IIMB, University of Maryland and Zhejiang University
Announce Joint Certification Program

Global Program Will Focus on Creativity & Innovation, Manufacturing and Services

College Park, Md. – January 18, 2011 – The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland (Smith) and the School of Management, Zhejiang University (Zhejiang, China), today jointly announced the launch of a global senior management program that will have business leaders traveling to each country to learn the keys to successful innovation in each market.

The program, titled Technology & Innovation Leadership Beyond Borders, consists of a series of three international business education and professional development immersion experiences at each of the three institutions, networking and group activities for participating executives, and a certificate to each successful program participant. The three institutions will jointly deliver a high-quality impactful experience of an international caliber and will share in the effort, expenses, and revenues from the planning and delivery of the program.

“To truly lead in global business, executives and senior managers must have a firsthand understanding of today’s top and fastest growing markets,” said G. “Anand” Anandalingam, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “As strong partner institutions, we want to offer business leaders in the United States, China and India the opportunity to experience the unique strengths of each market and the best way to do that is to give managers an on-the-ground look at the way businesses operate and why they succeed.”

Pankaj Chandra, director of IIM Bangalore said, “This innovative program will feature three areas, namely Creativity & Innovation, Manufacturing and Services, with each of the partner schools focusing on one area. IIMB will focus on Services, Smith on Innovation & Creativity, and Zhejiang on Manufacturing. For the participant this will translate into a comprehensive exposure to managing in a global business environment in a more effective manner.”

“The joint program has integrated the world's top teaching resources, which spares no effort in cultivating senior managers with an extraordinary global strategic vision and a comprehensive decision-making ability,” said Xiaobo Wu, executive dean, School of Management, Zhejiang University. “Therefore the participants can master the core concepts in management, improve the quality of self-management, interpret issues with a global vision and finally become the outstanding leaders in business arena.”

The program, which is designed as three one-week segments, will kick-off in Maryland in June 2011, with a week focusing on managerial and creative innovation. The second phase – manufacturing innovation -- will take place in Zhejiang, China in September 2011. The program will culminate with a service innovation module in Bangalore, India in January 2012. The instruction will be a mix of lectures, site visits, industry panel discussions, group projects, and experiential learning. The site visits and industry panel discussions are expected to be 50-60% of the overall instruction portfolio. Each institution will also contribute academic resources to oversee and advise action learning projects between country visits. The action learning projects will be hands-on experiences that will take advantage of the diversity of the participants to address crucial, global management issues. All instruction will be in English.

Participants will likely be graduates with advanced degrees such as an MBA or significant work experience. They will typically be 30+ years of age, owners of a company or leaders in multinational organizations, or entrepreneurs seeking their next ventures or to build their global experience base and mindset.

Each institution will grant an executive certificate to participants on completion of the module at their institution. The three institutions will also grant a joint certificate upon final completion of the entire program. It is expected that the inaugural program will have a capacity of about 45 participants. More information about the program is available at www.rhsmith.umd.edu/beyondborders.

About IIMB
The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) has been recognized as the No. 1 Business School in Central Asia by Eduniversal, a French Consultancy Group for three consecutive years. IIMB has obtained the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) accreditation awarded by the European Foundation for Management Education (EFMD). Established in 1973, IIMB today offers a range of post-graduate and doctoral level courses as well as executive education programs. With a faculty body from amongst the best universities worldwide, IIMB is fast emerging as a leader in the area of management research, education and consulting. More information on IIMB is available at www.iimb.ernet.in or www.iimb.ac.in. 

About the Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, MS in business, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

About the School of Management, Zhejiang University
The School of Management, Zhejiang University is a major academic base where a variety of managerial personnel of higher level are trained. The Mission of the School is to create new theories and methods to promote the development of social welfare and management science in China and cultivate innovative management talents who will lead and serve economic and social development. The School has successfully passed the AMBA accreditation on its MBA/EMBA and enhanced its educational quality and internationalization. The School has actively developed academic cooperation and established strategic partnerships with business schools from USA, Canada and the UK. More information is available at www.som.zju.edu.cn/en.