India's invisible innovation challenge

True or false: When it comes to innovation, the developed world has a distinct advantage over emerging markets? If you believe this, you’ll be surprised to read new research from London Business School professors Nirmalya Kumar and Phanish Puranam that turns this long-held assumption on its head.

In their new book INDIA INSIDE: The Emerging Innovation Challenge to the West, Nirmalya Kumar and Phanish Puranam, who are also co-directors of the School’s Aditya Birla Centre, make clear that for certain kinds of innovation, the long-held monopoly held by the developed world is over. As a result, the authors argue, it’s now time for Western countries to follow the East’s lead—and in particular, India’s lead—in adopting different processes and developing new responses to increasing shifts in the world market.

But one thing is for sure: India’s invisible-innovation challenge will need a response from Western multinationals and policy makers alike. In India Inside, Professors Kumar and Puranam deliver a much needed wake-up call to thinkers and companies in the developed world.

According to the authors, substantial innovation is taking place in India, but in a form that is invisible to consumers around the world. This innovation takes a rich variety of forms—from novel B2B offerings and R&D services outsourcing to process improvement discoveries and fresh approaches to management.

The authors argue that despite some challenges, India has emerged as the global ‘invisible’ innovation hub. Four new concepts help demonstrate this:

• Global segmented R&D delivery model: How innovative and creative tasks are increasingly being off-shored to India
• Injection of intelligence: How over-qualified people on what were considered dead end jobs produces product innovations in India
• Sinking skill ladder: How by outsourcing the bottom end of the value chain to India, the West will be forced to offshore more strategic and creative activities in the future
• Browning of the TMT: How multinational corporations must transform composition of their global leadership teams as R&D and markets move to India and China

Kumar and Puranam believe that India’s emergence as a global innovation hub has important implications for the developed world. For Western multinationals it means internal stress around talent and the makeup of top executive teams. For Western policy-makers it means the potential loss of dominance in creative, innovative, and high-value-added work. The book provides several potential responses and recommendations for adapting to this new norm.

Through research and extensive interviews with India-based executives from companies like AstraZeneca, GE, Infosys, Intel, and Wipro, INDIA INSIDE presents a clear-eyed view of the challenges and opportunities facing multinationals seeking new sources of innovation in the future.

The rise of the one-year MBA in India

Tarun Mehra, an analyst at a Gurgaon-based knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) firm, wanted a management qualification that would add a competitive edge to his resume and help him move up the professional ladder. As his academic credentials were impressive, Mehra could easily have taken his pick from any of the top business schools within India. Instead he enrolled for a one-year MBA at local business school, SOIL (School of Inspired Leadership).

“I did not want to spend two years studying for an MBA so I chose a one-year program. This is value for money. I am not paying for that extra year, yet the course curriculum is the same.”

In the words of Bala V Balachandran, founder and dean of Great Lakes Institute of Management (GLIM) in Chennai, “the monetary value of time, or opportunity cost, is more important than the time value of money.”

In a bid to cater to professionals who do not want to devote two years of their work life to earn an MBA, an increasing number of business schools have started offering one-year accelerated, full-time courses. The one-year program, popularized by business schools in Europe as an alternative to the predominantly two-year US-style MBA.

Says Bani Wadhwa, an HR manager in Chennai, “I wanted to take up an MBA program but did not have the time or the inclination to do a two-year. So I opted for a shorter, one-year at GLIM. The course content was the same, only shorter. What’s more, my company sponsored me, so it all worked out well in the long term.”

Professor S Sriram, executive director, Great Lakes Institute of Management explains: “People increasingly feel pressured for time these days. For working people, taking two years out proves to be expensive and difficult. If one can get the same value in one year, why not?”

Management experience matters

Schools such as GLIM, the Indian School of Business, SOIL, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) among others offer the one-year program with a focus on applicants with at least a couple of years of work experience. In fact, it was the Indian School of Business that pioneered the one-year format in India, an experiment that turned out hugely successful for the business school.

One-year programs teach students to analyze situations quickly, think on their feet and apply their skills to real business situations. Students learn to combine their industry expertise with the fundamentals of management that are acquired over the year. Career interruptions are minimized for students while companies encourage promising employees to prepare for leadership roles. One-year programs have a great advantage over the two-year model because of the tremendous savings in opportunity costs.

It is an ideal platform to recharge before returning to the corporate world. Typically, a one-year MBA can cost anything between Rs 750,000 and Rs 1,700,000 (US$15,000 and $34,000) depending on the school.

“One year programs are fast track courses with shorter duration terms. You need to have students who have exposure to how things work in real life. So typically, one year MBAs admit students with work experience,” explains Sriram.

The average experience of the current batch at GLIM is around four years. According to Sriram, these students are also very clear about the kind of industry and job they look for post MBA, which is not usually the case for students with little or no work experience, who are more open and less focused in terms of career choices.

The one-year full-time postgraduate program in management (PGPM) at GLIM helps students understand the interactions between the various functional areas of a business system and thereby appreciate the need for developing cross-functional perspectives in business. The intensive program demands students with a proven record of academic brilliance along with an ability to demonstrate vision, initiative, leadership and hard work.

“The one-year program at SPJIMR is different from the traditional two-year model on the following counts. The participants are more experienced, have a clear idea about what kind of job they want to have after their MBA in terms of role and the industry, have reached a stage in their career where they are ready to manage people besides managing issues which was their sole concern in their pre MBA career,” says Dr M L Shrikant, honorary dean at SPJIMR.

Shrikant adds that another group of applicants for one-year programs includes individuals who would have worked on pursuing an MBA program earlier and have realized the importance of a formal degree for career growth and also may have acquired financial strength to do the same.

“In fact, given the opportunity cost of having to give up a job to do the MBA, the one year students are also much more hardworking, focused and serious about utilizing every minute of their stay at the institute,” notes Professor Sriram.

Specialized MBA course content

The fact that the course is of a shorter duration does not mean that the curriculum is more difficult or not extensive enough. The course has been tailored to meet the needs of business and industry. For instance, the post-graduate program in management (PGPM) offered by SPJIMR is an 11-month, full-time course. The SPJIMR program is an intensive course that has been designed to meet specific skill requirements of industry.

The ISB’s program has been ranked 13th in the Global MBA Rankings 2011 released by the Financial Times. It also recorded the highest salary percentage increase among all the top 100 schools. During the last four year period, ISB’s class size grew by over 35% to a current size of 570 students.

Despite these statistics, there are some aspirants who are clearly not bitten by the one-year bug.

Take Mani Sharma, a digital marketing professional from New Delhi for instance. “I don’t want to take up a one-year MBA program as these are more expensive and without company sponsorship, do not make economic sense. One-year works for students who have a background in business or a company sponsorship. Also, one-year programs do not allow students time to network or intern with companies. In the long-term, these are valuable experiences and help in professional development.”

Be that as it may, with the growing popularity of the one-year format in India, it is likely there will be an increase in the number of business schools switching over from traditional two-year MBA program formats to offer this shorter route to professional development.

Source: Published in TopMBA

Collaboration pact between JKLU and US varsity

International colleges and universities have been collaborating with Indian educational institutions since the early 1990s when government regulations did not allow foreign institutes to set up campuses in India or, recognise foreign degrees awarded in India.

Collaborations are inked to help foreign institutes market their programmes in India through a local partner, participate in student and faculty exchanges as well as lend their expertise. Collaborations range from twinning agreements, joint faculty and staff exchange programs to support in curriculum design and pedagogy. Research published by Dr Sudhanshu Bhushan of the Higher Education Unit of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration elaborates on the existing number of foreign education providers in India and their partners.

JK Lakshmipat University (JKLU), an institute that offers courses in management, engineering and technology has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with St Cloud University of Minnesota, USA.

The institutes will collaborate in the areas of faculty exchange, short term training, student internship, joint research programmes and joint supervision of doctoral students. The MoU also offers a specific five years integrated programme leading to dual degree of BTech and Masters in Technology Management.

JKLU has existing collaboration agreements with Hanyang University, South Korea and University of Wales, UK.

Hari Shankar Singhania, Chairperson, JKLU, said, “The purpose of this MoU is to make explicit the areas of collaboration between JK Lakshmi University and St. Cloud University. With strong international affiliations, JK Lakshmipat University would cater to the needs of specifically tailored management development programmes for the companies on an exclusive basis besides general programmes that it will offer to industry and other stakeholders.”

India outpost for Canadian varsity

The University of British Columbia joins the long list of international institutions with offices in India. The Canadian university will set up offices in Bangalore and New Delhi and establish partnerships with leading universities and research institutions across India.

The new Bangalore office will be spearheaded by UBC’s Sauder School of Business. This initiative will be announced in Bangalore on November 15 at an event hosted by the Premier of British Columbia Christy Clark.

In addition, the Sauder School of Business will announce Memorandum of Understanding agreements to be signed with two of India’s most prominent educational institutions, the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. These partnerships will provide a framework to increase student exchange, research partnerships and collaborative program development.

“These initiatives represent a landmark achievement in UBC’s ongoing quest to create an international centre of excellence for study, research and partnership,” says UBC President Stephen Toope.

The announcement of the new Bangalore office is part of a B.C. Government trade mission to India led by Premier Clark.

“International education is an important part of B.C.’s Jobs Plan,” says Premier Christy Clark. “The opening of the UBC India Office will showcase educational opportunities available in B.C. as well as support future partnerships and academic exchanges.”

President Toope, Vice President Research and International John Hepburn and Sauder School of Business Dean Daniel Muzyka are among executives from 16 B.C. post-secondary institutions participating in the mission.

“Our new office in Bangalore puts UBC and Sauder on the ground in a country that will influence global economic growth for the next century,” says Dean Muzyka. “Through enhanced research, programs and engagement, the school will endeavor to serve the needs of India as it grows, while learning from rapid changes taking place in its economy.”

The UBC India Office in Bangalore will be a gateway allowing UBC and Sauder School of Business to engage directly with key academic, government and business stakeholders. With the goal of enhancing educational programs, exchanges, and research collaboration, the office will work to deepen connections with the Indian business community to enhance career support and job opportunities for students and alumni.

Top varsities or bottom feeders?

In an article published in an US-based education website recently, Philip Altbach wrote “India is still debating legislation to open the door to foreign higher education institutions. It is unlikely, despite smiling university presidents and copious amounts of goodwill, that America’s top universities are going to invest heavily in India, even if the doors are open. More likely, bottom feeders will slither into the country.” Altbach is Monan Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College in the United States.

Nothing short of a sad indictment given the earlier anticipation surrounding the Foreign Education Providers Bill in India and the entry of “world class” varsities to the country. A year ago, I had written an article for QS TopMBA on foreign b-schools that were keen on setting up offshore campuses in India once the proposed bill became a regulation. University representatives of b-schools in North America and Europe were very excited about the new regulation that was being planned. There was a flurry of activity. Land was being acquired, campuses planned.

Canada’s Schulich School of Business was one such institute. Schulich is setting up a campus at Hyderabad in partnership with the city’s GMR group. “The GMR Campus of the Schulich School of Business will be a mirror image of Schulich’s Toronto campus, with first-rate facilities, international faculty and an internationally-focused curriculum,” said Schulich Dean Dezsö J Horváth. “We will attract the best and the brightest students from India and abroad and prepare them for global careers in India and elsewhere in the world.” US-based Georgia Tech was also scouting around for locations in Hyderabad for a b-school in collaboration with Infosys.

Faculty of top Indian b-schools such as the Indian Institutes of Management were upbeat about the competition. Professor Sougata Ray, Dean, Programme Initiatives, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC), noted, “The bill is certainly a welcome move as there is a great demand for quality management education in India. Large numbers of students do not get admitted to the IIMs and end up spending huge sums of money going abroad. By allowing foreign varsities into India, these students will now get a chance to study at a good institute.”

Ajit Rangnekar, Dean, Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, was also optimistic. “We have always believed that the best public policy for improving educational institutions is to enable and encourage competition. The introduction of this bill allowing foreign institutions into India seems to be a step in the right direction. There is a large pool of bright young students whose aspirations have been limited by the lack of right opportunities. We need several high quality educational institutions to meet this demand.”

So what changed over the course of the year? Could it be the delay in getting the bill cleared? Or the mixed signals from the government? Or protests from private education providers in various parts of the country.

In a report released recently by the US-based Institute of International Education (IIE), US institutions are being advised that bureaucracy may present a significant challenge to setting up study abroad programs in India and building partnerships with Indian institutions. The report says that “legislation to alleviate this has been introduced but has an uncertain future.”

“Given the delay of the much anticipated Foreign Providers’ Bill in India, US institutions interested in initiating large-scale operations in India may want to focus on joint and dual degree programs in partnership with Indian institutions, rather than wait for future opportunities to establish brick-and-mortar branch campuses in India, which may also be prohibitively expensive to launch.”

One wonders whether it is just a case of US universities getting cold feet about setting up offshore campuses in India and therefore, diluting their brand? One will just have to wait (for the Bill to get cleared) and watch ….

"It’s important that the UK appears ‘open for business’": Universities UK Chief

Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of Universities UK, on the British Home Office reforms of the student visa system.

Q: The British Home Office has announced that more than 450 education providers will no longer be able to sponsor new international students. What steps are UK universities taking to prevent abuse of the student visa system?

Nicola Dandridge: Visa abuse within the university sector remains very low, but we support measures designed to weed out any remaining abuse and ensure that all education providers are fulfilling their duties as sponsors. Universities are continuing to work closely with the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to improve the student immigration system.

Q: What does this mean for international students planning to come to UK for higher studies?

Nicola Dandridge: Beyond the substance of these arrangements, it is essential that the government considers the way in which the rules are communicated externally. It’s important that the UK appears ‘open for business’ to those individuals who are genuinely committed to coming to the UK to study at one of our highly-regarded universities. We must also be conscious of the impact that cutting down on pre-degree courses is having on our universities. Many universities operate pathway programmes with a range of providers. It is estimated that more than 40 per cent of all international students arrive through this means.

Q: Universities UK has been arguing that international students should not be counted in the net migration figures. Please could you elaborate on that?

Nicola Dandridge: Universities UK believes that the numbers of international students coming in to the country should be accounted for separately, and not included in the definition of net migrants for the purposes of government policy. International students are not economic migrants. They come to the UK to study, and then they leave. The vast majority of international students return home once their studies are completed, and those that do not, need to reapply for a separate visa.

Q: How do international students contribute to UK’s economy?

Nicola Dandridge: International students contribute massively to UK universities, both academically and culturally, and contribute over £5bn to the UK economy through tuition fees and off-campus expenditure. This is a success story for the UK, but there is no shortage of global competition.