Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, India's premier business school, will begin a management development programme in Egypt by mid-April 2005.
"The course would cover various aspects of general management for working executives in organisations/companies in Egypt and other neighbouring countries.
"As the government of Egypt is yet to set up any infrastructure to conduct the course, IIM-A would be operating from within a hotel in Cairo for the first batch.
"The local government along with a non-profit organisation, which is also involved in the process of spreading management education in Egypt, would develop a full-fledged institute in Cairo with the help of IIMA," said Bakul Dholakia, director of IIM-A, on Thursday, after signing the MoU with the Singapore-based institute.
IIM-A had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Singapore-based National Kidney Foundation on Thursday to conduct a MDP for managing NGOs in that country.
Ten senior faculties of the institute have been chosen for the Cairo programme and a course content has already been developed.
"Students from Middle-East, which is located close to Cairo, would be allowed to participate in the six-month duration programme," he said.
"The Cairo campus would be run either by the local government or its nominated agencies which may include the NGO," said Dholakia.
According to him, the course has been designed on the pattern of addressing issues faced by senior executives of companies and keeping in mind the financial situation of Egypt.
The plan to make a foray into Egypt was in the pipeline during the tenure of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. IIMA's senior faculty members and its dean Indira Parikh have been working on the idea since then.
The MoU with the Singapore institution was signed on Thursday by the chairman of IIM-A, N R Narayana Murthy, and chairman of NKF, Singapore, Richard Yong. NKF will help to develop the course modules in co-ordination with a team of five senior faculty members of IIM-A.
More from rediff