Program is first of its kind between US and Indian institutions.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Washington University in St. Louis and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have announced the creation of a joint Executive M.B.A. (Master’s of Business Administration) program.
The program is the first of its kind, in that it confers an M.B.A. degree onto a student and is backed by both a US and Indian institution. In a press release, Washington University said that the EMBA, as it is being called, is meant specifically for “the international executive,†and will be of use to business leaders in the more globalized 21st century.
“This joint program with IIT Bombay strengthens that network and provides an opportunity for innovative executives to make a real difference in their own countries in a direct and observable way,†said Mahendra R. Gupta, Dean of Olin Business School, Washington University, in a statement.
Both schools hope that by engaging with this program, executives “become part of a global network of the world’s future leaders and policy makers.†The EMBA program, according to its website, is meant to teach business fundamentals along with leadership, strategic management themes, growth, and innovation. Classes will be taught at both Washington University and IIT Bombay, at each of the institution’s business schools.
“This program will create the positive mindset of executives to orient themselves toward facing the challenges related to innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship,†said Prof. S. Bhargava, head of IIT Bombay’s Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, in a statement.
The EMBA program is the culmination of a five year-long partnership between Washington University and IIT Bombay that began in 2009. In that span of time, the two schools have established the IIT Bombay-WUSTL Corporate Alliance, which “develops the next generation of global leaders,†and both institutions are members of the McDonnell Academy Global Energy and Environment Partnership and the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.