Business Education

Indian School of Business for Sri Lankan students

Hiran H. Senewiratne

Indian School of Business (ISB), one of the top global business schools is now in the process of attracting Sri Lankan students who are planning to obtain a recognised Post Graduate Business Degree, Assistant Director Admissions Sanjay Singh said.

“Comprehensive and global in scope, the ISB offers a one year Post Graduate Programme in Management (MBA) that aims to produce future ready business leaders to the top corporates,” Singh told Daily News Business.

According to The Financial Times ISB has been ranked 20 among the best business schools in the world. Situated in Hyderabad in an environmentally friendly location with lush green in a beautifully designed landscape.

The institute has produced more than 2000 students from its inception, which was seven years ago.

He said that within the next 30 years India and China would be dominating the entire business world and India will be the third largest economy in the world by 2050. Therefore, ISB’s contribution to the business world will be sensational in times to come.

The ISB’s faculty includes eminent management intellectuals with international research and teaching experience from best business schools in the world.

The ISB has a portfolio faculty model that aims to achieve an ideal mix of resident and international faculty to give students the benefit of international exposure as well as a strong research base. Faculty from Wharton, Kellogg, London Business School, Cornell, Chicago, Duke and UCLA amongst others teach at the ISB, he said.

Today students from all stratas of society and from varied educational backgrounds including doctors, lawyers, Police officers and many more are following this prestigious programme. The entry qualification for this programme is a Bachelors Degree with two years’ working experience and a GMAT score. These are prerequisite qualifications to apply for this programme, he said.

Currently, Chartered Accountancy qualification is considered as a degree for the qualification, while they are now in the process of considering Chartered Institute of Marketing and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) a qualification requisite to apply for the programme.

Total investment for this one-year programme is Indian Rs. 2 million, while a good quality MBA programme either in Europe and USA would cost more than that amount, he said. Most of their graduates are getting very good placements especially in Fortune 500 companies. More than 230 companies are directly recruiting ISB graduates and it is being coordinated by the Career Service Department on behalf of their students, he said.

Many students from different age groups are following the programme. One of them Dr. Radhika Vasantha Kumar a medical doctor by profession said that she has been practising for over 20 years and is following this programme to obtain management skills for her to go to the next level of career management.

She said that this programme is an excellent programme giving a lot of knowledge and exposure for her to gain management skills. Another student attached to the Indian Police Department Shankhabrata Bagchi said that he being a police officer, took one year’s study leave from the Police Department. According to him the ISB MBA qualification is going to help him to perform his job well.

In the year 2009 they are going to accommodate 560 students in April and are planning to offer handsome discounts to prospective Sri Lankan students.

They are now in the process of negotiating with few local banks to provide student loan facilities to the students.

Birmingham City University eyes local education

Hathoon Sheriffdeen

The regional office of the Birmingham City University was in action from last April to cater to the Sri Lankan qualification seekers in UK.

“The regional office was very active for these three months and the Birmingham City University management is looking forward to be active in Sri Lanka,” International Development Manager, Birmingham City University, Sharafath Yosuf said at an interview with Daily News Business.

He said, “we have hopes for the Sri Lankan education market. Sri Lanka had shown good results during these three months in evidence for that. We will reach our market segments in various ways. I have spoken to various local professional education institutions and the British Council to promote Birmingham City University in Sri Lanka.

Our first step will be to give exemptions to the local professional qualifications at Birmingham City University. I am taking some local professional institution’s curriculums for reading by our specialised readers at the university, to arrange recognition for the Sri Lankan qualifications”, he said.

“We have some representatives also working to tap the local students. Though its expensive for Birmingham City University to maintain a regional office here, I think it is time for us to keep regular communication with our stakeholders in Sri Lanka and the regional office here will act upon it. Students’ details will be updated to the parallel network system of the Birmingham City University online,” Yosuf said.

“Birmingham City University has future plans to work in Sri Lanka. A franchised education programme will be considered in the near future. Now we are mainly taking steps to work in partnerships with various local public and private education institutions. We will be monitoring their study programmes and the standard of the lecture panel in order to step forward”, he said.

“The regional office has collected 200 applications in Sri Lanka to date. We will give various scholarships to Sri Lankan students. Birmingham City University is one of the highest recognised universities in the world. Our courses are very tough comparatively. Mostly Art and Design, Mechanical engineering and educational studies are comparatively tough to enter.

I see many rejections of applications in these sectors. Most of the Sri Lankan offer letters are conditional offers from Birmingham City University”, Yosuf said. “We have 131,300 international students so far and we also give career guidance and guidance for immigration issues to our students when needed”, he said.

Neil Buhne on CIM Talking Point

The Chartered Institute of Marketing Sri Lanka Region has organised a programme titled “Ensuring Sustainable Business Development” under the CIM Talking Point series which will be held on July 10, 6.00 pm to 8.30 pm at Palm Lounge Galle Face Hotel, sponsored by HSBC.

United Nations Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka and the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Sri Lanka Neil Buhne is the Keynote Speaker.

The programme will encompass areas of sustainable business development, good governance and responsible corporate citizenship educating participants how the private sector could contribute towards enhancing the triple bottom lines.

Buhne’s presentation will also elucidate the role of the UN in this regard. “The role of business in society is essentially the public role of a private company. It is thus about how the private sector chooses to extend the dividends of globalisation and liberalisation to the people.

The people in this case are the employees, the greater community, suppliers, producers, buyers, consumers that sustain the private sector both locally and globally.”

The programme will be complemented by a panel discussion, directed by Director Human Resources of Aitken Spence Group Ltd. Rohan Pandithakoralage, Managing Director of Kelani Valley Plantations Kavi Seneviratne, Manager - Corporate Social Responsibility Division of Brandix Apparel Ltd. Anusha Alles and Marketing Director of Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC Dr. Rajiv Meewakkala.