Kumar Mangalam Birla-led BITS School of Management (BITSoM) has tied up with the industrialist's alma mater London Business School (LBS) to allow students to undertake a two-week immersion programme at the London campus to increase their global exposure.
Under the partnership announced on Wednesday, LBS faculty will also teach at BITSoM and the two institutes will jointly develop an executive programme for women leaders in India.
"The immersion program will deepen students' understanding of cross-cultural leadership and expose them to a new wave of entrepreneurial energy. This unique proposition of an Indian MBA with a truly global and multicultural flavour, curated for the new age of business, will undoubtedly raise the bar on what is considered to be a premier management education in India," said BITS Pilani chancellor and BITSoM governing council chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla.
The Mumbai-based management school, launched in January this year under the aegis of BITS Pilani, said plans are afoot to start classes by July depending on the Covid-19 situation. The health and safety situation and government guidelines will determine the mode -- virtual, hybrid, or in-person in the classroom.
"We at LBS are keen to help train purpose-driven individuals from diverse backgrounds who are willing to embrace change and embark on a transformative journey with BITSoM. Together, we can have a profound impact on India and the world," said LBS dean Francois Ortalo-Magne.
The immersion programme will include an Entrepreneurial Project Lab where students will work in small teams with entrepreneurs and pick up insights from their experience and, in return, offer fresh thinking and new possibilities.
"Experiencing multicultural settings first hand, and solving problems with entrepreneurs in these settings is the edge that the LBS experience can provide to BITSoM students," BITSoM dean Ranjan Banerjee said.
BITSoM said its first cohort comprises a mix of fresh graduates and experienced candidates drawn from the top colleges across the country. Some of the faculty members are from Kellogg, Wharton, NYU, MIT Sloan, Texas Austin and Cornell.