Pens, Papers and Passports
A growing number of students from U.S. colleges want to hitch a ride to the high-speed Indian economy
By Shilpa Banerji
It wasn’t long after Lauren Skryzowski entered Yale University’s School of Management that she realized something was missing. While business schools at other institutions offered unique programs with corporations in emerging economic powers, Yale was lacking. The university did have a partnership agreement with China, but there was no such opportunity to learn from and form connections with the burgeoning businesses of India, the second most populous nation on the planet. Skryzowski had a brainstorm after some classmates suggested a spring break trip to the country. She posed a simple question to her administrators in the school — “Why not have a business study trip?”
It didn’t take much convincing for them to see her point, and in February the university sent 20 students, Skryzowski included, to New Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore to meet some of the country’s top business and political leaders. The six-week course, “Emerging Market Study Trip, Destination India,” was meant to expose the students to business practices in a country that many experts believe could be the world’s next superpower.
In 2005, Yale President Richard C. Levin traveled to India specifically to improve ties with educational, political and business leaders in the country. As the American and Indian economies become more interdependent, such cooperative programs can be very valuable for both sides. So when Yale began contacting Indian officials, they found them eager to listen.
“We sent out some cold e-mails, including to the Indian prime minister,” says Skryzowski. “It blew my mind how responsive they were.”
India has seen its economic fortunes take off in recent years. Last year, its gross domestic product rose 8 percent over 2004 in response to an expanded manufacturing sector. The country’s large English-speaking population is leading India’s transition into a world leader in the software services industry. And American universities have taken notice, especially of the movement on the technology front.
