Warwick to facilitate IIM-A internships

The UK-based Warwick Business School will facilitate internships for around 20 students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A)’s Post Graduate Management Programme for Executives (PGPX) as part of the latter’s international immersion programme this year.

Normally, the programme is a consulting assignment for the various companies sponsoring it. The assignment is executed by the PGPX participants and overseen by a faculty guide.

The students work with international universities and following the completion of their task are assigned projects by the companies.

The output is specified by the sponsoring firm. Companies sponsoring students for their projects are expected to provide project specifications, help in selecting project teams with appropriate organisational access, facilitate pre-travel arrangements and contribute towards project-related expenses including international travel, local travel in the host country, and boarding and lodging.

This year, however, the Warwick Business School will place the 20 students who will visit the institute for international consulting projects.

Arvind Sahay, chairperson, PGPX, IIM-A, says: “We have introduced a supplementary model, wherein Warwick will facilitate internships for IIM-A students visiting the institute for international consulting projects. This is going to be a kind of reverse outsourcing, as usually we are the ones placing the students.”

All the 78 students of the PGPX III (2008-09) will be working on international consulting projects under the international immersion programme with institutes and companies abroad.

As part of the five-week programme, the students are expected to attend classes for a week at the campuses and later work with the companies.

Around 30 international companies have already been confirmed for the consulting projects. These include IBM, SolidWorks, Yes Bank, Unilever, Fino, etc. The institute’s international immersion programme will run from November 13 to December 12 this year.

Apart from Warwick Business School, IIM-A has undertaken collaborations with four other international universities including Columbia Business School, New York, etc.