Berkeley-Haas brings Silicon Valley innovation to business in India

It seems that the world of higher education’s eyes are trained on India of late. It is predicted that the country’s population will surpass that of China’s in 2030, meaning that India will have the world‘s largest workforce, with an average age of 31. And it’s not just the size of the population – the growth of business in India in recent years has been well documented.

This creates an unprecedented scale of opportunities for institutions which teach and develop executives to do business in India. It is no surprise, then, that top business schools from around the world are looking for an entry point into this lucrative market, as they aim to do some business in India of their own

A number of programs have sprung up in just the past few months including WUSTL joining forces with IIT Bombay. Now the prestigious Berkeley-Haas School of Business has announced a new executive education program aimed at senior executives looking to do business in India, starting this November.

Course split between Berkeley-Haas and India

In an effort to bring the innovative thinking of Silicon Valley to the world of business in India, the Berkeley-Haas School of Business will team up with India-based Northwest Executive Education (NEE) to create the Berkeley Executive Program in Management. The one-year program will include four weeklong modules taught by Haas School of Business professors, and will focus on leadership, innovation, strategy and product management and communications.

Classes will take place on both continents with one module held in India, another online and two in Silicon Valley where participants will have the opportunity to visit local California companies, startups, venture capital firms and incubators. There will also be multiple workshops and a capstone project to round out a full year of learning.

Bringing Silicon Valley innovation to India

“In most parts of the world, including India, it’s no longer a feasible strategy just to look at low-cost manufacturing,” says Jorge Choy, director of client development for the UC Berkeley Center for Executive Education (CEE) and manager of the new partnership with NEE. “Developing countries are looking at how to develop their economies or their companies through innovation. The lessons that can be gleaned from Silicon Valley are increasingly applicable to and desired by people in other industries.”

As East meets West in this newest executive education offering, it is clear that as Choy says, “India has already proven its ability to create world-class companies and Berkeley’s front-row seat to Silicon Valley represents a valuable opportunity for business leaders looking to the future.”

With domestic students in India representing a huge – and growing – untapped market for many business schools, it seems likely that we will soon see others following in the footsteps of the Berkeley-Haas School of Business.