In this week’s campus chronicles, we’ll take a look at The Monroe Street Journal to discover the latest happenings at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Reading MBA student newspapers is a great way to get a feel for campus culture and understand the programs and activities that students are engaged in.
Ross recently hosted its first Indian Business conference, in which students, alumni, and professors, as well as local industry experts and entrepreneurs, had a chance to learn about India and other emerging economies. Arun Shourie, the former Minister of Communication & IT for India, began the conference’s first day with a keynote address. He discussed India’s transformation from an outsourcing hub with cheap labor to a collaborative partner with enormous innovative and economic potential. Professor C K Prahalad gave the second day’s keynote address, opining that the cornerstones of India’s future business success should be economic strength, technical vitality, and moral leadership, and that all emerging markets could find success through the mantra “excitement, energy, empowerment, and engagement.” Other speakers included Manoj Kohli, the CEO of Bharati Airel; Rajiv Dube, the President of Tata Motor’s Passenger Car Division; N. Balaji, the President of ITC North America; Gopal Srinivasan, the Chairman of TVS Captial Funds; Subbu Subramanian, co-founder of Barings Private Equity Partners India; and Raghuveer Mendu, General Partner of Ventureast.
BusinessWeek’s Adam Alston recently visited Ross to discuss the role of the environment in the economic future, citing the effects of the decreasing supply of available energy. He opined that many alternative energy sectors, including natural gas, wind energy, and solar power, will grow rapidly in the next 10 to 20 years. He also stated his belief that China would have a larger role than the US in growing and implementing new energy technology, because of the conflicting interests the US Congress faces in trying to please constituents. In contrast, China has already become a significant exporter of green technology through the introduction of electric motorcycles and small cars, and Alston believes China’s position will only expand in the future due to its predicted rapid population and economic growth.
At the recent Net Impact’s Markets with a Mission Conference, Ross students had a chance to learn from Jerry Greenfield, the co-founder and former CEO of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade. Greenfield stated his belief that business is the most powerful force in today’s society, and that power is the combination of organized human energy and money. Students also had the chance to participate in resume reviews, corporate presentations, networking, an evening reception, and career panels, such as “Made to Measure: Quantifying Sustainability in the Food Industry.” Ross students will have the chance to further collaborate and discuss these issues at the Net Impact’s National Conference, which will be held later in November at Cornell University.
