Rasna arm ties up with US B-school

The Ahmedabad-based Rasna Group’s charitable arm, Areez Khambatta Benevolent Trust, has joined hands with a US university to offer post graduate courses in business administration (MBA). The trust has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the College of Business of University of North Texas to launch the Khambatta Centre of Excellence in Ahmedabad.

The centre, which will come up at an area of 8-10 acre with Rs 50 crore, will accommodate over 120 students in one batch, said Piruz Khambatta, founder trustee of Areez Khambatta Benevolent Trust and chairman and managing director of Rasna. The centre will raise funds through corporate sponsorships, he added.

“There is a dire need for quality education in India, especially in Gujarat since the state has low number of management seats. While India has 1,132 management institutes, Gujarat has only 38 and there is a scope for more. Through this tie-up, we can now offer UNT’s quality MBA education to students here,” said Khambatta.

According to Gretchen Bataille, president of UNT, the eligibility for applying for the MBA programme will be GMAT scores apart from the students’ graduation marks.

“While the fee structure is yet to be decided, students at this centre will be offered 25 per cent scholarships by the institute. The centre will feature half of the faculty members from our Texas campus, while the rest will be hired from the domestic market. The course also features 25 per cent online teaching programme,” she added.

Initially, the centre will be offering a post graduate course in business administration. and later on it will introduce other specialised courses. “We will be gradually introducing newer short term courses for working professionals and corporate houses and in special areas like agriculture and FMCG,” said Khambatta.