Dear Friends

ISB is about to complete the first decade of what I hope will be a long and fulfilling existence. Each one of you, in your own way, has helped the School achieve much more than what was expected at the time the School was conceived. We thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement.

During this first decade, ISB’s activities have expanded far beyond providing a great education and working closely with the industry. The School is spearheading world-class research, partnering with the government to solve societal problems, and building a vibrant community of global scholars. This newsletter is our attempt to keep you abreast of developments at the School. I hope you will find it useful.

The idea of the ISB was conceived in 1996. In just five years, a large group of supporters, led by Rajat Gupta, translated the idea into reality – ISB opened its doors on its beautiful campus in Hyderabad in 2001, with the-then prime minister of India calling it “a gift to the Nation.” The next five years, were unfortunately a period of struggle, with the global shock of 9/11 casting its shadow in the first year of ISB’s operations. The concept of a world-class institution, based in India, also took some time to be accepted. Your support and encouragement played a big part in helping us overcome those difficult times. From 2006, however, ISB has been recognised as a truly world-class provider of business education, and increasingly also, a creator of top-class research-based knowledge.

In these ten years, ISB has graduated over 3,500 PGP students, over 14,000 Executive Education participants, and our first Class of the PGPMAX programme, which is ISB’s equivalent of an Executive MBA. The new Mohali campus will add to our ability to reach out to and groom future leaders. Our rapidly-growing faculty, currently about fifty in number, have publications in top-tier journals in every field of management, and our eight Centres of Excellence have, in a short period, begun to disseminate ideas that have generated active interest within governments, industry and the society.

Now, we need to focus on our impact – on the students who study at the ISB; on the industry that uses ISB talent and research; on the worldwide academic community, especially those interested in emerging economies such as India; on the government’s effort of improving the living standards of the people; and on the society itself, as it grapples with social inequity.

We have begun the process of reaching out to you, in order to understand how we can improve our research, our curriculum and work with the political and executive leadership within the government. Throughout this year, we have engaged the community with events related to celebrating ISB’s first decade. The ISB@10 events are not just a way for us to thank you for your encouragement but also provide a forum for us to hear you. The recent event in New Delhi on August 25 was highlighted by a panel discussion on “Governance and the Role of the Citizenry,” which was an excellent opportunity for us to hear some diverse perspectives on this issue, especially given the charged atmosphere in Delhi on that day.

We will work on all the suggestions that we have heard at these events, especially in areas of grooming young leaders who understand the needs of the nation, increasing women empowerment, and building transparency in the government. In each issue of this newsletter, we will focus on one topic that is pertinent to the ISB.

We value your honest, robust feedback, and equally important, your active participation in these discussions.

Thank you once again for being such a wonderful supporter of the ISB.

Best Wishes
Ajit Rangnekar
Dean Indian School of Business.