XLRI To Offer International Courses

Jamshedpur, June 4: XLRI is all set to introduce two international programmes in association with a US-based university from the next academic session.

The courses will be offered simultaneously on both India and offshore campuses.

The Jamshedpur-based B-school and Weatherhead School of Management under Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland, have decided to introduce masters programme in organisational development and masters of science in finance that would be possibly started in the next academic session, 2011-12.

Mohan Reddy, the dean of Weatherhead School of Management, is on a visit to XLRI to discuss the future course of action. “These two proposed programmes will be the first of its kind in India. No business school in the country has ever opted for this kind of courses so far. Though both the universities need to do a lot of planning before introducing these programmes. The motive to start these courses is to bring XLRI into the international education scene,” said Jittu Singh, chairperson, international relations, XLRI.

The institute had signed an MoU with the CWRU last year for faculty exchange programmes, joint research programmes and to start international joint courses in finance and organisational development.

According to the plan, the courses would be offered at XLRI and the US institute simultaneously for giving international exposure to students. The faculty members would also be drawn from India and the US, making the programmes global in true sense.

The courses, particularly organisational development, would be for professionals with more than five years of experience. There would be 40 seats in each course at XLRI and the US institute.

Both the B-schools may have to chalk out a common entrance test for these courses because the CWRU takes students through Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT) while XLRI admissions are based on Xavier Admission Test (XAT). “May be we have to find out a common way for the admissions in the international programmes. We have to work out on the areas. Let’s see how it happens to be. It is for this reason we are delaying the programme for sometime,” said Father E. Abraham, director, XLRI.