on the need of the company. Tuck for example charges anywhere between Rs 11-15 lakh per participant for a three-week programme.

Other schools on an average charge anywhere between Rs 9-15 lakh per participant. Such tie-ups for executive education not only help the companies but also the b-schools in placing themselves well in India. These schools are also able to spread a word about themselves to the aspiring management graduates who wish to pursue a full-time MBA on their soil.