Teaching Innovation Program: India

Overview

Working closely with local partners such as Infosys Technologies Ltd.,Aspen Institute India , and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), our goal is to build a network of Indian business educators focused on bringing social and environmental issues into mainstream management education. Business, and business education, is growing tremendously in India , and will have increasing impacts on the Indian people as well as on the world community.

Overview of Indian Business Education

India 's economic growth has lifted millions out of poverty, but is also driving widespread social upheaval and worsening environmental conditions. These issues represent challenges to be overcome, but also create market opportunities for the business people who know how to successfully manage the complexities. MBA education started in India in the 1950s, based closely on the U.S. model. By 1990 there were 82 institutions of higher education in management. By 2007 that number had exceeded 1,100. With 70,000+ graduate students of business, the impact of these graduates on Indian business and society is enormous. Healthcare, water quality, and child labor practices are just a few of the difficult issues Indian business leaders must learn to manage effectively.

The Teaching Innovation Program - India (TIP India)

Working closely with local business schools, NGOs, and business leaders, and with the support of Aspen Institute India , Aspen CBE is building a network of Indian and Western business educators with a commitment to integrating social and environmental issues into the classroom. TIP activities will include regular online and in-person meetings, as well as small grants to Indian academics for pedagogical improvement projects.

TIP India is modeled on the highly successful International TIP program, run by Aspen from 2004 to 2006. International TIP included representatives from 12 top business schools on four continents. Aspen is currently seeking funding commitments for an initial budget of USD$100,000.

October 2007 TIP India Conference

With the cosponsorship of Infosys, CII and Aspen India, the initial group of TIP India participants convened on the Infosys Bangalore campus October 19-20th to deepen relationships, share best practices and develop a plan for nation-wide teaching innovation.

•  Participants in the October 2007 planning meeting enthusiastically agreed on the need for TIP-India. They endorsed TIP-India as an on-going platform for schools to collaborate with one another, and with participating firms, on projects related to the social and environmental issues of business.

•  Academic participants in the October 2007 planning meeting included IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Calcutta, IIM-Indore, Goa Institute of Management, ISB, SP Jain, and XLRI.

•  Corporate participants included Infosys (host), Goldman Sachs-India, Mahindra, and PepsiCo-India.

Our next meeting, hosted by ISB, will take place in Hyderabad , April 11-12. This meeting will be a chance to share progress made thus far on individual projects, to engage in peer coaching and cross-learning, to look for collaborative opportunities, and to brainstorm how these vanguard projects could be most influential on a national level.