Interview with Dr Bibek Banerjee‚Director-IMT‚ partner School of Grenoble Ecole de Management

Aug. 30, 2012 - PRLog -- Interview with Dr Bibek Banerjee‚ the Director of the Institute of Management Technology in Ghaziabad (IMT-G)‚ and Academic Mentor of the Group-IMT‚ India. From being one of the first Business Schools in the private sector in India‚IMT-G has come a long way to being widely recognised as one of the best management schools in India. IMT-G‚ rated A* by CRISIL‚secured the SAQS accreditation and is also a member of AACSB. IMT-G signed a partnership with Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) in 2006. GEM was its first French partner at that time.

Could you describe your partnership with Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM)?

We have had an alliance with GEM for a few years now with regular student and faculty exchanges between both our institutions. Now we are going a step further by having agreed to offer GEM’s Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) on our IMT-G campus.

The DBA is the highest-level business qualification possible and GEM’s DBA is one of eight programs in the world to be accredited by AMBA. Thus‚ GEM’s accredited DBA will offer great opportunities to Indian executives that wish to upgrade their career in India or abroad. This first-of-its kind degree program in India will give the executive talent in India an opportunity to leverage their rich and deep experience at work to obtain a globally renowned Doctoral degree without having to leave their jobs in India.

As India is currently experiencing an enormous boom of education‚ with a huge population aspiring to receive quality education‚ we are keen to put this new program on the Indian market. We believe that the DBA is a great transformational way to enhance scholarship and expert knowledge for senior managers. It is going to be a solution to counteract the shortage of management faculty the country’s Business Schools are currently facing.

Just like in the case of GEM‚ IMT’s expertise is in Management of technology‚ what are the benefits of such expertise for the business world and society at large?

Management of Technology is a massive enabler in India. All businesses in India reap the benefits of such expertise so much so that a large proportion of the workforce in India is employed in various technology domains. The global demand for such expertise available in India is huge. With the growing awareness of technology in everyday life‚ new and innovative ideas with practical and commercial solutions are the need of the hour. The DBA certainly will open more opportunities for such professionals. DBA is well in line with IMT’s vision‚ in bringing to the market not only most innovative programs but‚ also working closely with their key stakeholder (i.e. the industry) to push the boundaries of applied research and development. IMT is proud to be INDIA’s first to bring such a premium and globally accredited DBA program to the country. Through this collaboration‚ IMT and GEM will sow the seeds for the creation of a unique and new generation of business and academic leaders!

India is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies‚ and its large market presents an important opportunity for thousands of companies‚ how are you preparing students to work in such a dynamic and international market?

IMT Ghaziabad‚ over the last 3’ years has prepared their students to be among the finest available in managerial talent in the country. Over the last decade or so‚ our International linkages have emerged as one of the best in India. International linkages such as the ones we have with Grenoble Ecole de Management‚with whom we share a similar DNA in focusing on Technology enabled Management‚ are key in preparing our students to succeed in a globalized and dynamic world.

Faculty exchanges enable our faculty to prepare students using the best tools and methods from abroad. At IMT‚ we constantly try to refashion the curriculum‚bring them up to date with the realities of the world‚ and integrate the success models we discover. We believe that it is important for our students and future graduates to be adaptable with the realities of the context in which they operate‚ and hence it is important that they develop a contextual/ Indian depth‚ while having an international breath in perspective.

Do your graduates tend to want to work in India?

Our graduates aspire to a successful career wherever it May be‚ and not necessarily in India. This is one of the reasons why Indians are performing well all over the world as they are keen to follow opportunities of the future. This is why we sign quality partnerships with international Business Schools‚ such as Grenoble Ecole de Management‚ to maximize the opportunities. The Institute of Management Technology also has three other campuses in Nagpur‚ Hyderabad and Dubai. Just like GEM‚ it has multiplied its off-site campuses to reach out to different markets and offer more opportunities to its students and graduates.

What do you enjoy most about France?

The French art and culture‚ and the way the French celebrate life. I was raised in Calcutta‚ a city that celebrates culture and refinement‚ and I grew up watching great films made by French filmmakers such as Jean Renoir‚ Francois Truffaut‚ Jean-Luc Godard‚Roman Polanski et al. The people of France are curious and keen explorers of finer nuances of life – and I like that romantic orientation.