The N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, (IIM-B) and U21 Global (online university) have launched the second batch of the Management Programme for Entrepreneurs and Family Businesses.
The programme, which aims to fulfil the requirements of a new generation of entrepreneurs and family businesses, is jointly offered by IIM-B and U21 Global. They now aim to take the programme abroad, offering it to non-resident Indians in south east Asia and West Asia.
"We aim to propagate the programme and do it internationally. We can get international students to come here. Dubai and Singapore can be huge markets that can be tapped," said Kalyani Gandhi, professor and chairperson, NSRCEL-IIMB.
With the objective of offering it to NRIs keen on taking up the programme, IIM-B may modify the structure of the programme to make it more suitable to meet the needs of NRIs, added Gandhi. The course, offered in a blended format, comprises both online sections and face-to-face classes.
The online version is used to help participants deepen their understanding, collaborate with other participants, interact with the teaching faculty and reflect on specific concepts and ideas scheduled for each module. While IIM-B provides classroom courses, U21 Global provides the online courses.
IIM-B and U21 Global are working to cut the duration of the course from 68 weeks to 52 weeks. The fee for the course is Rs 300,000 or Rs 2,50,000, depending on whether the student stays in the campus or outside.
U21 Global, the online university which began in 2001, now has an international network of 20 research-intensive universities in 12 countries. The university has about 4,000 students worldwide. Over 30 per cent of them are Indians. U21 Global today has 25 companies in India that offer the U21 Global's programmes to their employees.
"Demonstration effect is driving online learning. Every firm wants to show they train their employees online, and this way of learning suits the services sector the best," said Jeremy Williams, dean, Corporate Programmes, director of research, U21 Global.
