Other States - Puducherry   

“Foreign institutions keen on tie-ups with varsity”

PUDUCHERRY: Several foreign institutions have evinced interest in collaborating with Pondicherry University for student and faculty exchange programmes, S. Kuppuswami, Director of Studies of the University, said here on Thursday.

“In the recent times, several colleges from abroad have shown interest to enter into an academic tie-up with the university. We are in the process of examining the requests,” he said in his presidential address at a seminar on ‘Global Business Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Indian MNCs’ on the university campus.

Mr. Kuppuswami said representatives from a regional university in France would soon visit the campus to have talks on extending academic cooperation. The regional university has expressed interest in a tie-up with the Department of Management Studies in the Pondicherry University, he said.

The university was also exploring the possibility of inviting students from Saudi Arabia following a request from India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, M.O.H. Farook. Mr. Kuppuswami said the university was in the process of upgrading infrastructure and introducing new courses to attract more foreign students. On an average, around 10 foreign students, especially from the United States and France, studied at the university for a semester every year, he added.

In his keynote address, C. S Venkataratnam, Director, International Management Institute, New Delhi, stressed the need for a revision of the curriculum and faculty attitude to equip students at the higher education level to meet global standards.

Higher educational institutions should have an open mind on student and faculty exchange programmes, he said, adding that an integrated approach to teaching was the need of the hour.

Commenting on the challenges and opportunities for Indian multi-national companies in the future, Mr. Venkataratnam said Indian firms, besides building up a brand name for their product should try to develop an image that they “were not only concerned about profit but also about the general public, including their employees.”

Industrial houses should keep in mind that if the purchasing power of the public comes down, their business would be at stake, he said.

Others who spoke at the inaugural function included C. S Dwivedi, vice-president, HCL InfoSystems, Pondicherry; K. Chandrasekhara Rao, Head of the Department of Banking Technology, Pondicherry University; Mohan K. Pillai, Head of Department of International Business School of Management, Pondicherry University; and P. Sridharan, Faculty Member of the Business School.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Mukut Mithi’s parting message loud and clear
Smoke-free, less fuel: hot cooking style
Activists want Valsaraj to quit
AIADMK stages demonstration
“Foreign institutions keen on tie-ups with varsity”
Prohibitory orders in Puducherry

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu