Indian MBA, Global Outlook

Partnerships with foreign universities are making our business schools more alluring

- Lachmi Deb Roy

Ashish Galande was one of the first few doctoral students at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. Though the university had excellent infrastructure, he felt that many in the faculty did not have enough experience guiding PhD students. But when Deakin University of Australia and ISB entered into a partnership and collaborated on research, teaching and exchange programmes, things changed for the better.

The association with Deakin gave Galande a large cohort of doctoral students—one of the key enablers of research is a strong peer group and faculty. He also got access to journals and research resources. There were increased opportunities for cross-disciplinary research as well. “My research interests cover two subjects: data-driven solutions that apply advancements in computer algorithms and solutions with a societal impact. The collaboration with Deakin has given me access to not only experts in business and management, but also to those in computer science. This has helped me solve problems of managerial relevance using cutting-edge methods,” says Galande.

Deakin has also collaborated on management courses with Symbiosis International University, Pune, and Centurion University, Odisha. Ravneet Pahwa, deputy vice president (global) and CEO, South Asia, Deakin University, says, “Usually students complete 50 per cent of their course at Deakin. They pay the tuition fee to the Indian university when they study here and to Deakin when they are in Australia. Both Australian and Indian governments have a bilateral understanding regarding the educational framework. Besides, Australian degrees are recognised everywhere in the world.”

Pahwa explains that the collaborations are in mutually beneficial areas and immensely help Indian students, who learn the core subjects in the Indian university and then go to the partnering university to study the specialised subjects.