KOCHI, 18 August 2007 — A Doha-based NRI group has launched Kerala’s first International Business School in Kochi in partnership with the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI), University of Applied Sciences of Austria.
“The International Business School (IBS-Kochi) will offer an 18-month international MBA program, especially designed to produce graduates who are commercially astute, socially responsible and international in outlook,” Founder-Director Dr. Mohan Thomas said.
An ENT surgeon practicing in Doha for the past 23 years, Dr. Thomas is also chairman of Birla Public School in Doha and director of Lakeshore Hospital in Kochi besides holding stakes in dozen other companies.
He said the admission would be on the basis of TOEFL and GMAT scores, through the selection processes adopted by all the top international business schools. The total fee is fixed at Rs.1 million and the IBS-Kochi had already made arrangements with financial houses to make education loans available for deserving students.
Graduate assistantships, scholarships, and other fellowships are also available to qualified applicants.
“We aim to create future CEOs and we are sure the students would be able to repay the loans within a year on job,” he told Arab news in an interview here. The course is divided into two parts — first year at the Kochi center and the second part in universities in Austria and the US.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy unveiled the project last Saturday at a function held at the Galfar International Convention Center here. Chandy said institutions like the IBS would make Kerala an international destination for quality professional education.
Cofounder professor Jay Kandampully and another cofounder Dr. Mohan Das briefly explained the salient features of the program that caters to the needs of managements with an international perspective in the fast-growing Indian economy.
Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, one of India’s leading computer scientists and chief mentor of the International Institute of Information Technology, Dr. Andreas Altman, executive director of the Management Center Innsbruck and the IBS Dean, Prof David Almond and Kerala legislator K.C. Joseph were also present.
“Kochi is fast becoming the hub of economic and business activities. With the implementation of the SmartCity project, the city will become smarter. That’s why we chose to set up an institution here,” Dr. Thomas said.
The seats available are 120 and during the first year it will be limited to 60. The course is scheduled to start in July next year.
High TOFEL and GMAT scores at IBS are similar as at other international business management programs. Some of the curriculum modules will be taught and students will then undertake further studies at the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI), University of Applied Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria.
Specialization modules may be undertaken at MCI and at California State University, Chicago, and College of Business and at other partnering universities.
The IMBA faculty comprises top professors from key business disciplines at highly regarded business schools in Europe, US, Canada and Australia.
Professor David Lamond, foundation dean and professor, has been a longtime faculty member of Macquaire Graduate School Management and Dean of the Sydney Graduate School of Management.
IBS houses two international Journals: Managing Service Quality and the Journal of Management History.
Lamond said IBS-Kochi aims at delivering a rigorous graduate management education to last a lifetime, providing students with a personalized International MBA education to complement students’ backgrounds, experiences, and goals.
Professor Kandampully said the strength of the IBS-MCI IMBA program lay in its four major components: Foundation modules, Core modules, Specialization modules and Leadership and professional development module (internship).
The ‘foundation’ modules offer a broad understanding of business and management while ‘core’ modules ensure students master the essential knowledge critical for all practicing managers.
‘Specialization’ modules enable expertise in at least one discipline of students’ choice, such as marketing, services, logistics, or retailing.
The leadership and professional development curriculum is an “outside the classroom” module, consisting of a series of activities and events designed to provide students with opportunities for professional development and growth in the direction of their preferred career path.
Besides, ten Centers of Excellence are housed within IBS to nurture meaningful connections between academic endeavors and real-world applications. The centers will collaborate with experts from various universities around the world to usher nascent knowledge to India and act as focal points for students, business people, and policy makers alike.
Dr. Thomas said the school was building first class facilities in Kochi, with all the latest information and communications technologies to support the teaching and learning program.
He is also working on two other projects in Kerala: Education City and Medical Tourism City.
