Shillong, March 22: Last year it was Singapore, this year it is Myanmar.
The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong launched an international student exchange programme with Mandalay University yesterday. Former IAS officer and chairman of the board of governors of IIM Shillong, Falguni Rajkumar, did the honours.
The 10-day programme - Refresher Course in Management - will facilitate MBA students to understand management through a renewed perspective, in tandem with the changing global scenario.
IIM Shillong director Amitabha De thanked the external affairs ministry and consul general, Mandalay, Myanmar, for extending their support in establishing and facilitating the programme.
In his address, Naliniprava Tripathy, dean research, new initiatives and external relations, IIM Shillong, who is also the co-ordinator of the Mandalay University programme, expressed hope that more such exchange programmes with premier universities and business schools across the globe would be conducted.
"Such initiatives breed a rich cultural and academic discourse. They condition leaders across geographical boundaries to cope with the ever-increasing challenges of the modern business era," Tripathy said.
The exchange programme is a student-instructor arranged intercultural immersion experience featuring core management learning, collaborative research and service.
A statement from IIM stated that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mandalay University is in the process to give the programme a permanent shape and facilitate research initiatives and faculty-student exchanges. "The institute looks forward to this exchange as a pioneer step towards building a long-lasting relationship with Myanmar and other neighbouring nations," it said.
The lone B-school in the Northeast has been partnering with global universities in the past like the Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Last year, a group of IIM Shillong students completed their first study-abroad programme at Nanyang Business School.
Earlier, IIM Shillong had launched the post-graduate programme for executives-managing business in India and China (PGPEx-MBIC). The IIM and the Ocean University China (OUC), Qingdao, had joined hands to design the programme.
In November 2010, 16 media management students from Hamburg Media School arrived at IIM Shillong for an exchange programme.
Established in 2008, IIM Shillong has been focusing on grooming its students for business with a responsibility towards the eco-system and society.
