Bhubaneswar, Feb. 16: Thunderbird School of Global Management, a US-based management institute, has collaborated with Xavier University for its first collaborative programme in India. 

Both the institutes have partnered to offer programmes in Master of global management and MA in global affairs and management to the students of XIMB.

WP Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, has also partnered with XIMB to offer three programmes. 

First year graduate students of XIMB with a minimum grade point average of 7.5 out of 10 and work experience will be eligible to go to Thunderbird to pursue the courses in his or her second year. 

At the end of two years, the student will get two degrees — one from XIMB and the other from Thunderbird. 

“This is a long-term global opportunity for students of Odisha and India. It will also open up a new education model for the country,” said the university’s vice-chancellor Paul Fernandes. 

Although the XIMB is already offering global collaborative programmes with 14 international institutions in four continents, the tie-up with Thunderbird is the most prestigious one, said an official.

“The Thunderbird could not collaborate with the IIMs because of technical reasons. Among private universities, they looked for factors such as transparency, academic excellence and degree of compatibility, which they found in XIMB,” said the dean of international relations, XIMB. Sasmit Patra. 

“This is a proud moment for the higher education in Odisha and would enhance the stature of global management education of the state,” he said. 

The courses would begin in August 2016 and initially the XIMB will offer five seats each for the four programmes. The students can enrol into the courses by appearing in XAT, CAT, GMAT, and XGMAT.