Wharton Adds India Certificate Program

The Wharton School has announced that it is launching a new business certificate program for India beginning in January. The announcement was made Oct. 11 at the school’s Global Engagement Series event at the Taj Land’s End in Mumbai by Vice Dean Jason.

Designed to meet the current needs of high-potential business leaders in India, Wharton’s Accelerated Development Program will refine business acumen and enhance professional development, the school said.  This certificate program includes courses on strategy, finance, marketing, and leadership and will be offered exclusively in India during 2012.

There are 2 tracks for this program starting January 2012:

  • Track 1: Take three Wharton Executive Education programs in India.
  • Track 2: Take two programs in India and one at Wharton’s primary campus in  Philadelphia.

Initially, there will be a selection of three Wharton executive education programs offered in India:

A fourth program, focused on leadership, will be added in the second half of 2012.

Wharton said that participants who successfully complete Track 1 or Track 2 will receive a Certificate of Accelerated Development from the Wharton School recognizing their achievement in the Accelerated Development Program. Participants have up to two years to complete the three required courses to receive the certificate.

Executives who are only interested in enrolling in one program can choose to forgo the certificate, (which includes coaching and professional assessment), and take Wharton executive education programs in India à la carte. That means they can pick and choose whichever program they find most appealing. Each Wharton Executive education program offered in India is priced at Rs. 1.6 laks + service tax.

The event in Mumbai will also feature a presentation by Harbir Singh, Wharton’s Vice Dean of Global Initiatives and the Mack Professor of Management, who will address the current challenges of doing business in today’s highly competitive and globally interconnected environment. Co-author of “The India Way: How India’s Top Business Leaders are Revolutionizing Management,” Singh will bring an empirical perspective to the factors promoting globalization, the sources of value creation in going global, and the benefits of local adaptation and global integration.

Singh, who will teach in the Accelerated Development Program, says the time is right for a program like this in India. “Among the major business schools, Wharton is the most international in orientation and most committed to exploring issues that transcend national borders,” he said. “We understand the differences, both in terms of culture and ways of doing business, that affect organizations as they move onto the global stage, and that understanding is reflected in our dedication to global business education.”

Accelerated Development Program participants, the school said in a statement, will benefit from Wharton’s deep understanding of global organizations and their unique challenges. The academic program features the same world-class faculty and content taught at the internationally-recognized business school in the United States. Additionally, Accelerated Development Program participants will be assigned a career coach and they will also undergo professional assessments in order to complete the certificate’s requirements.