MBA on top: GMAC survey

The MBA programme remains top choice for prospective business school students despite the growing popularity of specialised master’s programmes.

A new report from the Graduate Management Admission Council reveals that among all prospective students surveyed, 55 percent indicated that they are only interested in attending an MBA programme (this has remained steady over the last three years), while 18 percent of prospective students are only considering a specialised master’s programme, up from 13 percent in 2009.

The mba.com Prospective Students Survey results for the first time offers insight into the reasons why prospects choose study destinations. Similar to GMAT score sending patterns, the top three preferred destinations were the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Reputation of a country’s educational system was the most cited reason for choosing a specific destination. Prospective students intending to study in the US cited better career preparation, whereas improved chances for an international career was cited for non-US destinations. Notably, affordability was cited among respondents selecting Canada, Singapore, and India.

“Prospective students have more information and more options with programme choice than ever before,” said Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC. “But as the dark economic clouds continue to dissipate, the challenge of meeting the financial costs of a graduate management programme is very much on their minds.”

Fewer respondents cited economic reservations as a constraint to pursuing a graduate management degree compared with three years ago. Yet, when choosing a specific program to apply to, financial considerations have become more important. Potential students say they will rely more on personal savings and family support than on loans, grants and other aid.

Better-than-average cloud-related job growth in education: IDC white paper

Cloud computing is being touted as a significant transformation tool the world over.

In a white paper commissioned by Microsoft, IDC estimates that spending on public and private IT cloud services will generate nearly 14 million jobs worldwide by 2015. The paper also reveals that a majority of these jobs will be found in emerging markets because of their immense workforces — 1.2 billion workers in China and India alone.

Cloud Computing: transformation tool?

According to the paper, the education sector, a small vertical but with better-than-average cloud-related job growth, will see IT cloud services as an attractive way to deal with budget constraints. Many are worried about being locked into a single cloud vendor, but in many developed countries, they may find cloud computing is still a good way to face budget cuts. In less financially constrained geographies, IT cloud services will offer standardisation and lower capital costs of expansion.

Dr Elizabeth Sherly

Explains Dr Elizabeth Sherly, Director (In-Charge), Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K): “Kerala’s state education department, for instance, would gain significantly by switching to the cloud platform. There are a number of applications in the education department, handling functions such as common admission counselling and results. These applications register heavy traffic only at certain times, for instance during the time of admission or results. In other periods, the system remains idle.” 


By adopting cloud computing for this sector, the government can create a central pool of shared resources including software and infrastructure. Not to mention, setting off cloud-related job growth.

Students and academic researchers are not permanent migrants: Universities UK

The British government’s immigration policies aimed at preventing student visa abuse at bogus colleges has resulted in decreasing numbers of foreign students, particularly those from countries such as India, Pakistan and China. The country’s higher education sector has been voicing concerns about the long-terms effects of the government’s strict visa regime on a market that is now worth in excess of £5 billion.

Eric Thomas: contentious debate

At a recent debate organized by higher education action group, Universities UK, university chiefs were unanimous about the fact that the image of Britain as a leading international education destination had taken a beating in the light of the government’s visa regulations.

Professor Eric Thomas, President, Universities UK said: “Migration is a significant issue and we are behind the government in stopping student visa abuse. However, there is clearly a conflict between government policy and the higher education sector’s ability to compete in the international market.” Thomas revealed that while UK’s market share in the international education market dropped from 10.8 per cent in 2000 to 9.9 per cent in 2009, biggest competitors have increased their market share. He also added that there have been reductions in student numbers from the Indian subcontinent.

“Students and academic researchers are not permanent migrants,” stated Thomas. “They come here to study and then, by and large, they leave.”

Professor Julia King, Vice-Chancellor, Aston University revealed that the University had witnessed a 39 per cent decline in applications from India. Birmingham’s local economy (food, clothing and entertainment) had also suffered a loss in revenues. King added that with a change in the post-study work visa regulations, graduates in disciplines such as pharmacy, engineering and business had been affected severely.

Glyn Williams, Head of Migration Policy, Home Office defended his government saying that “student migration is here with us and here to stay and no government is going to ignore that.”

“The more we debate, the more the adverse effect of the government policy will reverberate throughout the world,” Williams added.

Keith Vaz: crusader?

Rt.Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, focused on how public perception of Britain as a popular overseas education destination in important student markets such as India had taken a beating, especially with the recent deaths and Indian media’s attention on these tragic events. Vaz pointed out that Britain was being viewed as an unwelcoming place and many Indian middle-class families, who could afford an overseas education, were choosing to send their children to countries such as the United States instead.

Vaz was openly critical of the UK Border Agency (UKBA), border control agency of the British Government. He appealed to university representatives to lobby with the Foreign Office, the Government’s Business Department and No 10 rather than the Home Office. “These departments understand the benefits that foreign students bring to our economy,” added Vaz, himself a first generation immigrant. Vaz was born in Yemen from parents born in India.

University of Plymouth partners with Kaziranga University

Celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2012, the University of Plymouth is another prominent British institution expanding its footprint in India.

Bill Rammell, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Plymouth along with a delegation comprising Peter Ingram, Head of International Office and Professor Sanjay Sharma visited India in February 2012 to explore the possibility of collaborating with Indian varsities.  

University of Plymouth: India footprint

A memorandum of understanding has already been signed between Kaziranga University in Assam and the University of Plymouth. The agreement will open the doors for the sharing of learning resources, faculty resources. This will have long-term implications in terms of placements of Indian students in international markets and pave the way for development, research collaborations, and faculty and student exchange programmes.

A delegation from the institution will hold series of meetings with officials in India and work in areas of curriculum development, curriculum implementation and its assessment.

Kaziranga University coupled with Plymouth University’s expertise in areas including robotics, engineering, computing and environmental sciences will converge the three themes shaping the future of education, namely education and society, education and learning science, and education and learning tools, to form a new learning framework through their School of Management Studies and the School of Engineering. 

“Together with a research-informed curriculum, we embed employability skills throughout a student's journey altogether. More such agreements are expected to be signed in the near future,” said Rammell, adding that his university was excited to have collaborated with Kaziranga University. He said Assam was famous for having the highest population of the one–horned rhino and it would be a noble effort to save such a rare animal by creating awareness through global educational ventures.

Vilas M Salokhe, Vice–Chancellor of Kaziranga University said the university would start its academic session with courses in engineering and management. “The university aspires to become the centre of excellence for teaching and research by embracing diverse branches of learning such as health sciences, agriculture, environment, IT and allied subjects. Students will find ample opportunities to get an exposure to the best institutes and corporate houses in the country and abroad, “ Salokhe explained.

Rammell said there was an inherent link between higher education and economic growth and thus it was vital that universities delivered innovative and enterprising education to produce graduates who would thrive in the global market.  

La Trobe University to collaborate on research and development of leading-edge technologies in India

Australia’s La Trobe University is strengthening its presence in India.

The university has signed agreements with three Indian companies and institutions - global technology firm HCL, electric vehicle manufacturer Mahindra Reva in Bengaluru, and Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, Rajasthan.

The agreements focus on innovation, new product development and realisation, industry collaboration, commercialisation of intellectual property and institutional links.

La Trobe University: India Calling

The La Trobe University delegation was part of the Victoria Super Trade Mission, which was visiting India from 20 to 26 February. 2012. The mission was led by the Victorian Premier, Ted Baillieu.  More than 100 Victorian companies participated in the trade mission.

Professor John Dewar, newly appointed Vice-Chancellor and President of La Trobe University is accompanied by Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President, Professor John Rosenberg, and senior delegates from La Trobe University.

Professor Dewar says: “La Trobe University is taking a number of significant initiatives during this mission to further enhance its presence in India. We are committed to our relationship with India and look forward to building increasingly strong research and educational collaborations with Indian companies and institutions, and welcoming more Indian students to our campuses in Australia.’

Professor Dewar explained that the alliance with HCL involves collaboration on research and development of leading-edge technology for Intelligent Transport Systems. It deals with traffic and infrastructure management, security, enhanced driver safety and logistics support for transport operations. It also involves recruitment by the company of La Trobe University graduates.

Professor John Dewar, Vice Chancellor and President

Professor Dewar will also sign a higher education exchange and co-operation agreement for research and teaching with the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, Rajasthan. The La Trobe University delegation will travel to Bengaluru to sign a MOU with Mahindra Reva for joint research and development of an advanced ‘green’ energy management system at the company’s new electric vehicle plant in Bengaluru.


Technologies for both these systems were developed by La Trobe University’s Centre for Technology Infusion in Australia. They have already been installed, respectively, in a hundred cars for a major road and rail safety traffic research project in the southern Australian State of Victoria, and in Australia’s first Zero Emission House, built last year by the government peak science research body, CSIRO and private industry.

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.