Global Immersion Program

Hyderabad, 28 December 2020: Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Hyderabad organized its first edition of the Global Immersion Program for its first year PGDM students. The program intends to give its students insight into understanding cultural diversity that affects businesses and international relations across the globe.

The program was inaugurated with an official address by the Chairperson of the International Relations Committee of IMT, Hyderabad, Dr. Nikhil Rastogi. He gave a brief description of the concept of this program and how it is going to be beneficial for the students. According to him, “Due to the cost of the exchange program, only a few students opted for it, so we thought of ways in which we could benefit maximum number of students. So with that spirit, we came up with this global immersion program. Our students will be able to work with students from universities outside the country and hence learn and discover topics like diversity and culture.”

Given the current situation, it has become even more pivotal for students to garner knowledge beyond the classroom and their grassroots. It is designed for three months with a varied speaker line-up to gauge the global perspectives of communities and challenges faced due to differences to be understood better. The program aims to develop a holistic understanding comprehensively through developing a country-specific group-project.

The event included an official address by Dr. Sriharsha Reddy, Dean (Academics), wherein he enlightened the students about how one needs to accept the new normal and take advantage of whatever benefits and opportunities that come ones way. He described the program's efficiency and the global perspective of digital transformation and social connection that the students would get with the help of this. The program is a complete package to have a well-rounded and comprehensive perspective to handle digital challenges. He believes, “We learn a lot beyond the classroom, the food habits, clothing and cuisines of different cultures. What we read in books is completely different from what we experience. Instead of blaming the pandemic, we wanted to develop a solution as to how we could deliver this experience to our students because 10 years from now, every student should have a global perspective and know-how the economies of the world.”

The event also witnessed a formal address by the Director, Dr. M. Venkateshwarlu, wherein he welcomed the guest speaker for the day, Mr. Daniel Hofmann. He underlined the importance of an exchange program and industry mentoring programs. He also talked about new ideas where the students can take up projects in foreign countries and learn from global perspectives.

The speaker for the day, Mr. Daniel Hofmann, is the COO of EichenCredit, Berlin who built Fintech for one of Germany's top property consultancies. The theme - Fintech was discussed at length to examine the objectives of financial regulation further. Innovation in the banking industry, banking operations, challenges in the Fintech industry were a few of the highlights of the discussion. A case study was used as an example to help study the digital disruption, as well as bringing in change in operations of old-world banks and transforming the way all of us use banking and financial services.

The event concluded with a question and answer session for interaction amongst the students, the Professors, and the Guest Speaker. It was followed by a vote of thanks, where the students expressed their heartfelt gratitude and thanked the authorities for the insightful session.

Day - 2 & 3

Hyderabad, 29 & 30 December 2020: Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Hyderabad witnessed the second session of the Global Immersion Program on 29th Dec 2020 – 'Doing Business in a Foreign Country' by Prof. Kongkiti Phusavat, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand for the batch of 2020-22. The session covered the various aspects of initiating a business opportunity on a foreign land with a significant focus on juxtaposing the government regulations across the globe with that of Thailand.

The session started with an official address by Dr. Nikhil Rastogi, Profesor -Finance&Accounting, IMT Hyderabad, welcoming the speaker and the students for the session. He emphasized the importance of having such a session to understand the numerous facets related to operating a business in a different geographic territory.

The speaker for the session, Prof. Kongkiti Phusavat, began his address by highlighting the importance of 'Ease of Doing Business' rankings as one of the most imperative factors when it comes to looking for a business opportunity overseas. He emphasized the significance of various reports issued by the World Bank, as the most trusted source for collating right and reliable data which acts as a cornerstone for forming multiple business decisions. He explained how Thailand has balanced its dependence on China for industrial supply chain with a little above the world average of 30%, which acts as an alluring proposition compared with other South-East Asian countries. He also acknowledged India's phenomenal rise in the 'World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Ranking 2020' of 79 positions from 142nd (in 2014) to 63rd (in 2019).

The event concluded with a brief Q&A session wherein the students posed several questions regarding the upcoming trends for numerous businesses in Thailand and the business-related policy implications impacted by different geopolitical factors.

The third session of the Global Immersion Program was titled – "Digital transformation: Fintech applications in business and finance" and was taken by Professor Renato Pereira, Professor of General Management from ISCTE Business School in Lisbon, Portugal. The session highlighted the milestones covered by companies leading in financial technology services and the possibilities for the future of global business from a technological perspective.

Professor Renato Pereira talked about the drivers of increased technological adoption, which stimulated innovation. Students also acquired invaluable knowledge of how Fintech was among the many emerging technologies that would change businesses' style. The professor imparted his wisdom to students on how new technologies that would be developed were growing explicitly amalgamated artificial intelligence and machine learning by showing the Gartner Hype Cycle Graph for emerging technologies. Professor Renato Pereira relayed how landscape changes in the way technologies developed were gradual and have begun evolving faster. He showed a list of leading Fintech companies to demonstrate the pace of adoption of Fintech. It was a proud moment to see domestic companies and the "National Stock Exchange," the only stock exchange in the world on the list together.

Professor Pereira concluded the event with a question-and-answer session to resolve the students' piqued curiosity after having such an insightful session on emerging technologies, particularly

Fintech. Students who would be part of the workforce of the future gained valuable takeaways as working alongside such evolving technologies as artificial intelligence and machine learning systems grows as an inevitable reality with each passing day.