By Prashant K. Nanda
New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) Virginia University in the US is set to enter the fast-paced education scene in India with certificate programmes for senior managers of Indian companies – for a steep fee of Rs.200,000 per candidate.
“Whether it’s economy or education, India is a huge market. We are all getting attracted towards India’s fast expanding corporate sector, stable government, talented and young human capital and a vast English speaking population,” said Robert F. Bruner, dean of the varsity’s Darden School of Business, one of the top five business schools of the world.
“We are going to start customised executive certificate programmes for Indian executives. The programmes will range from three to five days and the fee will be $5,000 (about Rs.200,000),” Bruner told IANS.
The author of the book “The Panic of 1907” said the residential courses would be for senior managers of growing Indian companies.
“I have interacted with seven top companies this time and they have shown real interest in our courses. We are also planning to give customised courses to individual companies,” said Bruner.
“The companies are doing good but to sustain growth they need to think different. I think the Indian corporate sector is ready for global competition and they can no more afford to think only about India.
“They have competition from the US, Britain, Russia, France, Germany, China and Japan and they have to think out of the box. They have to think beyond boundaries. This programme was designed to address emerging challenges,” said the economist who has been associated with the university for the last 25 years.
“The programme is full of case studies and will teach Indian executives about successful ventures, growth stories and how to come out of critical business junctures. To be short, the programme structure will be more practical,” he said.
Of the 600 students in the current batch of MBA at Darden Business School, there are at least 38 Indian students. In 2007, Forbes magazine ranked the school as the fourth best institution in the world while the Financial Times ranked it the number three.
“The US gets the maximum number of foreign students from India and our school is not an exception. A few years back we used to get less than 10 students per year but in the current batch we have 38 students from your country. Last year we had received some 400 applications as well.”
Speaking about the Indian economic growth trajectory, Bruner said: “Earlier Indian students never returned to India, but these days a lot of them are (going) back to their homeland. A few Indian companies are also coming to our campus in the US for recruitment. This speaks about the growing stature of India in the global market place.
“Indian companies going abroad and Indian students coming back home are a very good sign for both your country and global business schools,” said the dean of the 53-year-old business school.
Commenting on the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), the best B-schools of India, Bruner said: “They are certainly great schools and the professors are really talented. Though I don’t want to draw a comparison, yet I would say Virginia University is more practical-oriented.
“IIMs are great podiums of learning but the demand in India is really vast. We have no competition with any school but we are entering India because of its huge potential.”
A couple of months ago the Harvard Business School, an Ivy League college, had announced that it would enter the Indian market from February 2008.
Asked whether they had any plans of entering Pakistan, Bruner said: “We have no plan for Pakistan. Global leaders either in education or economy need stability, peace and a conducive atmosphere, which is eluding that country.”