Stanford, IIM B' lore collaborate on exchange program

New Delhi : January 15, 2007"� Stanford University's Graduate School of Business has teamed with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore to launch the Stanford-IIMB Exchange Program, to be offered starting next academic year to 16 graduate business students at each institution.

"International student exchanges such as this Stanford-IIMB program will contribute to the expanded global offerings in the new curriculum we will put in place in fall of 2007," said Dan Rudolph, Senior Associate Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, at a press conference in Mumbai today. "Beginning with the next incoming class, every MBA student at Stanford will be required to participate in an international experience such as a global study trip, overseas service-learning trip, or international internship."

Earlier in the day, Rudolph introduced a two-day multidisciplinary executive education program jointly sponsored by the schools of Business and Engineering at Stanford. This first-of-its-kind Stanford Executive Education Program has drawn nearly 200 business leaders, corporate leaders, Stanford alumni, and distinguished guests to the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel.

"In recognition of the growing importance of managing across cultures in a global economy, this initiative will provide for unique cross-cultural learning of business and management in the U.S. and India," said V. "Seenu" Srinivasan, the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and one of the architects of the program.

Srinivasan and G. Shainesh, associate professor of marketing at IIMB and the program's co-architect, signed the memorandum of understanding in a January 5 ceremony in Bangalore. Additional signatories are Prakash G. Apte, director of IIMB, and John Roberts, senior associate dean for academic affairs at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

"We expect this program of hosting and exchange to foster strong, lifelong relationships between future business leaders throughout India, America, and the world," said Shainesh.

"We are pleased to be the first postgraduate institution in India to partner with Stanford Business School in an academic program within its MBA curriculum," said Apte, who is also a professor of economics and social science. "We have much in common, including our location in the technology and entrepreneurship centers of our respective countries. Also, we share an underlying belief that world-class business leaders are not mass-produced, but nurtured and developed in strategically small teams and classes." IIMB and Stanford Business School each year admit approximately 240 and 375 MBA students, respectively.

In the program's inaugural year, 16 students from each school will work together in eight small teams of four students, two from each school. In subsequent years, the program will expand to 20 students from each institution. In addition to administering the program, Professors Srinivasan and Shainesh will oversee the academic fulfillment of the 2-unit course.

In a sequential two-way exchange, Stanford Business students will go to IIMB for a period of one week (September 16-22, 2007), and IIMB students will visit Stanford Business School for one week (December 2-8, 2007).

Exchange visits will be organized along three core aspects: academics, business, and social activities. Components of the program are expected to include visits to locally based companies, readings, presentations, classroom interaction, and lectures delivered by faculty, business professionals, and possibly public-sector leaders. The program will conclude with student presentations during the IIMB students' visit to Stanford.

This represents the second international student exchange program for the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In the 2005-2006 academic year, the Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program was launched in partnership with the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

About Stanford Graduate School of Business

In addition to students admitted to the full-time two-year MBA Program, the Stanford Graduate School of Business enrolls approximately 25 new candidates each year in the PhD Program, 56 mid-career executives in the one-year Stanford Sloan Master's Program, and more than 2,700 participants in executive education programs designed to enhance executives' professional capabilities. The faculty, which includes three Nobel laureates, numbers approximately 140 men and women, including visiting professors. For more information, visit www.gsb.stanford.edu.

About Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

IIMB already has a vibrant student exchange program with schools in North America, Europe, and Asia. The exchange program is very popular with the students, with more than half taking part. IIMB's core philosophy of "Excellence Through Partnership" has played a crucial role in its success as one of the most sought-after educational institutes in India.

This has been achieved through the conscious establishment of long-term relationships with academia, industry, and government. The collaboration with Stanford is another step in this direction. For more information, visit www.iimb.ernet.in.