India Abroad - June 2009

The idea for this spe- cial magazine was parked by a chance meeting I had with three Master of
Business Administration stu-
dents of the Rotman School of
Management, University of
Toronto. Nikhil Venugopal,
Apar Jain, both 26, and Vishal
Singhal, 28, had worked with
Indian software major Infosys
in Bangalore. They felt they
had hit a plateau in their engi-
neering careers and needed a
leg-up, which only an MBA
degree could give them. They
spoke of their fears — fed by the
doomsday stories of the global
economic downturn — but said
they were convinced they had
made the right decision to pur-
sue business education in
Canada.
That set us thinking. Amid the
scary stories — the Globe and
Mail recently wrote about how
business graduates are now
downsizing their salary expec-
tations and The New York
Times recently reported how
even graduates from the presti-

gious Wharton School of
Business are finding fewer jobs,
to recall a few — we felt certain
issues were still hazy. For exam-
ple, in the wake of the global
turmoil, does the MBA curricu-
lum itself need change? What
skills do B-schools actually
teach? How do those skills help
business leaders? Is the MBA
just a passport to a fat pay-
check? Is an MBA degree for
anyone and everyone? Has the
MBA degree been devalued?
Thus, India Abroad sponsored
a symposium, Center Stage
2009, held at Prego, downtown
Toronto, March 21. In atten-
dance and sharing their views
were students and faculty from
three of Canada’s best B-
schools — Rotman, the
Schulich School of Business,
York University, and the School
of Business and Economics,
Wilfrid Laurier University —
entrepreneurs who know what
it takes to run super successful
businesses in the real world,
and academics who know what
it takes to turn a bright student
into a business leader.

AJIT JAIN

In the following pages, you will
find their wisdom — to help
you choose the right career
path.

Special Thanks

Center Stage would not have been the success it was without the help of the entire Indo-Canadian community and especially students like Abhinav Dani, Sudhanshu Chopra, Shivanki Singh (Rotman) and Mugunathan Ganeshan (Schulich School). But, Center Stage would not have been possible at all without the help of four outstanding individuals: Nikhil Venugopal,

Apar Jain and Vishal Singhal — who spared no effort in making sure the symposium was a star-studded affair — and Aditya Jha, president, Karma Candy, who so very magnanimously threw open his Prego restaurant for the symposium without accepting a single dollar in return. The staff at Prego mirrored their boss’ large-heartedness. We don’t have words enough to thank them.