ISB and SMU Ink 5 Year MOU For Innovation & Research

The Indian School of Business (ISB), with campuses at Mohali and Hyderabad, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Management University (SMU) to collaborate, share best practices and leverage each other’s expertise. The institutes have inked the MoU for faculty, student exchange and new programmes. 

The partnership will allow both the institutions to contribute to industry and academic developments in India, Singapore and the Asia Pacific region. 

The MoU was signed by Professor Rajendra Srivastava, Dean and Novartis Professor of Marketing Strategy and Innovation, ISB and Professor Arnoud De Meyer, President, SMU, in the presence of Gerard George, Dean and Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, SMU, Professor Sanjay Kallapur, Chair, Faculty Performance Management, ISB, as well as faculty and senior management staff of ISB.

Announcing the tie-up, Professor Rajendra Srivastava, Dean ISB, said, “ISB has embarked on an ambitious agenda to become the leading B School in Asia in the next few years – a school that balances the best of Asian insights that are valued all over the world, with Western thought. ISB’s academic partnerships have played an important role in its evolution and growth over the years. In keeping with this, we see an enormous potential in associating with SMU and working towards a stronger, mutually beneficial, institutional connection to develop expertise and insights on Asian and emerging markets that will be of immense value to the world at large.”
 
Elaborating on the partnership, Professor Arnoud De Meyer, President, SMU said, “Both ISB and SMU share similar achievements, such as growing to become established world-class educational institutions in 15 years, and being among the youngest to be accredited by AACSB. We are pleased to work with a like-minded partner that is focused on innovation and entrepreneurship in business education, to exchange and deepen our expertise in teaching, research and student programmes.”

The collaboration is for an initial period of five years between the ISB and SMU commencing April 15, 2016. Through the agreement, ISB and SMU will collaborate to develop new thinking and practices in the areas of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and design new joint programmes.  

On the research front, the two institutions will consider opportunities for faculty, post-doctoral and doctoral students to organise and attend research workshops and seminars on topics of joint interest, and provide research assistance on projects in research centres at both institutions. Both parties will explore conducting faculty and students exchange programmes and international research conferences and seminars.

ISB and SMU will also explore the possibility of joint executive education programmes that will be co-designed and developed in specific areas of interest to both the institutions and companies co-located in Singapore and India.  

Significantly, apart from student exchange programmes, the agreement also envisages usage of either parties’ facilities like libraries for exchange students, participation in student competitions and involvement of students in co-curricular activities at each other’s partner institutions. (Image: wikimedia)