Two-way traffic for education, globally

Pune also features on the radar of the institute, as the head of India affairs of the B-school recently visited Pune to tap the potential partners. 8220;We will be looking at the partners from Pune, especially the deemed universities and private management institutes to start with,8221; said Ludovic Jeanne, head of the India and Japan Affairs for the B-school. Ludovic8217;s statement holds significance as the presence of French companies is also increasing in and around Pune.

After the Mumbai attacks, the US and the European companies had cautioned their employees from visiting India. Ludovic8217;s visit against this backdrop came as a positive sign that at least foreign educational institutes are still keen on developing partnerships. 8220;Terrorist activities in this part of the world are a cause of concern. But that doesn8217;t mean we stop all businesses,8221; he said.

The b-school is looking at developing strategic relations with Asian countries as part of their internationalisation process. 8220;We have students from these countries, but we want to increase the share. At the same time, we want to send French students to these countries. The idea is to impart practical knowledge about the cross-cultural differences between the countries at the learning stage itself,8221; he said.

Ludovic said: 8220;In India, French firms have a very good presence. But many a time, friction takes place owing to lack of knowledge of basic cultural differences or behavioral patterns. We are trying to minimise this friction at the learning level itself8221;. He added, 8220;In the next five years, we plan to send 30 French students of post-graduate level from our school per year,8221; he said. 8220;We already have tie-ups with institutes in Chandigarh, Delhi and Vellore. Now, we look at private institutes or deemed universities in Bangalore and Pune as our potential partners8221;.

According to Revati Arole, coordinator of nI programme, a consortium of 75 French engineering institutes, the campus France desk in Pune, is also looking forward for such collaborations. 8220;The nI programme is getting tremendous response as students are keen on going to French engineering institutes for post-graduation,8221; she said.