Just a few weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes his first official trip to France, the Indian Ambassador to France visited the Audencia Nantes School of Management, a top business school, on Monday to cement its relationship with Indian partners and to promote the Make in India campaign, which aims to transform India into a global manufacturing hub.
Doing business in India
Ambassador Arun Singh attended the inauguration of an Indian section in the school’s library. He then met Audencia’s senior management team to discuss how best to raise the profile of French business education programmes in India.
Singh also took part in a round-table on the theme of doing business with India. This was attended by not only students, but also by faculty, alumni and local firms working with the country.
French business education courses have a lower profile among Indian students and employers than American or British programmes. However, as the world’s 6{+t}{+h}economy (2{+n}{+d} in Europe), France can make an ideal study destination.
The French government allots 7% of GDP to education, and foreign students can take advantage of the same benefits as French students. In addition, France is a world leader in sectors such as the nuclear industry, aviation, information and communication, fashion design, luxury goods and winemaking.
Growth partner
With the recent rapid development of its economy, India is attracting more and more foreign direct investment and talent. However, Indians may be missing out on some of the high-quality schools available in France. The Ambassador hoped that India’s growth would attract more highly-qualified French graduates to the country.
Currently, Indians students account for more than 10% of Audencia’s full-time MBA and International Masters in Management programmes. They also account for just under 15% of the students on the school’s Master’s in Supply Chain and Purchasing Management.
“We believe the healthy development of Indian economy and projects such as Make in India http://www.makeinindia.com/ will effectively attract more talent to India,” said Arun Singh.