Winds of change: IIM students opt for destination Asia

AHMEDABAD: Reflecting a change in the landscape of global business trends, an increasing number of students of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) are sensing more business opportunities in the East than the West.

When a list of destinations including universities in US, Europe and Asia was given to the students of the postgraduate programme in management for Executives (PGPX) at IIM-A this year, more than 60% of them opted for destinations in Asia. A total number of 63 out of 101 students of the one-year executive MBA programme opted to visit universities in China, Hong Kong and Singapore to learn management practices there and seek possible business relations.

International Immersion at PGPX is a two week programme where all students compulsorily go abroad for two weeks of academic study in other countries. The objective is to expose students to work practices in a different environment and make them understand macro-economic underpinnings, strengths and weaknesses of the host country from a business perspective.

Armed with 11 years of work experience a student of PGPX Sumit Garg is considering setting up his own enterprise. Garg has opted to visit Fudan University in Shanghai. "I want to learn about the way China is shaping its economy and making its way strongly into the international market. This lesson will be applied to achieve entrepreneurial growth in India," said Garg.

Another student who wants to explore opportunities in green energy sector, Dinesh Rajan has chosen to visit the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Rajan said, "It is the place where the cultures and trends of the East meet those of the West. Understanding and imbibing the business methods there will be of great significance as it could be applied to developing countries like ours."

Apart from learning lessons, the students will also explore opportunities for future business relations with the eastern countries. Kingshook Ghosh who intends to set up his own ship-building firm said, "Singapore is the hub of the shipping business and my visit there intends to explore opportunities for future business relationships."

While destinations like Ohio in the West did not gain any student's attention, high student demands propelled the inclusion of destinations in the East to the set of options. "We were not provided the option of Singapore initially this year. However, after witnessing a high demand from the students for the destination, it was later included in the list," said Chandrasekhar Kotillil a student of PGPX.

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