Dhanbad: The department of management studies of IIT(ISM) will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gulf University, Bahrain, on March 12 to pave the way for student and faculty exchange.

Once inked, the MoU will enable IIT(ISM) to support the launching of several new programmes like an MTech in industrial engineering, a masters in media and mass communication and a bachelors in digital marketing at the Gulf varsity.

Gulf University managing director Mohammed Al Anne, who will be visiting IIT(ISM) to participate in the lecture series organised to mark completion of 40 years of the department of management of the premier Dhanbad institution, is expected to sign the MoU on behalf of his institution.

"Our collaboration will gradually extend from the management studies, media and mass communication to engineering also," said IIT(ISM) senior management professor Pramod Pathak, who is also the convenor of the foreign collaboration venture of the department.

He said the MoU will also help IIT(ISM) launch several executive development programmes which the institute currently conducts at several PSUs in India.

"Our role in launching of the new courses at Gulf University will be limited to providing mentorship or guidance," said Pathak.

He also pointed out that this would be the second such MoU signed by his department with a foreign institution. In January this year the department had signed a similar MoU with Mazoon College-Muscat, Oman. That MoU followed his discussions with Mazoon College founder cum managing director Juma Saleh Ghailani and the college's management department head Owais Husain during Pathak's visit to Oman in October last year.