Ripples on the brain

When we were witness to US President George Bush’s visit to ISB last year, many alumni wished that they were students then. As ISB kick started the year-long celebrations of the fifth anniversary of its foundation and hosted the Prime Minister of the country, I wish I were a student now. Of course, I will be there for Solstice ’06, the annual reunion that happens on Dec 23-24 weekend.

PM’s visit links: Rediff | Photos from the visit | PM’s speech

As Mr. Ramalinga Raju, CEO, Satyam said, ISB’s rise is perhaps a case study in entrepreneurship. Today’s ISB is a success story born out of the vision and the exquisite planning of its founders.

As a startup, ISB got several things right, namely
•The partnership with Kellogg, Wharton and London Business School which help ISB in designing its curriculum, with the visiting faculty and in its exchange programmes, among other things.
•The partnership with the AP state government which lasts even after the change in leadership in the state (Chandrababu Naidu was the CM when ISB was founded).
•The association with the industry, with many CEO’s in ISB’s Executive board.
•The association with eminent professors who visit the institute year after year.

Among the important things that help sustain this wonderful institute is definitely the alumni network and the current students. Most of the alumni stay in continuous touch with the institute and help the current students and both the alumni and the students guide the applicants year after year to ensure that the quality of the intake is maintained.

As with any institution in the world, there’s no denying that ISB has its pitfalls and threats. As the PM mentioned in his speech, there have been way too many cases in India where the founders have been unable to sustain the early momentum. ISB has a long way to go to fulfill the vision of its founders but if its performance in the last five years is any indication, we are very sure it will be one of the best management institutes in the world.