Foreign presence at IIMA to peak this year

The popularity of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) seems to be growing among overseas educational institutes. Considered to be the Mecca of management in India, the institute is all set to beat its own record of hosting foreign students this year.

With one more term to go, the premier B-school has seen participation of around 67 students from overseas institutes for its flagship programme known as postgraduate programme in management (PGP).

Faculty members believe that with one more term to go, total number of foreign students will surpass last year's figure of - 73, tagged as the highest so far (70 foreign students in exchange programme and 3 students in double degree programme).
Of the total foreign students this year, around 63 students have come through student exchange program while many have come through different academic tie up with foreign institutes for their Double Degree Program (2011-12).

The 67 foreign students have come from 13 countries including Asia-Pacific, Australia, Europe, USA and Canada. Faculty coordinator of the student exchange programme at IIMA Prof Arnab K Laha believes that the institute will get more foreign students this year than last year. He emphasised that they would know about the final number of foreign students later as the last tem registration will be in October.

"But going by past trends, I think the total number will exceed that of last year," he said, reiterating that the number of foreign students could be the highest this year at IIMA.

"IIMA is among the best institutions globally for management education. This is one of the reasons why students from foreign universities/institutions want to spend a term here. In addition India is predicted to become a leading global player in the medium term which may enhance their interest in studying at IIMA," said Prof Laha.

Says Paul Ricard, a student of HEC Paris, who spent one year at IIMA as he joined the institute's double degree programme.

So, what prompted him to choose an Indian B-school and especially  IIMA? "India is one of the fastest developing countries in the world and is facing huge challenges as of now. I find it fascinating. I got very curious about the double degree opportunity at IIMA the moment it was offered. The more I read about the institute, the more  excited I got about joining it. Coming to IIMA was to me the best way to learn about Indian culture and business environment," he told DNA.

He describes his experience of studying at IIMA as one of the most intense, interesting and insightful experiences of his life so far.