The Srini Raju Centre for IT and the Networked Economy (SRITNE), at the Indian School of Business (ISB), hosted 36 students from Vienna University as part of their WU Executive Academy MBA programme between January 13 and 17.
The group had students from multinationals and large corporates from several countries, including Russia, the US, South Africa, India, and Asian nations. Majority of them are working as managing directors, CEOs, COOs, CIOs, and other senior executive levels across diverse sectors.
During this trip, the students attended lectures by ISB faculty that discussed important lessons in digital disruption, technological innovation and entrepreneurship, and big data and analytics. They also learnt about new business models in the digital economy such as platforms and the gig economy, and how industrial economy incumbents can transform themselves to compete with these business models. The lectures also provided insights on doing business with and in India.
“The programme showcased the transformative role played by the IT sector in a range of decisions, be it in business or government policy-making. The IT organisation in firms is no longer a peripheral cost centre that drives automation,” said Deepa Mani, Executive Director, SRITNE.
Experiential learning
The experiential learning aspect of the study programme engaged students through interaction with multinational companies (MNCs) and start-ups to understand innovations that are distinctive to the Indian context. The cohort visited three MNCs during the week and learnt from these industry leaders about ways to adapt global products to the Indian environment. The students also visited and interacted with several start-up founders at ISB-housed D-Labs and T-Hub to understand the nature and source of innovation and their challenges to achieving scale in India.
“Our students are delighted to study at one of the leading universities in Asia and gain broad experience in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Alongside outstanding academic sessions, students visited several companies where they learned directly from managers about the challenges of the Indian market.” said Elke Lerch, Programme Manager Global Executive MBA, WU Executive Academy.