The Indo-German Training Centre
Corporate India’s solution for future managerial talent
Over the past two decades, it is a widely recognized fact that the Indian economy is on the rise. This in turn has affected a rapid expansion of the higher education system with student enrolment growing at about five percent annually. At present, India has more than 15,000 colleges and just fewer than 10 million students, with increasing impetus noted in professional areas - especially engineering, management and medicine. Nevertheless, the demand of the companies for such qualified and trained professionals far exceeds the supply.
Another growing cause of concern among senior management is the lack of industry orientation in the Indian education system. Students in India are every bit as good, or even better, than students anywhere in the world in terms of their knowledge, functional skills, logical and analytical thinking, strategic perspective and vision, but what they lack is the ability to think and act as a manager. This would only happen if the education system was application-oriented. Unfortunately, there is a wide gap between theoretical inputs and practical reality. Most management students graduate completely oblivious to the realities of the corporate world.
A third dimension that needs attention in professional education is the inadequate focus on the grooming and personal development of the student. Language and communication skills, cross-cultural sensitivity, customer service orientation, and behavioural attributes such as personal maturity, ethics, passion, commitment and integrity cannot be adequately addressed in typical, large Indian educational settings.
As a solution to the above mentioned issues, frequently raised by its growing base of member companies, the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce established the first Indo-German Training Centre (IGTC) in Mumbai in 1991, followed by IGTC Chennai in 2005 and now IGTC Bangalore in 2008. IGTC is based on the world-renowned Dual Training System, credited for the success of the German industry globally, wherein the theoretical classes are organized and certified by the Chambers of Commerce while the practical training is imparted by the corporates themselves.
The unique IGTC model
IGTC’s flagship program is the 18-month, intensive full-time Post Graduate Program in Business Administration. Through this program, IGTC facilitates a close interlocking of one year of academic course work and six months of on-the-job training in one learning system, which results into a new qualitative dimension in business administration education. The model functions in close coordination with HR and Training professionals of partnering companies. The partnering company is not only a destination for the trainee/s but also an equal contributor toward developing, shaping and moulding their young minds and spirits toward becoming competent business professionals of the future.
Secondly, the personalized learning environment at IGTC lends itself to a close interaction between the students, the IGTC administration, teaching faculty and training heads of partnering companies. It adds significant depth and breadth to the development of soft skills, thereby grooming students to become young professionals with the right attitude, knowledge and team spirit, along with interpersonal and communication skills to meet the needs of today’s dynamic global business scenario.
Partnering companies
German and Indian companies that are currently actively involved in the model include BASF, Bajaj Allianz, Bayer, Behr India, Bharat Forge Ltd., Bosch, DHL Express, Deutsche Bank, Dorma India, Eirich Transweigh, Endress + Hauser, Epcos India, Fuchs Lubricants, Inverto Sourcing India, HyperCity Retail India, Lanxess, MAN Force Trucks, Merck, Mettler-Toledo, Schwing Stetter, Siemens, Suzlon, Volkswagen, Zensar Technologies among many others.
Selection Process
IGTC and the partnering companies drive the selection process. From a pool of graduate applicants invited by IGTC, the companies discerning select trainee/s on the basis of their aptitude, attitude and perceived employability with the organization on completion of the program. Based on the confirmed endorsements for training from the various participating companies, IGTC admits an exclusive class of 30 – 40 students. Hence, from the beginning of the program, every student has a strong identification and a sense of belonging with his assigned partnering organization.
Program Curriculum
The IGTC program encompasses a general management curriculum that is structured to take students through the complete spectrum of business education. Beginning with the basic skills such as courses on how to give winning presentations, or how a database works, it moves on to foundation courses such as statistics, economics and organizational behavior. Students are then introduced to the major functional areas of business - marketing, accounting, operations, human resources, finance - and ultimately progress toward in-depth study of these areas, both independently and in combination with each other. This holistic approach nurtures professionals who have the ability to keep the big picture in mind while executing their functional role, resulting in greater value additions and deeper insights.
Academic Faculty
The world-class faculty at IGTC personify what it means to be theoretically grounded and practically relevant, by connecting strong academic theories in the classroom to real-world examples and problems facing managers in the business world. The faculty comprises not only academicians, but also industry experts who collaborate and consult with organizations, serve on corporate boards and successfully run their own companies. With intelligence and energy, these multidisciplinary trainers excel at communicating their passion for their respective fields.
Answering questions with a counter question, going deep into the subject matter and building a strong fundamental base is the way of teaching at IGTC. Faculty not only teach the what and how of the subject, but most importantly, the why. They engage students to build knowledge, create understanding in core business principles and nurture sound thinking. They share information, elicit responses, spur dialogues and encourage ideas to compete and people to collaborate. They motivate students to rethink the existing paradigms and strive toward perfection.
Practical Training
In close cooperation with each partnering company, IGTC facilitates the three stints of practical training, customized according to the company’s post-training absorption requirements. This enables the company to critically examine the student's capabilities, potential and suitability for their specific needs. Students gain lateral exposure to diverse functional areas of business management, and opportunities to immediately apply and implement their classroom learning to real time industry projects.
Some of the projects undertaken by the IGTC trainees have been noteworthy. Be it the creation of a City Master Plan for the Shipment Forecast and the implementation of the Zero Defect Programme (Do It Right) at DHL, the identification of Gaps between the Buying and Merchandising (B&M) team and Operations team at HyperCity Retail India Ltd, the Portfolio Analysis for the Key Spend in Raw Materials at Bayer, the study of the Flow of Accounting in SAP (FI Model) and SAP BW for Bosch, the evaluation of Brand Awareness for Dorma India; all projects have added significant value to the partnering organization. Students, in turn, have learnt to work with determination, discipline, maturity and confidentiality. Under an umbrella of unstinted corporate support and industry mentors, they have gained the opportunity to personally develop themselves and to become genuine solution providers in the corporate arena.
Final Placements
The final placement process is initiated by the training company being given the first preference to recruit their respective trainees. The company assesses overall work performance of the trainee/s through the three stints of practical training, their career interests and job profiles available within the organization to find a suitable employment opportunity. In many cases, this proves to be a win-win for both, as the company gets a hands-on employee already well-oriented to the organization, while the trainee/s gets a dream job.
Alumni
The success of the IGTC alumni in multinational organizations is our yardstick for excellence. At present, IGTC has more than 500 successful alumni in different countries around the world - a network that expands steadily with each graduating class. The training centre graduates serve across a wide spectrum of roles, responsibilities, and organizations including consulting, financial services, venture capital, high technology, manufacturing, retail, and consumer products.
Concluding remarks
The IGTC model has been tested across a range of industry verticals, and has met with unanimous success among German and Indian companies in India. It enables the partnering organization to seriously examine and judge the trainee’s capabilities, potential and suitability through six distributed months before committing employment; and to acquire trained human resources, who are in tune with the practical reality of the organization and hence, hands-on from Day 1 of employment. Thus, the dual system effectively sculpts leaders for the future through its unique approach of theory and practice. By collating business fundamentals with corporate synergies, it provides a comprehensive perspective vital for business success and equips young professionals with the complete arsenal to face the toughest of corporate world challenges.
Corporate India’s solution for future managerial talent
Over the past two decades, it is a widely recognized fact that the Indian economy is on the rise. This in turn has affected a rapid expansion of the higher education system with student enrolment growing at about five percent annually. At present, India has more than 15,000 colleges and just fewer than 10 million students, with increasing impetus noted in professional areas - especially engineering, management and medicine. Nevertheless, the demand of the companies for such qualified and trained professionals far exceeds the supply.
Another growing cause of concern among senior management is the lack of industry orientation in the Indian education system. Students in India are every bit as good, or even better, than students anywhere in the world in terms of their knowledge, functional skills, logical and analytical thinking, strategic perspective and vision, but what they lack is the ability to think and act as a manager. This would only happen if the education system was application-oriented. Unfortunately, there is a wide gap between theoretical inputs and practical reality. Most management students graduate completely oblivious to the realities of the corporate world.
A third dimension that needs attention in professional education is the inadequate focus on the grooming and personal development of the student. Language and communication skills, cross-cultural sensitivity, customer service orientation, and behavioural attributes such as personal maturity, ethics, passion, commitment and integrity cannot be adequately addressed in typical, large Indian educational settings.
As a solution to the above mentioned issues, frequently raised by its growing base of member companies, the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce established the first Indo-German Training Centre (IGTC) in Mumbai in 1991, followed by IGTC Chennai in 2005 and now IGTC Bangalore in 2008. IGTC is based on the world-renowned Dual Training System, credited for the success of the German industry globally, wherein the theoretical classes are organized and certified by the Chambers of Commerce while the practical training is imparted by the corporates themselves.
The unique IGTC model
IGTC’s flagship program is the 18-month, intensive full-time Post Graduate Program in Business Administration. Through this program, IGTC facilitates a close interlocking of one year of academic course work and six months of on-the-job training in one learning system, which results into a new qualitative dimension in business administration education. The model functions in close coordination with HR and Training professionals of partnering companies. The partnering company is not only a destination for the trainee/s but also an equal contributor toward developing, shaping and moulding their young minds and spirits toward becoming competent business professionals of the future.
Secondly, the personalized learning environment at IGTC lends itself to a close interaction between the students, the IGTC administration, teaching faculty and training heads of partnering companies. It adds significant depth and breadth to the development of soft skills, thereby grooming students to become young professionals with the right attitude, knowledge and team spirit, along with interpersonal and communication skills to meet the needs of today’s dynamic global business scenario.
Partnering companies
German and Indian companies that are currently actively involved in the model include BASF, Bajaj Allianz, Bayer, Behr India, Bharat Forge Ltd., Bosch, DHL Express, Deutsche Bank, Dorma India, Eirich Transweigh, Endress + Hauser, Epcos India, Fuchs Lubricants, Inverto Sourcing India, HyperCity Retail India, Lanxess, MAN Force Trucks, Merck, Mettler-Toledo, Schwing Stetter, Siemens, Suzlon, Volkswagen, Zensar Technologies among many others.
Selection Process
IGTC and the partnering companies drive the selection process. From a pool of graduate applicants invited by IGTC, the companies discerning select trainee/s on the basis of their aptitude, attitude and perceived employability with the organization on completion of the program. Based on the confirmed endorsements for training from the various participating companies, IGTC admits an exclusive class of 30 – 40 students. Hence, from the beginning of the program, every student has a strong identification and a sense of belonging with his assigned partnering organization.
Program Curriculum
The IGTC program encompasses a general management curriculum that is structured to take students through the complete spectrum of business education. Beginning with the basic skills such as courses on how to give winning presentations, or how a database works, it moves on to foundation courses such as statistics, economics and organizational behavior. Students are then introduced to the major functional areas of business - marketing, accounting, operations, human resources, finance - and ultimately progress toward in-depth study of these areas, both independently and in combination with each other. This holistic approach nurtures professionals who have the ability to keep the big picture in mind while executing their functional role, resulting in greater value additions and deeper insights.
Academic Faculty
The world-class faculty at IGTC personify what it means to be theoretically grounded and practically relevant, by connecting strong academic theories in the classroom to real-world examples and problems facing managers in the business world. The faculty comprises not only academicians, but also industry experts who collaborate and consult with organizations, serve on corporate boards and successfully run their own companies. With intelligence and energy, these multidisciplinary trainers excel at communicating their passion for their respective fields.
Answering questions with a counter question, going deep into the subject matter and building a strong fundamental base is the way of teaching at IGTC. Faculty not only teach the what and how of the subject, but most importantly, the why. They engage students to build knowledge, create understanding in core business principles and nurture sound thinking. They share information, elicit responses, spur dialogues and encourage ideas to compete and people to collaborate. They motivate students to rethink the existing paradigms and strive toward perfection.
Practical Training
In close cooperation with each partnering company, IGTC facilitates the three stints of practical training, customized according to the company’s post-training absorption requirements. This enables the company to critically examine the student's capabilities, potential and suitability for their specific needs. Students gain lateral exposure to diverse functional areas of business management, and opportunities to immediately apply and implement their classroom learning to real time industry projects.
Some of the projects undertaken by the IGTC trainees have been noteworthy. Be it the creation of a City Master Plan for the Shipment Forecast and the implementation of the Zero Defect Programme (Do It Right) at DHL, the identification of Gaps between the Buying and Merchandising (B&M) team and Operations team at HyperCity Retail India Ltd, the Portfolio Analysis for the Key Spend in Raw Materials at Bayer, the study of the Flow of Accounting in SAP (FI Model) and SAP BW for Bosch, the evaluation of Brand Awareness for Dorma India; all projects have added significant value to the partnering organization. Students, in turn, have learnt to work with determination, discipline, maturity and confidentiality. Under an umbrella of unstinted corporate support and industry mentors, they have gained the opportunity to personally develop themselves and to become genuine solution providers in the corporate arena.
Final Placements
The final placement process is initiated by the training company being given the first preference to recruit their respective trainees. The company assesses overall work performance of the trainee/s through the three stints of practical training, their career interests and job profiles available within the organization to find a suitable employment opportunity. In many cases, this proves to be a win-win for both, as the company gets a hands-on employee already well-oriented to the organization, while the trainee/s gets a dream job.
Alumni
The success of the IGTC alumni in multinational organizations is our yardstick for excellence. At present, IGTC has more than 500 successful alumni in different countries around the world - a network that expands steadily with each graduating class. The training centre graduates serve across a wide spectrum of roles, responsibilities, and organizations including consulting, financial services, venture capital, high technology, manufacturing, retail, and consumer products.
Concluding remarks
The IGTC model has been tested across a range of industry verticals, and has met with unanimous success among German and Indian companies in India. It enables the partnering organization to seriously examine and judge the trainee’s capabilities, potential and suitability through six distributed months before committing employment; and to acquire trained human resources, who are in tune with the practical reality of the organization and hence, hands-on from Day 1 of employment. Thus, the dual system effectively sculpts leaders for the future through its unique approach of theory and practice. By collating business fundamentals with corporate synergies, it provides a comprehensive perspective vital for business success and equips young professionals with the complete arsenal to face the toughest of corporate world challenges.