AIMA to collaborate with foreign universities

The All India Management Association (AIMA), the apex body of management schools in India, plans to go global by forming alliances with foreign universities like Yale and INSEAD.

The management body is organising a B-school summit later this year in Bangalore. The purpose is to interact with international B-schools. It has roped in UK’s Imperial College and Pittsburg University to participate in the summit.

Rekha Sethi, director general, AIMA, said: “For the summit, we plan to have the New York Academy of Science as the content partner. We are very keen to take forward our international alliances and tie-ups.” The association also has Saarc countries on its radar. The Knowledge Commission has pegged India’s trained manpower requirement at 500,000, more than double the current count.

AIMA also plans to take its international linkages forward by offering its week-long Advanced Management Programme to INSEAD’s Singapore campus and offer a CEO programme with Yale University. This will enable AIMA to register its international presence and allow these universities to leverage each others’ capabilities.

In India, AIMA is setting up a 13-acre campus in Gurga this year. Gradually, it will increase the number of Management Development Programmes (MDPs) from 36 to 80. “Apart from increasing the MDPs, we are also planning to launch a faculty development programme that can train the faculty in (AIMA) management schools,” says Sethi.

The AIMA campus will come up in a phased manner and will also offer residential facility to students. Offering short-term courses to students is also on the organisation’s radar. “ These 2-3 month programmes will go beyond the industry management courses and will include courses like management in healthcare services, social services and Panchayati Raj. Training school principals on how to manage schools is also on the cards,” added Sethi.

Sethi added: “We are seeing an increase in the number of students taking the test. From 350,000 students last year, the number has already gone up to 400,000 and we expect this number to rise in the future. In fact, the number of students opting for the distance education programmes has also risen.”