Developing a global perspective is a key pillar of the MBA education at Kellogg and one of the many many opportunities to develop this is by studying abroad for a term. So, while the cold was hitting Chicago during our winter quarter, I went along with four other Kellogg students to study on exchange at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad. More than 10% of the class goes on exchange programs to different locations such as London, Paris, Barcelona, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Buenos Aires. For me, it was a unique opportunity not only to attend classes and even recruit abroad (if desired), but an opportunity to hang out with local students and gain a wider perspective through traveling in and out of India.
As I write about my experience at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, let me start out by mentioning a few things to give some context of my experience and views I may have because of it. First, for the purpose of writing this, I call Indian Americans like me ABCDs, and hope it doesn’t offend anyone. Second, the Indian School of Business is a school started by Kellogg, Wharton and LBS, so a large part of the school runs like ours. Third, I was the only ABCD attending school on exchange at ISB (there are a couple of ABCDs studying full-time there), and spent many of my summers growing up in India (in Chennai). Lastly, many points I make below could be expanded, but if you know me, you know how much I talk, so you may not be inclined to listen to the expanded version! Therefore I will keep short.
My overall experience at ISB was phenomenal! While there were a ton of great things at ISB and in Hyderabad (amazing growth), the people at ISB were simply great. In all honesty, they were not too different from our friends at Kellogg. They too, have a strong academic environment, have the best recruiters at school, and have a “healthy” social life. Some differences exist, though.
Academic Environment: ISB, albeit not the quarter I was there, is known for a very heavy workload, and intense academic environment. People take their grades VERY seriously. They have terms that are 5 weeks, not a quarter system, and they are a 1 year program trying to cram everything into 2 years. Whereas at many of the b-schools in the states grades are not disclosed, at ISB, grades are one of the single largest determinant of getting a job. Therefore extra-curriculars are not exactly top priority (although many do participate in clubs) compared to Kellogg. I know we have some gunners here at Kellogg, but I feel comfortable in saying that grades are significantly more important there. In class, most professors are currently visiting professors, as ISB is trying to ramp up its local teaching staff. One similarity I had to laugh about was seeing the number of people raising their hand to “piggyback off of what (enter name) was saying” to get their participation points for the day. As for studying, many of my meetings started at midnight, as many ISBers sleep during the day (or maybe have other things they attend to) and study late at night. Overall, academics is a much larger priority there than it is for us and people take it extremely seriously.
Professional Recruiting: I know many are going through recruiting now, and would likely not want to read anything more about jobs, so I will keep it short. Recruiting at ISB is similar to Kellogg in terms of the order. Banks/consulting firms, marketing firms, so on…BUT, everything is highly compressed. All consulting firms are doing interviews on one day, and often you may get held back and miss another interview. At Kellogg, we are pretty tired if we did four case interviews in one day. I met multiple people at ISB who had gone through nearly 20 case interviews in one day. All rounds are completed in one day, and the offer is given that night, with a need to sign immediately stating your intention to join the firm. It is extremely intense, and as mentioned above, is highly driven by academic performance.
Social Life: The social life at ISB, similar to Kellogg, revolved around three things (in my case): socializing in your study group (therefore taking four hours to do something that likely could be done in one hour), coffee chats, and of course, parties. While there are not as many large, school-wide parties, you can always find some people out having a beverage or two either on campus, or out at a local bar. Most events happen on campus, as the school, like Kellogg, is in the suburbs of Hyderabad. The social life is definitely alive at ISB, people like to have a great time, and you can always find something going on.
When I decided to go on exchange to India, most of my ABCD friends were like “why are you going there, you already know India!” This probably explains why I was the only ABCD at ISB. My experience in India proved to me that I only knew one aspect of the country – my family, and how they live. There are so many facets to India, and even this time, I was likely exposed to such a minute part of the country. But in having the opportunity to attend school and live a life along with people in a different country who are going through a similar experience as I am (business school), I came to realize a few things. First, and most importantly, there are far more similarities between us ABCDs and Indians than there are differences. Second, there really are endless opportunities in India, and more than technology (which most of us ABCDs seem to think that is where the opportunity is), it seems to me the opportunity is in many basic things such as infrastructure, access to clean water, training skilled employees, etc. Third, I find India to have fast forwarded quickly over the last 10—15 years, and while there are still processes and mentalities that do not match up with some of the advancements, it is important to understand that in a country of 1 billion people, change (in mentality) is not overnight and is a process.
There are many more thoughts to this, some likely new learning for me but old learning for others, and some opinionated thoughts that many may disagree with. It was a fantastic experience, though, and I would encourage anyone, if they have the opportunity, to spend some time in India (especially us ABCDs since we likely have a lot of family there).
Prakash Venkataraman (KSM '10) is a VP of the India Business Club. Before school he worked in the financial services and non-profit industries and will be joining Kraft Foods in a marketing role post school. He can be reached at pvenkataraman2010@kellogg.northwestern.edu_________________________________________________________________________
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