ISB plans big for social ventures

This is an article published in The Economic Times on 30 Aug 2007.

Social entrepreneurship is the latest buzzword on business school campuses world over. Top institutes like Harvard Business School, Stanford-GSB, Oxford University's Said Business School and New York University's Stern School of Business are sharpening their focus on ventures that make a difference to societies and communities. And now the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB) is all set to spawn entrepreneurs to address that segment of the population.

The school has just signed an MoU with Cornell University to set up a BOP (Bottom of the Pyramid) Lab within the precincts of ISB's Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship. From Cornell's side the centre is being handled by Stuart Hart, the person credited with generating the idea of BOP along with C K Prahalad. The Wadhwani Centre has already incubated several business ventures since its inception in 2001. But with the BOP Lab ISB wants to set its sights on problems faced by a developing country.

Says ISB deputy dean Ajit Rangnekar, "People usually view problems from the point of view of charity but that is not sustainable in the long run. We want to support ventures that meet social objectives and are also self-sustaining.'' What this means is simple: solve a problem and also generate revenues that can be ploughed back into the business.

Take the Jaipur Foot, which is a great concept but there are limits to how far it can go based on its current business model. "As demand for the Jaipur Foot rises, it needs more donors. A better idea would be to take the Jaipur Foot abroad,'' says Rangnekar, whose school has worked on a plan to create a company to expand the footprint of the Jaipur Foot.

The idea of the BOP Lab is simple: take up issues that concern rural India--such as drinking water, clean energy and housing--and set up companies that solve them. "We have already got an enthusiastic response from companies to contribute capital to fund these ventures. But we'll manage the funds ourselves,'' says Rangnekar.

ISB has approached global and Indian firms to generate initial funding for the centre. It needs at least Rs 1-2 crore. They plan to announce the funding by September-October. "In three years, we aim to make the centre self-sustaining,'' says Rangnekar.

Key Dates for Admissions for the Class of 2009

Admissions Calendar - For Indian Passport Holders

Key Dates for Admissions Academic Year 2008-2009

Admissions Calendar -For Non-Indian Passport Holders

For all international applicants, the rolling application process begins on July 1, 2007 and goes on till Jan 31, 2008. The applicant will be interviewed within one month of the application submission date and will be informed about the decision two weeks from the date of the interview. International candidates may need additional time to arrange for their visas, housing, and financial aid, and to work on their English proficiency, hence they are encouraged to apply early.

For any further information or assistance please mail the admission section of ISB at admissions@isb.edu

ISB Admission Information Sessions - Part 2

The ISB conducts Information Sessions to reach out to all prospective students. The agenda for each session includes:

• A short film on the ISB (10 mins)
• A presentation on Admissions (50 mins)
• Question and Answer session (60 mins)

Information Session Schedule

India Locations

City: Ernakulam
Hotel: Taj Residency
Date: September 1, 2007
Timings: 5.00 pm - 7.00 pm

Registration: Register

City: Goa
Hotel: Park Plaza
Date: September 9, 2007
Timings: 3.00 pm- 5.00 pm

Registration: Register

International Locations

The ISB admissions team travels with the World MBA Tour and other educational fairs throughout the world. This is a unique opportunity for you to meet representatives of the ISB and discuss your future education and career goals. This year the ISB will not be participating in the WMBA US/Canada tours.You may visit http://www.topmba.com/ to register for the event.
International Tour Schedule

Country : UK
City: London
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct 13, 2007

Admission Information Sessions on Campus

The best way to explore what the ISB has to offer to its students is to visit ISB's sprawling campus on the outskirts of Hyderabad, for an On-Campus Information Session. At these sessions you can learn more about the ISB and about admissions into its Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) in particular. You will also get the chance to interact one-on-one with ISB's Admissions Staff and the Class of 2008.

The agenda for each session includes:

• Campus Tour (30 mins)
• A short film on the ISB (7 mins)
• A presentation on Admissions (30 mins)
• Question and Answer session (30- 45 mins)

You are welcome to bring your family/spouse/friends to the information session. However, INR 100 per person should be remitted as registration fee.

Schedule

September 21, 2007 3:00 pm- 5:00 pm Register
October 5, 2007 3:00 pm- 5:00 pm Register
October 26, 2007 3:00 pm- 5:00 pm Register

Class Attendance

Within the limits of class space and schedules, you may also get an opportunity to attend a lecture and experience first-hand the benefits of learning from some of the world’s leading management faculty. Classes are typically scheduled between Monday and Thursday. Please send in your request to attend a class to admissions@isb.edu and the Admissions team will get back to you at the earliest.

Disclaimer:- The above dates are taken from the website of ISB. Please check the dates from the website bfore registering for any excutive education programme.

ISB - Upcoming Executive Programs - September & October, 2007

The ISB regularly offers short term executive education programs for career development. These details are collected from the website of ISB. The upcoming programs for the month of September & October, 2007 are as under.

1. Leadership Skills for Top Management - September 10-14, 2007

Programme: Assess one’s leadership competencies, develop an insight required to bring about change in one’s self and therefore in leading the organisation.
Who should attend: CEOs and heads of major functions from medium to large public and private business.
Faculty: Clive Rubery – Visiting faculty, London Business School
Venue Details: Indian School of Business
Fee: INR 150000

Request for brochure

Register

2. Business of Fashion: Consumer-centric Branding Strategies - September 14-17, 2007

Programme: The purpose of the programme is to understand the fundamental structural shift that is taking place in our global economy, from production-driven to consumer-driven economies and how brands are essential platforms for communicating across cultures and building lasting value in this businesses environment.

While branding strategies were thought to be the special domain of luxury brands, the dominance of the consumer generates a new branding business model which embraces all levels of pricing and styling. This expansion of the reach of branding has given birth to a new set of methodologies and metrics for mining and measuring brand value and its influence on purchasing decisions as well as its impact on business development.

Consequently this programme will place an emphasis on new applied and proven methods to ensure that your brands are aligned with your actual and target consumers. This is essential if the brands are to remain relevant and resonate, thereby creating value for all.

Consumer-centric branding requires a shift from a, “If we build it they will come” mindset to a “What will they like us to build” mindset. This programme, using actual case studies from the instructors practice, will provide both the how to formulate and strategize objectives approach, as well as how to drive and realise solutions using consumer-certified methods and metrics to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

Who should attend: Senior management and owners from Manufacturing & Retail, Fashion Designers, Exporters and those in Decision Making positions in the Apparel business who are looking to understand Branding as a Business Strategy presented as an Applied Science.
Faculty: William D’Arienzo, Founder and CEO, Wm. D’Arienzo Associates, Inc., Princeton, NJ; Senior Lecturer, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), NewYork

Venue Details: Indian School of Business
Fee: INR 90000

Request for brochure

Register

3. Venture Capitalist Development Programme - October 6-11, 2007

Programme: The intense six day programme will develop future venture capitalists who will later shape deals that result in innovative, high growth companies, thus returning high multiples to investors and creating more jobs, opportunities and successful companies.

Who should attend: Professionals seeking to make a career shift to VC; Analyst and Associates at VC/PE firms; CPAs and Lawyers servicing VC/PE firms and their clients; Professionals in commercial banks, insurance companies and other similar fund-of-fund organisations, who manage or advise investment into VC/PE funds.

Faculty: John Mullins
Venue Details: Indian School of Business
Fee: INR 50000

Details
Download Application
Request for brochure

4. Stepping into Leadership - October 7-10, 2007

Programme: This programme will provide an array of insights and opportunities to front - line managers on managerial and interpersonal skills in order to help him / her to cope with the expectation from customers, senior managers, external suppliers and their subordinates.

Who should attend: Front line managers

Faculty: Mitchell Watkins – Visiting faculty, London Business SchoolS Ramnarayan – ISB
Venue Details: Indian School of Business
Fee: INR 75000

Request for brochure

Register

5. Marketing Investments: Achieving Financial Discipline - October 24-27, 2007

Programme: Anyone who is involved and interested in managing and evaluating ROI including general managers, finance managers, marketing managers, product or services managers, brand managers, communications managers, advertising managers, sales managers, pricing managers, and managers of new products or new services.

Who should attend: Anyone who is involved and interested in managing and evaluating ROI including general managers, finance managers, marketing managers, product or services managers, brand managers, communications managers, advertising managers, sales managers, pricing managers, and managers of new products or new services.
Faculty: Don Sexton – Columbia
Venue Details: Indian School of Business
Fee: INR 75000

Request for brochure

Register

6. ISB -Kellogg Global Advanced Management Programme: For Global Leadership - October 26-November 1, 2007

Programme: Address the key concerns of top management; Transform the performance of both, the participants who attend, and the organisations they represent in this highly competitive global business environment.

Who should attend: Top management gearing up for the challenges ahead in the highly competitive global business environment.

Faculty: Faculty from Kellogg & ISB
Venue Details: Indian School of Business
Fee: INR 500000

Request for brochure

Register

7. Perpetuating the Family Enterprise - October 29-November 2, 2007

Programme: Explore best practices tried and tested over 20 years in dealing with complex issues that come into play while balancing the needs of the business with the needs of the family.

Who should attend: Leaders of family firms, next generation leaders, independent directors and advisors

Faculty: John Ward – KelloggKavil Ramachandran – ISB
Venue Details: Indian School of Business
Fee: INR 150000

Request for brochure

Register

8. Strategic Talent Management - October 30-November 2, 2007

Programme: This programme will help participants to use talent management as a strategic tool for achieving competitive advantage.

Who should attend: Senior and top leadership in organisations responsible for talent management.

Faculty: Andrew Mayo – Independent Consultant from UK

Venue Details: Indian School of Business

Fee: INR 75000

Request for brochure

Register

Disclaimer:- The above dates are taken from the website of ISB. Please check the dates from the website bfore registering for any excutive education programme.

ISB dean elected to the Board of GMAC

This is the press note released in repect of ISB dean being elected to the Board of GMAC and published in Business Standard, and PagalGuy.com on August 01, 2007.

M Rammohan Rao, Dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB), has been elected to the board of directors of the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC), effective July 1, 2007. Dean Rao’s election is particularly significant because he is the first Indian Business School Dean to be named to this prestigious body.

Speaking about his new role, Dean Rao said, “This is an excellent opportunity to bring global management practices to India. The ISB was one of the first B-schools in India to use GMAT® scores an admission criterion. It has helped us a great deal in establishing international standards of quality and in selecting bright students for the Post Graduate Programme in Management.”

"The Graduate Management Admission Council® is honoured to have Dean Rammohan Rao join its board,” said David A. Wilson, president and chief executive officer of GMAC®.. “He is an outstanding scholar who is now leading one of the most respected schools of business in the world. He will bring wisdom and perspective to the deliberations of the board." Dean Rao has been elected for a period of three years. As a board member, he will play an important role in making the GMAT® exam more accessible to people who wish to pursue a graduate management degree.

The ISB is also a member of the Council’s group of governing schools. Membership in this group is by invitation only, and the ISB is the only school to represent India. GMAC is the provider of the Graduate Management Admission Test® (GMAT®), used worldwide to assess applicants to graduate management education programs. The GMAT® exam is a highly reliable predictor of an applicant's ability to succeed academically in graduate business studies.In addition to its value as a predictor of an applicant's success in business school, the GMAT® exam is also a powerful tool for comparing applicants.

As an objective and consistent indicator, the GMAT score offers one of the most effective ways of contrasting one applicant with another, no matter how different their backgrounds may be. The GMAT examination, launched in 1954, is a standardized test designed to measure verbal, mathematical, and analytical writing skills. It is given throughout the year in nearly 100 countries around the world. Over the more than 50 years of its use, the GMAT® exam has been repeatedly studied, tested, and modified to ensure that it continues to help predict academic performance.