GMAC launches ‘Study in India’
NEWDELHI:The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the global body that conducts GMAT exams and is the gateway to foreign B-schools, will bring students from 27 countries to Indian B-Schools.
The 27 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe include Germany, France, Israel, Japan, South Africa, South Korea and the Philippines.
“India has all the elements in the making of becoming a global education hub because it has the unique advantage of providing world class, high quality education at affordable prices,” Sangeet Chowfla, president and chief executive of GMAC said. “We have agreed to work as a facilitator. Initially we are looking at 9 Indian B-Schools and the numbers will grow gradually,” he added.
He said ‘study in India’ is a logical extension of ‘Make in India’ goals. Countries which look at India as an aspirational economic destination, as well as those where Indian companies are investing or from where India is getting good investments will be the main sources of students for Indian B-Schools, Chowfla explained.
He said some of the India B-Schools are among the best in the world but that people in other countries either do not know about them or do not consider them as among the best. This “perception needs to change” though unbiased information.
The nine schools who have got on board with GMAC are: Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) Ahmedbad, Bangalore and Indore; Indian School of Business Hyderabad, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (both Mumbai), Xavier University Bhubaneswar, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai and IMT Ghaziabad. According to GMAC, they are targeting 13 countries in south and south east Asia, five countries in middle-east, two in Europe and seven in Africa for this India initiative.
“We are excited to be a part of this initiative and are confident that it will...strengthen India’s position on the global management education space,” said Munish Sapra, Assistant Dean at ISB.“The initiative is in line with our vision. A large part of learning is peer learning - and having a student body from multiple countries and cultures will enrich learning for both faculty and students,” said Ranjan Banerjee, dean SP Jain Institute of Management.