US Hindi programme to teach graduate students

Updated on: Thursday, August 19, 2010

With India's rapid emergence as an economic giant, a prominent American university has launched an intensive two-year course that will prepare MBA students to thrive in the business community of India.

The Hindi Programme, of the University of Pennsylvania's Lauder Institute in Philadelphia, will culminate with a Wharton School MBA and Master of Arts and the expertise to navigate in and with India's business community.

Scheduled to begin in May 2011, the joint-degree programme promises in-depth language training in Hindi; comprehensive study of India's culture, politics, values and business practices; and a two-month, in-country immersion opportunity to ensure that MBA students can assume successful managerial careers in and with India, the University of Pennsylvania said.

"India is quickly becoming one of the economic giants of the 21st century, and a major source of business innovation," said Shiv Khemka, Lauder Class of 1990, Member of the Lauder Institute Board of Governors, and Vice Chairman SUN Group of Companies.

"The Lauder Institute offers the best graduate programme to grasp this fundamental transformation, balancing the MBA with an MA degree focused on the values, culture and business practices that so uniquely characterise Indian entrepreneurs and companies, and the emerging Indian market," Khemka said.

The Lauder Institute's new focus on India "expands and complements our strong offerings on East Asian, the Middle Eastern, Latin American, and European business," observed Mauro F Guillen, the Director of the Lauder Institute.

New Hindi Programme will tap University of Pennsylvania's many resources, including the Department of South Asia Studies, the South Asia Centre, the Asian Section at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, and the Centre for the Advanced Study of India.

The University of Pennsylvania is a founding member of the American Institute of Indian Studies, while Wharton School is a founding partner of the Indian School of Business, and its faculty includes several experts on the Indian economy and business sector.

US Hindi programme to teach graduate students

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