The first batch of MBA in Technopreneurship, a programme offered by Stuart School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago in collaboration with Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, commenced at the Great Lakes ECR campus today.
Lakshmi Narayanan, former Vice-Chairman of Cognizant, inaugurated the programme in the presence of Dr Bala V Balachandran, Founder, Dean and Chairman of Great Lakes Institute of Management, Dr Vaidy Jayaraman, Principal and Associate Dean, , directors, faculty, students and other members of the institute.
Earlier this year in February, Great Lakes had signed an MoU with Stuart School of Business and announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind 11 month blended (a combination of residencies at Chennai, online learning, and final residency at Chicago) MBA in Technopreneurship programme for mid-career professionals. The first batch of the programme — class of 2018 — consists of students with diverse background and who have over five years’ experience.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Bala said, “It is a double honour for us today. One, we are delighted to launch the first batch of MBA programme in Technopreneurship. And two, having Lakshmi Narayan, a dear friend and well-wisher of Great Lakes inaugurate the programme.
“This programme makes the institute the first B-school in the country to start a course in Technopreneurship, which aims to help entrepreneurs and professionals with tech skills, and enable them to succeed in this drastically changing VUCA world and industrial revolution.”
The programme is different from the regular MBA and offers the best of knowledge in design thinking, IoT, disruptive technology and cloud computing, among other topics. To collaborate with IIT Chicago is an additional advantage, Dr Bala added.
Inaugurating the event, Lakshmi Narayanan said, “First of all, congratulations to Great Lakes for offering a need of the hour course for entrepreneurs. When technology and entrepreneurship are combined, it creates more opportunities, new products and services that will benefit consumers and create profit for an organisation. Technology is not only limited to start-ups. Even larger firms and MNCs like GE are applying tech software to offer various opportunities.”
Stating that technology is required across all sectors, he advised students to develop tech skills. “Be it healthcare sector or manufacturing, technology is fast changing human life, and it is getting critical in all areas of business. Develop skills, there are plenty of opportunities to change business models and produce something new and innovative. The time couldn’t be better,” Lakshmi added.
Welcoming the new batch, Dr Vaidy Jayaraman said, “The last 18 months of planning, putting up ideas, signing an MoU with one of the best institutes — IIT Chicago — and offering a cutting edge programme has been amazing. We are extremely happy to kick-start this programme at our Chennai campus. I wish the pioneer batch benefit the best from Great Lakes and IIT Chicago.”
Course overview
The course is targeted at participants who are either aspiring high-tech entrepreneurs wanting to start a new business or are ambitious corporate professionals who wishe to launch innovative initiatives to grow the company’s business in a non-linear fashion in a VUCA world.
The programme is AACSB accredited, and is designed in a way that ensures minimal disruption of a participant’s current work life. The course will be conducted in 3 parts:
~ The first part, which was started today, will be held at Great Lakes Chennai campus. This will include about 180-200 hours of contact classes, spread over five months.
~ The second leg of the programme will be administered online by Illinois Institute of Technology (spread over five months).
~ The last leg on-campus at IIT-Chicago for a duration of six to eight weeks, at the end of which successful participants will receive an AACSB accredited MBA degree in Technopreneurship.
Critera
Candidates were selected on the basis of the following criteria:
~ A graduate with more than four years’ experience, either as a professional or in running her/his own enterprise.
~ Based on a candidate’s professional background and achievements and demonstrated passion for entrepreneurship and technology.
~ Strong verifiable recommendation from subordinates, peers and superiors.
~ A valid GMAT score is an added advantage, though not mandatory.