IIT-Bombay and Washington University launch joint MBA programme

The joint MBA programme is the first-of-its-kind academic partnership involving Washington University and the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay. Read on for details.

On April 23, 2015, the Shailesh J Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay along with Olin Business School, Washington University in St Louis, officially announced its exclusive and first of its kind Joint Executive MBA programme.

This is the first time the American University has entered into an academic partnership with an Indian institute.

The 18-month Joint Executive MBA programme in India features senior professionals with approximately 16 years of work experience from India and abroad. The course fee stands at Rs 36 lakh (Rs 3.6 million).

Elaborating on the uniqueness of the programme, Shailesh Bhargava, PhD, head of IIT Bombay's Shailesh J Mehta School of Management said, "This programme is flexible because it expects you to spend only four days a month. There is absolutely no need to quit your job as long as candidates can give their 100 per cent while they’re at the institute."

The inaugural batch of the Joint MBA programme comprises 27 professionals from 11 different sectors including healthcare, finance, manufacturing, energy and information technology to name a few.

The first batch of students which includes four women professionals, were finalised after multiple rounds of panel interviews and discussions by the faculty and experts from both institutes.

"The curriculum of the programme has been designed to inspire professionals to think and debate on the relevance of management theories and principles, understand their merits and use them to solve real world problems. We expect the class to engage in healthy debates, share the knowledge and build an amazing network that will help them grow in their respective careers," said Mahendra Gupta, PhD, dean of Olin Business School.

"At Olin, we believe in the business of relationships. We have realised that learning happens within the class, between classmates and outside the classroom. The programme will help these professionals answer crucial questions like -- How do I grow my business? How do I influence my organisation's growth through my decisions? How can I become an organisational leader?" said Kurt T Dirks, Senior Associate Dean-Programmes, Olin Business School, Washington University in St Louis.

"We need new leaders who will build the bridges for a new landscape and each year, at the end of the programme, we aim to achieve that," added Mahendra Gupta.

The IIT Bombay-WUSTL EMBA programme concludes with a two-week course at the Washington University.

At the end of the programme, students will graduate with an Executive MBA degree from IIT Bombay and Washington University.

Photograph Courtesy: Madison India