The case for social media in Indian schools

The recent episode of the bullying video going viral in Delhi has only made the case for social media in schools stronger, in my opinion.

Just think about it. If a student hadn’t recorded the incident and circulated the video, would the nasty case have been viewed by thousands or even treated with the seriousness that it deserves? Or would it have been brushed under the carpet like countless bullying episodes that take place in our schools on a daily basis.

Remember the eleven-year-old girl who died in Kolkata last year after being bullied by seniors? Were the bullies taken to task? No. Instead parents unleashed their fury on the school’s principal. None of the newspapers named or shamed the bullies who slipped away into the comforting cover of anonymity. Some punishment that.

Instead of banning mobile phones and treating social media tools such as WhatsApp and Facebook as a detriment, schools and educators in India (and elsewhere) need to educate students about using social media in a positive way. While it’s true that there are many dangers online, there are risks offline as well. Parents and educators need to make children aware of these dangers and help them use social media and mobile phones to enrich their lives and also, in cases such as bullying and harassment, make them more secure.

Social media, when used correctly, can be a powerful tool. It's time to educate our children.

Richard Ivey partners with MDI on case-based learning in India

One of Canada’s leading business schools, the Richard Ivey School of Business has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, for development and global distribution of India-focused business case studies.

Case-based learning is fast being adopted by business schools across the world. Carol Stephenson, Dean, Richard Ivey School of Business explains, “Case based learning is a highly effective and relevant teaching methodology to make management education more attuned to real world business challenges, particularly in fast-growth and emerging economies such as India.”

Richard Ivey has also set up a Centre for Case Development in collaboration with the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. The Centre enhances case writing capabilities among Indian academia, and also distributes these cases worldwide.

Richard Ivey School of Business

Globally, Ivey is known for its case-based approach to learning and is ranked the #1 producer of Asian-based cases worldwide and the #2 producer of cases overall.

I spoke to Ariff Kachra, Strategy Professor & Director India Development, Richard Ivey School of Business two years ago when he was putting together Ivey’s India strategy and he said, at that time: “We are very excited about working in India – both on case development (Ivey has several initiatives including partnerships with Indian School of Business and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore) and executive education.”

Ivey is also working on executive development programmes for Indian companies.

Kachra revealed that the business school has met with more than two dozen companies in India across a variety of industries including software, telecom, manufacturing and in the financial sector. “We have tried very hard to reach a cross-section of companies – some are based only in India, some are Indian companies with branches around the world and some are foreign multi-nationals.”

QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2012: IIMs feature in Asia Pacific top 10 list

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have reason to cheer. The three IIMs at Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Calcutta have been listed among the top 10 in the Asia Pacific region in the recently released QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2012. IIM-Ahmedabad is ranked second, IIM-Bangalore's rank is fifth and IIM-Calcutta is ranked eighth.

Indian School of Business has been ranked seventh, S P Jain Institute of Management and Research is at 16 and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade at 21.

INSEAD, Singapore is number one in the region for the third consecutive year. Melbourne  Business School (University of Melbourne, Australia), NUS Business School, (National University of Singapore) and University of New South Wales were some of the other institutes that featured among the top 10 in the region.

Throughout the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report, one theme in particular stands out: Indian business schools are fast gaining popularity among MBA employers. In almost all specialisation ratings, Indian schools have climbed considerably when compared to last year. This is even the case for international management, as while Indian business schools feature lower down the rating than they do in other specializations, they are still climbing and showing promise in developing a greater international outlook among their MBA graduates.