Now, corporates power MBA exchanges

SREERADHA D BASU AND WRITANKAR MUKHERJEE

KOLKATA: International student exchange programmes at the country’s premier management institutes are attracting more students than ever before. And interestingly, corporates like Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Reliance Industries and the Tata group are now joining hands with the institutes to sponsor students for such programmes.

Most B-school insiders ET spoke to felt such corporate sponsorship of student exchange programmes is a sort of ‘brand building’ exercise that will help the corporates to pick the best brains during the final placements process.

“Corporates sponsor these exchange programmes to encourage the recipients to join them. Even Indian companies are now coming ahead with sponsorships since they require students with substantial overseas exposure,” said Prof Arvind Sahay, co-ordinator (placements and international immersion), IIM Ahmedabad.

At IIM Calcutta (IIMC), US-based global management consultancy firm, Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, has sponsored students for the first time. IIMC student exchange programme (STEP) representatives have also initiated talks with Lehman Brothers and other big names in investment banking and consulting. “This year some 46 students will head off to 17 countries under STEP,” said Prof A Sen, convenor, IIMC’s STEP committee.

XLRI Jamshedpur is also in talks with Tata Steel. The institute, incidentally, has seen the number of students opting for the exchange programme go up to eight this year.

“While we started POISE (Programme for International Student Exchange) in ’03, it was only last year that we had two students going for it for the first time. Next year, we hope to see a further increase in the numbers given that three foreign universities have already shown interest in partnering with us,” says Father N Casimir Raj SJ, director, XLRI.

Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), which is going to initiate the student exchange process from February ’07 for its flagship programme, is also exploring options for corporate sponsorships, said Father E Abraham SJ, director, XIMB.

B-schools feel there is immense value for this kind of exchange programmes. “Student gets exposure in a new culture and global business environment. Apart from intellectual input, these tours also sensitise students for a cross-cultural environment,” said Devi Singh, director, IIM Lucknow (IIML). Incidentally, this year some 50 IIML students are off under the exchange programme.

The students are also fast realising the value of such international immersions during their final placement process. Says IIMC’s Asim Anwar, who’s headed to ESSEC, Paris, “MNCs give a lot of value to foreign exposure. Most of their jobs require interacting with people from other countries and understanding their culture. The foreign exposure helps.”

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1902511.cms