TORONTO, Friday, September 26, 2014 – The Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Canada today announced the official opening of a new high-tech campus in Hyderabad where close to 50 students have just begun Schulich’s MBA in India program.

Approximately 400 government and university officials as well as business leaders from across India attended the official opening ceremony, including Chandrasekhar Rao, the Honourable Chief Minister of Telangana state; Jagadish Reddy, the Honourable Education Minister of Telangana state; Richard Bale, the Consul General for Canada in Canada; and Ivy Lerner-Frank, First Secretary & Trade Commissioner, Education, High Commission of Canada to India. Also in attendance were several members of Schulich’s India Advisory Council, which includes Council Chair G.M. Rao, the Group Chairman of GMR Group; Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons; O.P. Bhatt, Independent Director with Tata Steel Limited; Uday Kotak, Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.; R.K. Krishna Kumar, Trustee, Tata Trusts; and Bahram Vakil, Founding Partner, AZB & Partners.

The new Hyderabad campus, which features a videoconferencing link to Schulich’s Toronto campus, is part of a recent twinning arrangement between Schulich School of Business, York University and GMR School of Business, an educational initiative of GMR Varalakshmi Foundation of the GMR Group, India’s leading infrastructure major. The Schulich MBA in India program has government accreditation through the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The 20,000-square-foot facility and grounds is located near the airport in Hyderabad, India’s fourth-largest city and home to thriving financial services, IT, manufacturing and pharmaceutical sectors.

James McKellar, a former architect and Director of Schulich’s Real Estate and Infrastructure program, worked with the local community to create the design for the fully renovated building, which includes a library/resource centre that virtually accesses the Peter F. Bronfman Business Library at Schulich in Toronto, creating the largest database of any business school in India; a tiered classroom with seating for up to 55 students and four break-out rooms; a lounge/dining room that can be converted to a large classroom; and a board room, reception area and administrative offices. In addition, advanced IT and AV capabilities, including a videoconferencing link to Schulich’s Toronto campus, have been installed. Other features include an outdoor dining terrace and covered parking. The building is clad with a bamboo-like screen to help neutralize Hyderabad’s semi-arid hot climate. All construction work was undertaken by GMR on behalf of the Schulich School.

Along with the approximately 50 students starting this year in Hyderabad, there are more than 30 second-year MBA students from the class of 2013 currently studying at Schulich’s Toronto campus as candidates for graduation in 2015. Students in the Program spend Year 1 in Hyderabad, and Year 2 at Schulich’s Toronto campus. Schulich faculty members teach all of the courses in Hyderabad as well as in Toronto. The Hyderabad facility has space to significantly expand the size of Schulich’s MBA in India program in future years.

Schulich previously offered their MBA in India program in partnership with the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) in Mumbai. The Schulich MBA in India, which launched in January 2010, was the first MBA program to be delivered in India by a leading international business school. Three cohorts have so far graduated through the Schulich MBA in India program.

“Internationalization is a strategic priority for York University,” said York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. “As exemplified by the opening of this new campus in Hyderabad, the Schulich School of Business continues to be a pioneer in international activities and outreach. This is an exciting moment for Schulich, the University, our partners in India and our students, and a significant advance in the School’s impressive and ongoing efforts to expand its global presence.”

“We are pleased to be able to move Schulich’s MBA in India program into this world-class facility,” said Schulich Dean Dezsö J. Horváth. “We thank GMR for working with us to create this new facility, which will allow us to expand Schulich’s MBA in India program to help meet the country’s growing demand for world-class management training.”

“We’re proud of the fact that since first launching the Schulich MBA in India program in 2010 close to 120 graduates are now pursuing successful business careers in Canada, India and around the world,” said Ashwin Joshi, Executive Director of the Schulich MBA in India Program and Schulich Associate Professor of Marketing. “We are developing global managers who are able to take their business skills to any country in the world."

Schulich’s ties to India go back more than 20 years. The School has had exchange partner agreements with a number of India’s leading management schools, including the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad. In 2005, Schulich opened an international satellite centre in Mumbai that recruits talented students; provides career placement services to Schulich students and alumni seeking career opportunities in India; offers Executive and Leadership Development programming for Indian executives; supports Schulich’s alumni chapter in India; and manages local media relations.

About GMR Varalakshmi Foundation

GMR Varalakshmi Foundation (GMRVF) is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of the GMR Group. Its mandate is to develop social infrastructure and enhance the quality of life of communities around the locations where the Group has a presence.

About Schulich

Known as Canada’s Global Business School™, the Schulich School of Business in Toronto is ranked among the world’s leading business schools by a number of global surveys. Schulich’s MBA program is ranked #1 in the world by Corporate Knights, the world’s largest circulation magazine with an explicit focus on Corporate Social Responsibility, and #2 in the world by the Aspen Institute (a Washington, DC-based leadership think tank) in global surveys that identify which schools are doing the best job of preparing future business leaders for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day business. Schulich’s MBA program is also ranked among the world’s leading schools by The Economist, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek and Expansión, Mexico’s leading business publication. The Kellogg-Schulich EMBA program is ranked #1 in the world by The Economist, #5 in the world by The Wall Street Journal (as part of the Kellogg global network of EMBA partner schools) and #1 in Canada and 26th in the world by the Financial Times of London. For complete ranking details, please visit www.schulich.yorku.ca.

Global, innovative and diverse, Schulich offers business programs year-round at its state-of-the-art complex at York University; at its Miles S. Nadal Management Centre located in the heart of the Toronto’s financial district; and at its new campus in Hyderabad, India. Schulich also operates a number of satellite centres in Beijing and Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India; Seoul, South Korea; Mexico City, Mexico; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Schulich offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate business degrees that lead to rewarding careers in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, and has 27,000 alumni working in over 90 countries. The School pioneered Canada’s first International MBA (IMBA) and International BBA (iBBA) degrees, as well as North America’s first ever cross-border executive MBA degree, the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA. In addition to Schulich’s Master of Finance and Master of Accounting degrees, the School recently launched one of the world’s first Master of Business Analytics degrees. Schulich’s Executive Education Centre provides executive development programs annually to more than 10,000 executives in Canada and abroad.

 

For more information and photos of the Hyderabad complex, please contact:

Beth Marlin
Media Relations and Public Relations
Schulich School of Business
Email: bmarlin@schulich.yorku.ca.