Indian Institute of Management heads for Singapore

arjun SG

Indian Institute of Management heads for Singapore
http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/mar/10spec.htm

Brand IIM-B (Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore) is going global this year.

IIM-B, the first amongst the IIMs to go abroad, has tied up with the Indian International School run by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Singapore to set up a branch.

The school has provided a three-storey building in its complex, which will house the IIM-B. Classes at IIM-B Singapore are expected to begin from July this year.

Bhavan's Indian International School is one of Singapore's leading international schools that provides a one-stop kindergarten-to-Standard XII education based on India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Switzerland's International Baccalaureate education.

The school has about 1,200 students from India, Australia, Korea, Sweden, the Netherlands, Malaysia, the United States and Singapore.

Prakash G Apte, IIM-B Director, made a presentation before the Indian expatriates in Singapore on why the Indian business school is setting up its first offshore branch.

An official at IIM-B told rediff.com that IIM-B's first international branch in Singapore would be basically its Research and Management Education Centre.

"All the faculty members will be from the IIM-B. We have already designated a few professors to steer the Singapore venture," he said.

The tie up with the Bhavan's School is very 'tactical in nature,' he said. "A large number of Indian students who pass out of schools and colleges in Singapore have been seeking admissions in our institute. Our target now is the Indian expatriate student community," he said.

Also, according to a survey that IIM-B conducted in Singapore, a large number of Indian professionals working in the city are eager to join for a variety of courses that IIM-B plans to offer.

So IIM-B and the Bhavan's School invited a number of Indian professionals for Apte's presentation.

"I am eager to join the IIM-B. Let me listen to them and see what courses they want to offer," says Abhay Mathew, an Indian finance manager working in a Singapore firm.

Initially, the IIM-B campus in Singapore will have a capacity of around 600 students. Singapore may be just the beginning for IIM-B that made it to the Wall Street Journal's list of the top 100 business-schools globally in 2003.

It is also chalking out plans to foray into other countries as well. Bangalore-based education consultant Srinivasa Raju who heads the Global Education Resources points out that Singapore is going to be a test case for the IIM-B.

"The success of IIM-B in Singapore will decide whether it or other Indian schools should go to European countries and the United States," he said.

Consultants like Raju argue that there is a growing demand from countries in the South Asia, West Asia and Southeast Asia for Indian education because they are fascinated with the brand equity of India's Indian Institutes of Technology and IIMs.

"Singapore is the best bet when it comes to testing one's competitive edge in higher education. Moreover, Singapore also has a large Indian Diaspora," Raju said.

Other countries that are queuing up for the IITs and IIMs include Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates and other West Asian nations.

Experts say that these countries, which have a low level of science and technology activity, are captivated by the IITs and IIMs as they feel that the Indian schools could be a stepping-stone to their educational, management and scientific advancement.

A recent estimate by the Global Alliance for Transnational Education indicates that about $27 billion worth of higher education is exported to Asia and Pacific by three countries -- the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

A business of $37 billion trade in tertiary education services in Asia and Pacific region is projected in future.

Experts like Raju suggest that institutes like IIM-B have a huge potential to tap this market in Asia, which is now with the US and other countries.

Established in 1973, IIM-B has evolved into a premier centre for management education and research in the country.

The flagship Postgraduate Programme in Management and Fellow (Doctoral) Programme in Management at IIM-B are very highly rated.

The IIM-B alumni hold senior managerial and academic positions across the globe.

arjun SG

IIM, IIT to go global
http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/jan/24spec1.htm

Outsourcing may be the rage these days, but offshoring India's higher education is going to be the next big thing soon.

To begin with, India's most celebrated education brands -- IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) and IIM (Indian Institute of Management) -- are all set to go global.

So who all are taking their prestigious schools abroad? IIM-Bangalore and IIT-Bombay are going to be the pioneers.

IIM-B -- the impressive B-school in India's Silicon Valley of Bangalore that made it to The Wall Street Journal's list of the top 100 business-schools globally in 2003 -- has already chalked out a plan for an international debut.

IIM-B's first destination? Most probably Singapore.

"We have finalised a plan to set up an international campus in Singapore or any other South East Asian country. We hope the new campus will be operational by next academic year," IIM-B Director Prakash G Apte said.

Similarly, IIT-Bombay has tied up with the prestigious National University of Singapore, which paves the way for the former to offer M.Tech courses to students in Singapore.

Under the memorandum of understanding that the IIT-Bombay has signed with the National University of Singapore, students will be permitted to be attached to major Indian companies. It also allows Indian students to work for Singapore-based global companies.

Other IITs and IIMs are also chalking out similar plans for an offshore debut, even as the Union human resources development ministry is flooded with applications from foreign universities looking for Indian tie-ups.

The floodgates for the Indian brand of education to go abroad in fact opened up in January 2003 when an expert committee set up by the University Grants Commission suggested that premier IITs and IIMs be allowed to set up shop on global shores.

The report by the UGC committee on the promotion of Indian higher education abroad also recommended that prominent, privately run educational institutions like the Manipal Academy of Higher Education and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, may also be encouraged to make an overseas foray.

However, the human resources development ministry, which studied the UGC report, has insisted that only IITs and IIMs be allowed to go offshore to begin with.

The reason: the strong IIT-IIM brand equity.

"The IIT-IIM brand is now globally recognised. India's higher education is propelled by IITs and IIMs. So they are the pioneers now going international; others will follow them sooner than later," says Bangalore-based education consultant Srinivasa Raju.

Raju, who heads the Global Education Resources, points out that Singapore will be the test case for IIMs and IITs. "None of them is going to Europe or the United States now. The real test of IIMs and IITs is going to be Singapore," he said.

Why Singapore? Consultants like Raju argue that there is a growing demand from countries in the South Asia, West Asia and Southeast Asia for Indian education because they are fascinated with the strong brand equity of IITs and IIMs.

"Singapore is the best bet when it comes to testing one's competitive edge in higher education. More than that, Singapore also has a large Indian Diaspora," Raju says.

Particularly, the Singapore University requested the Indian government for a tie-up with an IIT after its joint education project with America's Massachusetts Institute of Technology fell through.

Other countries that are queuing up for tie-ups with the IITs and IIMs include Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates and some other West Asian nations.

Experts say that these countries, which have a low level of science and technology activity, are captivated by the IITs and IIMs as they feel the Indian schools could be a stepping stone to their educational, management and scientific advancement.

Jacob Mathew, another education consultant in Bangalore, says that among other countries in Asia, India has the best chance to become a 'knowledge hub.' "These days, global education is a huge market and the United States and European countries -- especially Britain -- have dominated the global education market," he says.

In Asia, Mathew feels, India has the potential 'to emerge as the US in the education field.'

To get a sense of what Mathew says, go through this survey:

* A recent estimate by the Global Alliance for Transnational Education indicates that about $27 billion worth of higher education is exported to Asia and Pacific by three countries -- the USA, the United Kingdom and Australia. A business of $37 billion trade in tertiary education services in Asia and Pacific region is projected in future.

Experts like Mathew say that India has a huge potential to tap this market in Asia, which is now with the US and other countries.

The IITs and IIMs going abroad is just the beginning. This year, India will fully open up its education sector to foreign investment under the World Trade Organisation regime.
Coming will be the days when private Indian educational institutes and government-run higher education institutions would be setting up campuses abroad.

skeujin SG

y mus u n yr clones pollute everywhere?

arjun SG

IIM’s are one of the management Institutions providing quality education in the management field. Most of the American and European companies select this highly talented, well qualified personnel from the IIM. During the Singaporean Prime Minister’s visit he had asked to set the IIM in Singapore.