Category Archives: Global Zicklin

In November, we introduced you to Ashok Kamal, a second-year Full-time Honors MBA student who travelled to Kolkata India to study at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) for a semester.  Ashok returned from that trip about two weeks ago.  And, as promised, he has provided us with an update from the second half of his journey. 

During a recent talk with Baruch students, finance maven William Macaulay predicted that “the 21^st century would belong to India.” 

India’s ascent as a global economic powerhouse was never more apparent to me than during recruiting season at IIMC.  My semester abroad overlapped with summer job placements for 1^st-year MBA students.  The process and outcome I witnessed would impress any business school in the world. 

The IIMC community doesn’t strive for 100% placement of its students – that’s a given.  The career development team, which is supported by the administration but led by 2^nd-year students, measures its success in the number of days it takes to place every student, as well as the quality of its placements.  In 2009, IIMC’s batch of nearly 400 1^st-year students was placed in under one week.  On the first day of recruiting, blue chip firms such as McKinsey, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan hired nearly 100 interns – by lunch time.  The successful placement season at IIMC, even in the midst of a worldwide economic contraction, is an illustration of India’s greatest resource – human capital.  The intelligence, creativity and ambition of its people are astounding. 

Ashok Kamal (left in blue shirt) with classmates and administrators at IIMC

Following my studies, I was fortunate to spend three weeks traveling throughout India.  Along with seeing the magnificent Taj Mahal and traversing the business hub of Mumbai, I visited a sustainable agriculture farm in Goa that gets all its water from recycled rain and all its nutrients from organic waste.  Each experience was a reminder that a great education extends beyond the classroom.

Most striking to me was the diversity, within India, of the population.  In fact, the variation across states was so pronounced, that India often seems more like a continent rather than a country.  Like business school, it is the diversity — of culture, experience and thought — that makes India great.   

Ashok participated in the study abroad program by working with the Weissman Center for International Business.  For more information regarding the services offered at WCIB, including the study abroad program at IIM-Kolkata and other schools, please go to :

http://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/centers/weissman/

We will hear more from Ashok tomorrow when the long-awaited list of the people that defined a decade is published. 

It has been said that the only building in New York in which you may hear more languages spoken at any given time than the Newman Vertical Campus is the UN.  Baruch College is frequently noted as one of the most diverse campuses in the country.  So, as the soccer elite converge on Cape Town for the World Cup Draw today, it is the perfect time to reflect upon how truly diverse Baruch College is.

There are over 16,000 students currently enrolled at Baruch College.  There are 32 countries represented in FIFA’s 2010 World Cup.  The following are those countries, broken down by their recently determined grouping, and the number of students currently enrolled at Baruch College (undergraduate and graduate) who were born in those countries.

Group A
South Africa – 4
Mexico – 58
Uruguay – 4
France – 30

Group B
Argentina – 18
Nigeria – 39
South Korea – 442 
Greece – 9

Group C
England – 26
United States – 10,203
Algeria – 2
Slovenia – 0

Group D
Germany – 23
Australia – 4
Serbia – 10
Ghana – 31

Group E
Netherlands – 1
Denmark – 3
Japan – 105
Cameroon – 7

Group F
Italy – 16
Paraguay – 6
New Zealand – 2
Slovakia – 13

Group G
Brazil – 51
North Korea – 1 
Ivory Coast – 17
Portugal – 1

Group H
Spain – 9
Switzerland – 5
Honduras – 11
Chile – 5

The World Cup starts on June 11th with a match between South Africa and Mexico.  The month that follows is one of the most exciting in sports.  Clearly, it will also be a very exciting time on the Baruch campus.  And, come July 11th, it is almost certain somebody at Baruch will be celebrating, unless of course Slovenia shocks the world.

Baruch College Zicklin School of Business is a global enterprise. Delivering academic programming in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and partnering with academic institutions around the world, Zicklin’s reach extends far beyond the five boroughs of New York City. The Global Zicklin Series will introduce you to these global efforts and feature members of the Zicklin community and their own global pursuits.

To kick the series off, we go to Kolkata, India, where second-year Full-time Honors MBA student Ashok Kamal is taking a semester to study at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC).  This study abroad opportunity, at one of the world’s leading schools of business, was made available to Ashok by working with Baruch College’s Weissman Center for International Business.  The Weissman Center sponsors study abroad activity, global conferences, international business internships, and other activities that prepare the Baruch Zicklin community for the ever changing global economy.

In mid October, Ashok wrote to us chronicling the first weeks of his journey.  That report is found below.  In January, we will hear again from Ashok, who will bring us up to date on the remainder of his journey, including a trip to Bangladesh to visit relatives.

Whitewater rafting. Watching the sun rise over the Himalayas. Touring a tea garden in Darjeeling. These are some activities that describe my first month studying abroad at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC), one of Asia’s top business schools.

Then there’s class.

Despite being half a world away from the U.S., the IIMC curriculum invokes familiar business gurus: Kotler, Drucker, Porter. But most subjects are taught with an Indian twist. For example, my Sales and Distribution Management course covers the standard functions of the value chain. However, distribution in India – where most of the population resides in over 600,000 rural villages – poses unique challenges.  Yet villages encompass the attractive and much-discussed “bottom of the pyramid” market, so the physical challenge of distribution is transcended by an extraordinary growth opportunity.  

Ashok Kamal overlooking the Himalayas.

The extracurricular life at IIMC is electric. Students typically stay awake until 4 or 5am, taking short naps before morning classes. There’s simply too much going on to justify sleep.  Case competitions are constant, as is the sound of a bouncing soccer ball or Hindi dance music in the background.  After midnight the cafeterias convert into “night canteens,” producing snacks such as parathas (traditional Indian bread) to complement tea or Kingfisher beer.  Conversations center on financial markets, international politics, and entrepreneurial ideas to address the world’s problems.  I get the sense that I’m not only making friends, but also future business partners.

Sometimes the world seems truly flat.  In the middle of a nightclub such as Tantra or Venom, I have to remind myself that I’m not in Manhattan anymore. At other times, the contrast between NYC and Kolkata is stark, like when my taxi has to swerve around a stray cow in the street.

As an MBA student in a world with disappearing borders, there is no better way to prepare for 21^st century business than immersion into one of its emerging hubs. IIMC has added a new dimension to my education, extending beyond business to life as well.

More Information About:
Full-time Honors MBA: http://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/programs/graduate/mba/full/
Weissman Center for International Business: http://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/centers/weissman/
IIM Calcutta: http://www.iimcal.ac.in/