Untitled Document

PARTICIPANT COMMENTS

A Report on “ The Regional India Accreditation Seminar 2009 “ held at Bengaluru on July 24th,2009

Preamble:The Regional India Accreditation Seminar, 2009 held at Bengaluru on July 24th’2009 was a sequel to the India Accreditation Seminar 2008 which was organized at India Habitat Center, New Delhi, in Nov’2008 by Standard of Educational Advancement & Association (SEAA) Trust, India, in association with AMBA’s UK.

SEAA has a vision to empower B-Schools to pursue global quality, through self-assessment & accreditation and has a mission for quality advocacy to build global standards that can be benchmarked against the best process in business and is an independent association facilitating agency, with global tie-ups and has an action plan of its own.

The programme had four sessions, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, commencing from 9:00 AM onwards. It started with Registration followed by inauguration.

Deliberations

Forenoon Sessions:

Mr. T. Raman, Prof. Martyn Jones, Dr. Jyoti Gupta, Dr. Debashish Sanyal and Mr. Mark Stoddard, the exponents of ‘The Global Academic Culture’, were men of eminence and carried with them rich and varied experience and were proficient in their respective areas of assignment at the seminar.

Mr. Thothathri Raman, while presenting an overview on benchmarking quality in B-Schools, building capacity with quality and International accreditation in India, covered a wide range of topics on Accreditation facility in India- NAAC, NBA with remarkable observations and analysis on:

Requirement of working models that can better capacity, without compromising on quality.
Need to hasten the process Present measures of quality have limitations The media reckoning, though popular, yet is controversial.
Therefore he stressed that Accreditation should be independent fully peer revived, totally transparent and readily acceptable by all stakeholders. He traced the establishment of Global Accreditation Agencies, like AACSB – USA – founded in 1916, AMBAS –UK founded in 1967, EQUts founded in Belgium, ACBSP USA – founded in 1988, and IACBE – USA – founded in 1997.
He subscribed and stressed on the idea of accreditation that AMBS & SEAA have on their agenda for providing quality assurance, for leading to excellence in management education which helps the institutions to meet the needs of the Society, economy and the industry, help in transformation of schools from individual driven schools to system process driven ones, moving towards global standards and leading to International Standards.

He presented a flow chart on input process, Process Academic Results, Continuous improvement of objectives which is part of process of accreditation system.

He very emphatically made a point on:

Establishing ‘ Boards of Studies’,’ Role of faculty in raising revenues’,’ Paper & Books’ published relating to Faculty Development Budget.
Faculty Placement Support versus teaching work load, a vibrant academic structure with optional courses offered and dropped, cost per student vs. fees, income vs. expenditure.
He maintained that schools should take up accreditation voluntarily, rather than out of compulsion. For, this process improves competitiveness, ensures peer participation, and helps in global learning and networking, as quality is a natural outcome of this exercise.

Prof. Martyn Jones, pro vice-chancellor, Kingston University, UK in his profound thought provoking speech elucidated on:

Internationalization of Management Education.
International Professionalism.
Need for knowledgeable Managers
Values and mission of the Business Schools
The need for intellectual academics.
He also felt that time has taken its toll.

Prof. Jyoti Gupta of European School of Management, Paris (ESCP-EAP) an Indian, being an Indian away from India- A brand Ambassador of India-presented his views on “Notion of Quality” initiated by Mr. T Raman which enables transformation of Indian Economy. He maintained that India should join global economy and felt that it is possible only by being a part of International Education system. He further focused on:

Indian professionals to work with International professionals- a collaborative effort.
To evolve a unique work culture which would provide an opportunity for working with all kinds of people, bright, friendly, non-friendly, transforming into a work driven economy.
He further maintained that education is a format and is an investment that a country could make to produce quality Professional Managers.

Post Pandrial Sessions

During the post-pandrial session, Dr. Debashish Sanyal made a presentation and shared his experience on ‘Why Accreditation, the Process.’

He emphasized the need for building up a “TASK FORCE” and the need for Documentation which should be regarded as a total commitment since it enables an institution to map good practices in an appropriate manner. The advantage is to develop a planner for the activities to be carried in a more formal and professional manner.

Mr. Mark Stoddard, Accreditation Project Manager of AMBAS took over from Dr. Debashish Sanyal, and made a bold statement holding MBA graduates as protectors of quality, reputation and values of a Business School. While making his presentation, he stated the objectives of the Association, objectives of Accreditation, Accreditation Services, Method for Accreditation, Accreditation Growth etc. Incidentally he touched on the subject of the AMBAS, Accreditation Criteria; its cost and presented a process overview.

While concluding, the speakers assumed the roles of mentors and had a session of tete-a-tete with the delegates dividing them into manageable groups. This was very rewarding as it helped us to get more inputs and clarifications and explanations of the intricacy of the subject. We realized that it is a process of self-discovery and that the Accreditation process though elaborate is not difficult.

It was an exhilarating and exhaustive experience in an otherwise explosive domain.

Suggestions:

May I suggest that we continue to maintain our representation on such seminars/events wherever and whenever they are hosted not only to enhance our visibility but to derive best out of the deliberations which are rich and rewarding, and would hold the School in good stead when it qualifies for such accreditation.

But onerous is on the part of the school as how it proposes and build -up its own dynamic governance mechanism, create documentation to reap the best advantages of ushering into the arena of global recognition. The agencies, to my knowledge, are Sellers. The schools are buyers. It is for the buyers to evaluate the product which is put on sale.

My sincere heartfelt thanks to Dr. Reena Ramachandran-a classic visionary-for having chosen me to represent the JK Business School as a delegate.

Date – 03.08.2009

Mahesh Guggri

Delegate

REGIONAL ACCREDITATION SEMINARS 2009 offered by Association of MBAs (AMBA) UK jointly with SEAA Trust
BENGALURU JULY 25, 2009	PUNE JULY 25 2009
PARTICIPANT COMMENTS A Report on “ The Regional India Accreditation Seminar 2009 “ held at Bengaluru on July 24th,2009 Preamble:The Regional India Accreditation Seminar, 2009 held at Bengaluru on July 24th’2009 was a sequel to the India Accreditation Seminar 2008 which was organized at India Habitat Center, New Delhi, in Nov’2008 by Standard of Educational Advancement & Association (SEAA) Trust, India, in association with AMBA’s UK. SEAA has a vision to empower B-Schools to pursue global quality, through self-assessment & accreditation and has a mission for quality advocacy to build global standards that can be benchmarked against the best process in business and is an independent association facilitating agency, with global tie-ups and has an action plan of its own. The programme had four sessions, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, commencing from 9:00 AM onwards. It started with Registration followed by inauguration. Deliberations Forenoon Sessions: Mr. T. Raman, Prof. Martyn Jones, Dr. Jyoti Gupta, Dr. Debashish Sanyal and Mr. Mark Stoddard, the exponents of ‘The Global Academic Culture’, were men of eminence and carried with them rich and varied experience and were proficient in their respective areas of assignment at the seminar. Mr. Thothathri Raman, while presenting an overview on benchmarking quality in B-Schools, building capacity with quality and International accreditation in India, covered a wide range of topics on Accreditation facility in India- NAAC, NBA with remarkable observations and analysis on: Capacity growth & quality. Regulations that restrict growth. Importance of self-regulation & peer participation Freedom to develop resources to build on quality. Importance of providing an environment that sustains the talent of youth and to meet their requirement of good education. Special Indian challenge- a country beset with contrasts where millions are working while equal numbers have no access to jobs. Existing capacity of higher education is less but quality is found seriously wanting. Requirement of working models that can better capacity, without compromising on quality. Need to hasten the process Present measures of quality have limitations The media reckoning, though popular, yet is controversial. Therefore he stressed that Accreditation should be independent fully peer revived, totally transparent and readily acceptable by all stakeholders. He traced the establishment of Global Accreditation Agencies, like AACSB – USA – founded in 1916, AMBAS –UK founded in 1967, EQUts founded in Belgium, ACBSP USA – founded in 1988, and IACBE – USA – founded in 1997. He subscribed and stressed on the idea of accreditation that AMBS & SEAA have on their agenda for providing quality assurance, for leading to excellence in management education which helps the institutions to meet the needs of the Society, economy and the industry, help in transformation of schools from individual driven schools to system process driven ones, moving towards global standards and leading to International Standards. He presented a flow chart on input process, Process Academic Results, Continuous improvement of objectives which is part of process of accreditation system. He very emphatically made a point on: Establishing ‘ Boards of Studies’,’ Role of faculty in raising revenues’,’ Paper & Books’ published relating to Faculty Development Budget. Faculty Placement Support versus teaching work load, a vibrant academic structure with optional courses offered and dropped, cost per student vs. fees, income vs. expenditure. He maintained that schools should take up accreditation voluntarily, rather than out of compulsion. For, this process improves competitiveness, ensures peer participation, and helps in global learning and networking, as quality is a natural outcome of this exercise. Prof. Martyn Jones, pro vice-chancellor, Kingston University, UK in his profound thought provoking speech elucidated on: Internationalization of Management Education. International Professionalism. Need for knowledgeable Managers Values and mission of the Business Schools The need for intellectual academics. He also felt that time has taken its toll. Prof. Jyoti Gupta of European School of Management, Paris (ESCP-EAP) an Indian, being an Indian away from India- A brand Ambassador of India-presented his views on “Notion of Quality” initiated by Mr. T Raman which enables transformation of Indian Economy. He maintained that India should join global economy and felt that it is possible only by being a part of International Education system. He further focused on: Indian professionals to work with International professionals- a collaborative effort. To evolve a unique work culture which would provide an opportunity for working with all kinds of people, bright, friendly, non-friendly, transforming into a work driven economy. He further maintained that education is a format and is an investment that a country could make to produce quality Professional Managers. Post Pandrial Sessions During the post-pandrial session, Dr. Debashish Sanyal made a presentation and shared his experience on ‘Why Accreditation, the Process.’ He emphasized the need for building up a “TASK FORCE” and the need for Documentation which should be regarded as a total commitment since it enables an institution to map good practices in an appropriate manner. The advantage is to develop a planner for the activities to be carried in a more formal and professional manner. Mr. Mark Stoddard, Accreditation Project Manager of AMBAS took over from Dr. Debashish Sanyal, and made a bold statement holding MBA graduates as protectors of quality, reputation and values of a Business School. While making his presentation, he stated the objectives of the Association, objectives of Accreditation, Accreditation Services, Method for Accreditation, Accreditation Growth etc. Incidentally he touched on the subject of the AMBAS, Accreditation Criteria; its cost and presented a process overview. While concluding, the speakers assumed the roles of mentors and had a session of tete-a-tete with the delegates dividing them into manageable groups. This was very rewarding as it helped us to get more inputs and clarifications and explanations of the intricacy of the subject. We realized that it is a process of self-discovery and that the Accreditation process though elaborate is not difficult. It was an exhilarating and exhaustive experience in an otherwise explosive domain. Suggestions: May I suggest that we continue to maintain our representation on such seminars/events wherever and whenever they are hosted not only to enhance our visibility but to derive best out of the deliberations which are rich and rewarding, and would hold the School in good stead when it qualifies for such accreditation. But onerous is on the part of the school as how it proposes and build -up its own dynamic governance mechanism, create documentation to reap the best advantages of ushering into the arena of global recognition. The agencies, to my knowledge, are Sellers. The schools are buyers. It is for the buyers to evaluate the product which is put on sale. My sincere heartfelt thanks to Dr. Reena Ramachandran-a classic visionary-for having chosen me to represent the JK Business School as a delegate. Date – 03.08.2009 Mahesh Guggri Delegate