Susmitha Obulareddy • International MBA Student
.jpg)
Though their humility keeps them from admitting it themselves, Susmitha Obulareddy, Venkatraman Kirthivasan, Sunil Pujari and Lekha Raman are true pioneers. They are the first four students to come to the University of Michigan-Flint from Alliance Business Academy (ABA) in Bangalore, India as part of the new international articulation agreement between the two institutions.
For more than a year, UM-Flint School of Management professors Mark Perry, Madhukar Angur and Dean I. Douglas Moon worked with colleagues at ABA to finalize this new Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program. Each year, ABA receives over 10,000 applications for its traditional MBA program. However, the highly esteemed academy only accepts around 500 individuals into the competitive program. With this new agreement, ABA students will complete 6 weeks of course work in Bangalore, then finish their MBA requirements at UM-Flint.
Everybody wins. ABA will have more capacity to accept more students into their programs. UM-Flint will have the benefit of more international students on campus. And the students receive the opportunity to earn their MBA while immersing themselves an entirely new culture. And with of the help of Doritta McDaniel, Coordinator of Educational Development and Student Services, that is exactly what Venkatraman, Susmitha, Sunil and Lekha have been doing.
“My job was to find them an apartment complex and help them settle in,” said McDaniel. “They’re really smart and brave kids. They’ve been to a UM-Flint hockey game. They are going with others from the International Students Center to a Pistons basketball game. The School of Management board took them to the Flint Institute of Art. They’re doing research for some of the faculty in their spare time. They are truly willing to try anything. They’re in the process of getting a car and planning a trip to New York City.”
Coming from one of India’s most challenging business schools to UM-Flint has been an interesting adjustment for all four students. According to Venkatraman, “In India, we go to school six days a week. Normally taking eight or nine classes at a time. Here we are taking only three. Everyone teaches in different ways. I studied finance in India. I’m taking a finance course here, and it is somehow new and different. There is more time to play with examples and case studies. The pace is more relaxed and the approach is more interactive, more of a discussion. More people work here and have real world examples to bring back to class. In India, students are full-time students. We don’t have those experiences. But we still feel comfortable joining the conversation and asking questions. It’s a much more interactive type of involvement.”
UM-Flint School of Management is in the process of working out similar international graduate and under-graduate agreements with schools in Taiwan and Korea.
For more than a year, UM-Flint School of Management professors Mark Perry, Madhukar Angur and Dean I. Douglas Moon worked with colleagues at ABA to finalize this new Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program. Each year, ABA receives over 10,000 applications for its traditional MBA program. However, the highly esteemed academy only accepts around 500 individuals into the competitive program. With this new agreement, ABA students will complete 6 weeks of course work in Bangalore, then finish their MBA requirements at UM-Flint.
Everybody wins. ABA will have more capacity to accept more students into their programs. UM-Flint will have the benefit of more international students on campus. And the students receive the opportunity to earn their MBA while immersing themselves an entirely new culture. And with of the help of Doritta McDaniel, Coordinator of Educational Development and Student Services, that is exactly what Venkatraman, Susmitha, Sunil and Lekha have been doing.
“My job was to find them an apartment complex and help them settle in,” said McDaniel. “They’re really smart and brave kids. They’ve been to a UM-Flint hockey game. They are going with others from the International Students Center to a Pistons basketball game. The School of Management board took them to the Flint Institute of Art. They’re doing research for some of the faculty in their spare time. They are truly willing to try anything. They’re in the process of getting a car and planning a trip to New York City.”
Coming from one of India’s most challenging business schools to UM-Flint has been an interesting adjustment for all four students. According to Venkatraman, “In India, we go to school six days a week. Normally taking eight or nine classes at a time. Here we are taking only three. Everyone teaches in different ways. I studied finance in India. I’m taking a finance course here, and it is somehow new and different. There is more time to play with examples and case studies. The pace is more relaxed and the approach is more interactive, more of a discussion. More people work here and have real world examples to bring back to class. In India, students are full-time students. We don’t have those experiences. But we still feel comfortable joining the conversation and asking questions. It’s a much more interactive type of involvement.”
UM-Flint School of Management is in the process of working out similar international graduate and under-graduate agreements with schools in Taiwan and Korea.