Wharton to open in India in 2012

Next year, Indian executives hoping to get a Wharton education will not have to travel far from home.

The Wharton School announced last week that its Accelerated Development Program, which offers a business certificate for executive students — college graduates with existing business experience — will find a new home in India starting January 2012.

Vice Dean of Executive Education Jason Wingard believes that Wharton is in a position to offer research and knowledge to help business executives analyze the growing economy in the world’s largest democracy.

Wharton in the subcontinent
The new program will cover topics such as international marketing and global strategic leadership.

To receive the certificate, students will take three courses, one of which can be taken on Wharton’s campus in Philadelphia.

The Accelerated Development Program will be hosted in a five-star hotel in Mumbai. Visiting faculty from Philadelphia will stay in the hotel while they teach.

Instead of offering a wide array of courses, the program will offer a smaller selection of courses taught by experts.

“When you’re flying faculty to India, your design can’t have as much variety,” Wingard said.

“Over here, we offer over 50 programs … what we’re trying to do is to provide an initially smaller menu in India. Over time, we may well increase the number of courses,” Vice Dean for Global Initiatives Harbir Singh said.

Although Wharton currently offers education programs to almost 10,000 executives in Philadelphia and San Francisco, the new program in India will be unique.

Students in Wharton’s existing programs come from all over the world, including India, Wingard said. However, it is important to provide a program in India that is tailored to the market there, he added.

“Some of the topics will overlap with what we deliver here in Philadelphia, but there will be a twist … of what’s unique with doing business in India,” Wingard added.

He hopes that the program will teach students how to be successful in the Indian market and “be prepared to ride this new wave of growth,” he said.