A Passage to India
The word has been out in India for several years now that Queen’s MBA programs deliver the goods. A growing number of students from India have literally searched the world before choosing Queen’s for their MBA degree. Elspeth Murray, Associate Dean, MBA Programs, wanted to see for herself how India’s best and brightest are choosing Queen’s for their post-graduate education. An MBA Fair; meetings with alumni, a partner university, and government officials; and an interview with the Hindustan Times were on the itinerary of her whirlwind seven-day trip in September. Elspeth shares her impressions of this amazing country in this travelogue.
Days 1, (2 – sort of) and 3
I left Kingston at 6:10 p.m. on Monday, September 20 and arrived in New Delhi at 12:15 a.m. on Wednesday, September 22, crossing nine time zones in the process. Though New Delhi is 9½ hours ahead of Kingston and the flights were long, missing Tuesday – a full day out of my life – felt a bit surreal.
The new airport in Delhi offers a very welcoming, modern, ‘no fuss, no muss’ experience that left a great first impression of India. The transfer to my equally modern and welcoming hotel was also uneventful – a relief, as sleep beckoned and a full schedule was on tap for the following day.
Monkeys at the PM’s residence Day 4
I managed to log a few hours’ sleep before getting up to catch up on work, grab a bite of lunch, and then take a few hours off to explore and get acclimatized before the MBA Fair later in the afternoon. A wonderful driver, Hameet, patiently drove me to a number of the major sites. My favourite was the very beautiful Hindu Temple of Shri Lakshmi Narain that was constructed in the 1930s and opened by Mahatma Gandhi. Also impressive was Humayun’s Tomb – a World Heritage Site. For sheer entertainment, though, the Prime Minister’s residence takes the prize, thanks to the resident monkeys that frolic on the property.
I was struck by all the construction and beautifying activity going on as the Commonwealth Games approached, and also that – despite what I’d heard – the traffic wasn’t that bad. Yes, there are thousands of tiny, ancient-looking ‘putt-putts,’ motorized tricycles that make Smart cars look like Hummers in comparison. Yes, lunatic motor-cyclists weave in and out of traffic, drivers honk their horns at will, and driving lanes are pretty much nonexistent. But I’ve seen much worse traffic and appalling driving behaviour in Paris, so I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. Even so, I won’t drive in Paris and I have made a mental note to never drive here, either. It is definitely not Kingston!
My acclimatization tour done, I headed back to the hotel for the MBA Fair. New Delhi was the third ‘stop’ – after Bangalore and Hyderabad – on the ‘tour’ of MBA Fairs in India. These fairs attract scores of business schools from around the world, all searching for the most qualified students.
Seeing was definitely believing! I walked into the hotel ballroom and was greeted by a sea of bodies – hundreds of young professionals interested in pursuing an MBA. After searching through the crowd, I finally found Jillian McCullough, a Queen’s Executive Development Centre (QEDC) Program Manager who is based in Dubai and occasionally helps out with our international recruiting efforts. The hours we spent answering questions from the throngs of would-be QSB students just flew by. If all were to be believed, everyone had a 750 GMAT! There were many strong candidates, a good number of whom are specifically targeting Queen’s. We must be doing something right.
After a debriefing with Jillian once the Fair closed, jet lag finally kicked in, so I called it an early night.
The MBA Fair in Delhi attracted hundreds of potential students.
White knuckle transport on a putt-putt Day 5
The day started early, with driver Hameet again behind the wheel, as we headed to the city of Gurgaon (population 600,000), for my meeting at the Management Development Institute (MDI), one of India’s leading business schools. I take back my previous comments about traffic. This one-and-a-half-hour road trip was a white knuckle affair. We dodged and weaved around randomly placed concrete pilings, the occasional water buffalo, entire herds of cattle, and massive potholes – all on a major, two-lane road. We also drove through areas of grinding poverty that conjured up visions of the movie Slumdog Millionaire. The contrast between the crumbling infrastructure just miles from Delhi’s state-of-the-art airport was difficult to reconcile. Although there was ample evidence of construction and infrastructure improvements, the enormity of the challenges seems overwhelming – there is just so much to do.
We arrived safely at MDI where I met with officials to discuss exchange opportunities for our MBA and Masters of Global Management (MGM) students. Our MBA students currently have the option of participating in an international study trip (CEIBS in Shanghai, China, has been the destination of choice for the last four years) and we’re exploring additional options. Our MGM students complete a full six-month term on international exchange and we’re looking to increase the number of partner universities they can choose from. My meetings with MDI officials were an important first step in exploring opportunities to enhance our students’ international study experiences.
Alumni provide invaluable advice on how the School can make inroads in India.
Temple of Shri Lakshmi Narain Meeting concluded, it was back to Delhi for meetings at the Canadian High Commission. Sadly, I missed the arrival of the incoming High Commissioner, Stewart Beck, MBA’79, by one week. My meeting with Commission staff was very informative – it reaffirmed the great opportunities Canada and India have to work together on higher education and a host of other initiatives. Later, I met with a reporter from the Hindustan Times who was interested in learning about the School’s new venture initiatives. One of my other roles is Director of QSB’s Centre for Business Venturing, so donning that hat, I told him about our programs and activities geared towards budding entrepreneurs. I was especially pleased to report that I would be having dinner later that evening with two alumni who had returned to India to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
That evening’s dinner was a great success. We’ve had many students from India attend our programs, especially the full-time MBA, and I enjoyed renewing ties with several whom I had taught over the years. It was hard to miss Dan Stefels, EMBA’10 – the 6’-6”-tall Caucasian does tend to stand out in a crowd. After graduating in May, he moved his family to Delhi, started a new job, and had welcomed a third child just four days before the dinner. His time-management skills have definitely been put to the test recently! Equally impressive were the full-time MBA grads in attendance – a real mix of entrepreneurs and consultants who had some great stories to tell. We caught up on everything from the (then) impending Commonwealth Games, to the economy, to the best business schools in India. It was so nice to see familiar faces!
Dinner with alums in Mumbai, from left, Elspeth Murray, Vishal Rai, Sachin Gupta, Ashish Tripathi, staffer Jillian McCullough and Aleya Chattopadhyay Day 6
I was up early and off to the airport en route to Mumbai. The drive from airport to hotel in Mumbai revealed a totally different urban landscape compared to Delhi. The most obvious difference is Mumbai’s location on the coast of the Indian Ocean. It’s a more modern city, perhaps not surprisingly since it’s the financial capital of India.
I was in Mumbai to meet with some of our alumni to get their views on how we can raise our profile in the region and recruit more top students. After catching up on work at the hotel, I met up again with Jillian, and we headed out for dinner with the alumni.
While we waited for a taxi, we noticed several fantastic villas owned by some of Bollywood’s biggest movie stars. Alas, we didn’t see any celebrities. Nor did we see a taxi, so we resorted to taking one of Mumbai’s motorized rickshaws, using hand signals to direct the driver to our destination. We eventually found the restaurant – no small task on a traffic-snarled Saturday night. I was thrilled to meet up with the alums, all of whom I’d taught, and enjoyed introducing them to each other and promoting some local networking. Our alumni may be thousands of miles from Kingston, but it was encouraging to see how strong the ties to their School remain. They’re also a wonderful source of advice and knowledge on how the School can make inroads in India.
Elspeth with Delhi alums, from left, Gurjit Gill, Sidharth Newatia, Dan Stefels and Manish Malik Day 7
Departure day arrived and another long journey beckoned. The hours on planes and in airport lounges gave me time to reflect on my Indian adventure. I was impressed by the optimism and sense of excitement of many of the people I met. They know that India is truly emerging on the world stage and there is considerable pride in how far their country has come. I left feeling equally excited at the opportunities Queen’s School of Business has to be a part of this amazing and beguiling country’s transformation.