WHAT COULD BE THE RELEVANT PROGRAM STUDY AT THE MASTER'S LEVEL TODAY IN THE

COUNTRY TO BECOME A GLOBAL CITIZEN. Ramesh Kumar Nanjundaiya,

Strategic Consultant

DISCUSSION WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS IN BENGALURU, KARNATAKA, INDIA. There has been a renewed interest to learn International Business

and Marketing by graduates. This was the finding when I recently talked to about 60 students from diverse backgrounds. They wanted to know as to why this is gaining in popularity, is it because the technology has brought the various continents closer and what are the competencies required to get an international exposure and what type of courses should be studied. I informed them that International business development has been evolving in the normal processes of trade, migration, foreign direct investment, capital flows, and the advancement of technology in developing countries, only the pace has increased now.

GLOBALISATION AND ENVIRONMENT Today what is happening is the globalization of economies and

cultures and thus diverse countries are integrating through networks of exchange, international business development and global strategic management. Global firms that employ business development professionals in multiple locations share exactly the same type of knowledge, practices, ethics and standards which benefit from a shared body of knowledge and ethics.

WAY OUT By and large, business professionals often find ways of adapting to

the cultures and societies within which they operate and conduct business. With huge growth opportunities created by the emerging middle class of nations such as India, Brazil, Russia and China, many companies in the developed world are stepping in to provide goods and services to those countries' consumers, and business development professionals provide the necessary legal, financial, and cultural bridges between supplier and consumer.

THE CURRENT STATE To look deep as to why there is renewed interest, one needs to

analyse and assess the scenario by looking at the current global economic situation. Take any media of communication today or any report from an international organisation, country and regional reports, television interviews, heads of states speeches, they all speak about one common agenda. The "Current state of the global economy" and how it is affecting their respective countries and regions and the steps that need to be taken. Today terms like internationalization and globalisation are going hand in hand in all spears of economic activities and development, be it international trade, education, health, information technology and communication and connectivity, etc.

APPLICATION ORIENTED EDUCATION So for the student’s community especially the students desirous of

equipping themselves with a masters' level degree, what could be relevant is a big question to ponder. Is an MBA degree the answer to all aspiration and a passport to success, the answer is no. As the world is evolving at a rapid pace, so should students keen to build a career relevant to the present times lot at other options. Is the higher education system in the country application oriented.

ETHICALLY PROFESSIONAL It is well known that all masters level degree programs in India by

various universities do offer something unique to the student community to excel and make a career to contribute to the society. How adaptable is the education to the real world is the question. The need of the hour is to provide necessary competency to the student’s community to development themselves as ethically professional students with a respect to the environment to make it sustainable.

HELECOPTER VIEW What is that program which could catapult a student to reach

higher heights in their career at the global level today. To understand this macro level concept, one needs to analyse the shaping up of the current global economy and the future that is going to span out for different countries and continents.

MEDIA Types of competencies that is required of a student to succeed in

the highly competitive global career market place. One needs to develop a helicopter view to see and appreciate the dynamics of the world and the work place or career. In a nutshell, for students interested in Commerce, Management, Information Technology, Health Sciences, Finance, H.R and Marketing what program could be a good course to pursue. On a daily basis, we are all too familiar with the media, newspapers, televisions, statements by heads of the state, international organisation as the World Bank, IMF, UNESCO, etc.

GLOBAL ECONOMY They all speak the same language almost daily, that is, which way

is the global economy headed and what are the repercussion to particular regions and countries, be it BREXIT, presidential elections, fall in global oil price, global financial markets melt down or the ongoing regional conflicts, migration patterns, inflation and poverty. Under such a scenario, what is the type of education that could be followed so that the youth can contribute to the society ethically and professionally and at the same time build their career.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENT One should therefore perhaps look at "International Business and

Environment" as a possible sector of study with high promise of latent growth potential in the current global economic scene of rapidly changing priorities. A Master's program in International Business would focus on strategic planning for international operations and would provide an in-depth understanding of the organizational capabilities required for international operations, including specialized functions such as international marketing, finance and human resource management as well as topics such as imports and exports and intercultural communication.

OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE Having lived and worked in various countries spanning 3 decades

in Europe and the Middle East region, I have had the chance to appreciate how each country tries to maximise its contribution for the economic growth of its country for the benefit of its citizens with whatever exigencies and shortfall that crop up from time to time. As an example, the Middle East region (GCC countries) have been prospering well since the last 30 years due to the best use of petro dollars - from camel to Cadillac is a reality and not a myth in this region. But today with oil price crashing, the whole Middle East economy will see a paradigm shift on its focus on economic development.

DIASPORA FROM INDIA

Thus today any graduate that has strong career aspirations needs to look globally and work towards becoming a global citizen. Who is a global citizen?

Typically a global citizen is one who is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a world citizen (by 2035, it is estimated that the number of people from India working abroad will be three times the present level. According to a survey conducted by UN department of economic and social affairs, India has the largest diaspora (overseas Asian Indians) population in the world of 16 million living outside India). One needs to respect the values and diversity and have an understanding of how the world works and participates in the community at a range of levels, from the local to the global and willing to act to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place.

COMPETENCIES According to the UN, to be effective Global Citizens, young people

need to be flexible, creative and proactive. They need to be able to solve problems, make decisions, think

critically, communicate ideas effectively and work well within teams and groups. These skills and attributes are increasingly recognised as being essential to succeed in the rapidly changing global economy situation.

NURIEL ROUBINI What is the current state of the global economy. According to the

well-known economist and an authority on the subject Nuriel Roubini, there is turmoil in all regions of the globe with the near collapse of the stock markets and currency and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East region. While growth in manufacturing sector is slowing globally the services sector is picking up. With regard to regions, the US is slowing down, especially manufacturing and there is too much dependence on China. And the fall of oil prices is a negative aspect, at least in the short run, because the US is a major producer of oil and energy. The fall in oil prices is negative for the markets because the market has a certain weight coming from oil and energy companies. Asian countries like China, India and Emerging markets are looking up as consumerism in growing. The Middle East is in state of flux with oil prices down and conflicts.

MIDDLE EAST REGION The proxy wars between Saudi Arabia and Iran are getting worse.

And even in Europe, there's terrorism and the migration crisis, the risk of Grexit, the risk of Brexit, austerity fatigue in the periphery, bailout fatigue in the core. There are plenty of issues that can go wrong in Europe. The Chinese will have to do a round of fiscal stimulus. The Fed will have to signal more clearly if they're going to wait longer before they hike rates again. And the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan will have to ease more. Education for global citizenship deals with issues of global interdependence, diversity of identities and cultures, sustainable development, peace & conflict and inequities of power, resources & respect.

GLOBAL PROCESSES Given the above scenario, I find the most affordable, recognised and a

suitable course for aspiring global students is to undertaken the 2 year (4 semester) M.Com course in International Business program. This could equip the students with a comprehensive curriculum which is relevant to the present times wherein it should build foundations to appreciate the global trade and environment scenario with appropriate exposure to risk management, governance, knowledge of an additional foreign language and communication abilities, appreciation of different cultures and business strategy management. Such a study program will enable potential students to build their skills and competencies to resolve real time issues across industries, countries and regions. One should strive to look at the international business process as a lean and mean machine and standardise global processes and drive efficiencies and give respect to the environment for sustainable development.

PROGRAM The course program would ideally cover such topics on Global

resources, foreign language learning, communication skills, study of global legal environment, India's foreign trade policy, multicultural management, exposure to working of international trade organisations, management information systems, study on international trade and environment, a study on international financial institutions and markets, research methodologies and global business economics.

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE Graduates who complete such a program should be able to

develop the knowledge and expertise to understand management issues in an international context and apply global business practices and analytical tools to one's own organisational environment and to develop an in-depth knowledge of different economic and trading environments. Such a program should provide a combination of international management skills along with an understanding of the cultural and economic dynamics of different countries.

Graduates can therefore apply an international perspective to the management of commercial enterprises to operate effectively in senior management positions in an international business environment.

ROLE OF LECTURERS Let us not forget that the lecturers who teach such a program do

not approach the subject for global citizenship with the feeling that they must have all the answers. This is not possible anyway in such a fast changing world. The role of the lecturer is to enable graduate students to find out about their world for themselves and to support them as they learn to assess evidence, negotiate and work with others, solve problems and make informed decisions. Thus becoming a global citizen is the way forward where knowledge can be applicable to the present challenging times across the globe.

Ramesh Kumar Nanjundaiya (views are personal).

THE WRITER -SPEAKER Mr. Nanjundaiya Ramesh Kumar holds two Master’s degrees in Industrial

Economics from Brussels University, Brussels, Belgium and in Business Administration from Boston University, Boston, US. He is well versed in French language. He has spent almost 3 decades overseas. He is a career International Banker with over 30 years of solid work experience gained in well-known International Banks in such countries as Greece, Belgium, Egypt, Dubai, Muscat, Riyadh and India.

A widely travelled person across various continents and with a deep interest in academics, financial management, international trade and strategic consulting. His forte is franchise promotion. He is currently the Advisor – Overseas Centre for Foreign Students (OCFS) at the Karnataka State Higher Education Council – KSHEC (Department of Higher Education), Bangalore. He is also an Adjunct Professor teaching International Marketing at local institutions in Bengaluru.

GIVING A LECTURE