GSB, ISB exchange programme offers learning through diversity

An exchange programme between the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) in South Africa and the University of Hyderabad’s Indian School of Business (ISB) has seen students bridge cultural divides to learn more about the dynamics of management in two parts of the world that while in some ways very different – can offer some very similar, and significant, lessons in business leadership.

The exchange programme enables students from each university to swap campuses for a semester and spend time at an international university to gain a fresh perspective on their development.

Director of the UCT GSB Walter Baets, says that while certainly different countries are beset by different issues, his mission as director has been to improve relevance and innovative business thinking in an emerging market context. He says that placed within an emerging market, South African and Indian business schools have a lot to offer one another.

“Businesses worldwide need management graduates who have the tools to succeed globally – leadership skills, cultural awareness, and foreign language proficiency, are increasingly important in the globalised environment.

“Through exchange programmes, students are given the chance to learn more about the dynamics of management in different parts of the world; and through the diversity of ideas and experience, an interchange on business and entrepreneurial understanding of how the global marketplace function is affected,” says Baets.

The GSB and ISB are among a select group of emergent market business schools who have achieved recognition in the Financial Times survey. Further, they are two of only six business schools from the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) who have consistently achieved rankings.

The University of Cape Town is the highest ranked African university in the QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and is subsequently home to some 4 300 international students from 104 countries; representing 20 % of their student body.

“We’ve seen students who participated in the programme bring back an invigorated approach to not just the way they look at management, but also many other aspects of their lives. The opportunity to interact with and learn from another culture on such a potentially significant level is something that all leaders should consider,” says Baets.

Students who participate in the exchange programme are exempt from educational fees at exchange universities but must take responsibility for their travel, accommodation and other costs. While students do not obtain credits for courses they take, they are given a certificate listing the courses attended.