MBA Students Travel to India for Global Study Program

Namaste and welcome to the 2018 University of Maryland Robert H. Smith Global Business Course: Doing Business in India blog! I am Brett Depenbrock, Marketing Liaison and participating student in the India course. Photo and video content will be provided by Brenna Cole, Photographer and a participating student.

This study abroad program will examine the evolution of the Indian business environment in the years since economic reforms that started in 1991. Against this backdrop, students are consulting for global companies focused on specific issues related to doing business in India. This course is taught by Dr. Progyan Basu, and he is assisted by Mr. Rohit Tripathi.

This blog will capture the experiences of Smith students during the international component of the course. It will include descriptions and vignettes from:

• Company visits and discussions with experts and thought leaders
• Cultural immersion through tours of Delhi, Agra, and Bangalore

The cohort of 16 MBAs has prepared for the international component with two meetings during the fall that have facilitated the development of a “global mindset” and a “global business savvy.” Students were also split into five distinct teams in September and have utilized the duration of the semester to dive into the applied learning and consulting component of the course. In India students will extract first-hand knowledge related to cultural, administrative, geographic, and economic factors that are shaping India’s economic development. Students will then leverage insights from the India visit to inform the development of consulting deliverables for assigned clients Simplotel and Infosys.

Porter Brockway, Smith MBA’18, remarked that he is “excited to explore an emerging market. I see this as an incredible opportunity to witness companies in a country that is developing economically.” Andrew Malcolm, Smith EMBA’18, said that he “wanted to get an international business experience in a foreign country.”

Posts will be provided daily during the international component of the course that runs from January 3 to January 12 in 2018. For additional updates on social media, follow @SmithGlobalBiz on Twitter and like the page www.facebook.com/SmithGoesGlobal.