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Every year MICA’s second year PGDM-C students proceed for rural immersion across India in collaboration with Corporate Foundations, Government Institutions and Social Sector Organizations.  


This year, the student group also had the opportunity to go for an international immersion in collaboration with US universities. The two weeks’ long international immersion program was offered by MICA in collaboration with Michigan State University (MSU), USA, recently.

MICA also sent a group of six faculties for an international immersion. Commenting on these initiatives, MICA Dean Dr. Preeti Shroff emphasized, “Cultural immersion in India and abroad are the key priorities for ongoing student and faculty learning at MICA.  We are building partnerships with multiple organizations for MICA community’s academic, field and culture centered management learning that is locally grounded and globally relevant.  The international immersion program for students focused on Digital, Marketing, Analytics and Communication subject learning in the US university classrooms, campus, communities and industry, including live Case studies and problem solving.  The faculty group, individually and collectively, collaborated with over 15 US universities, faculty for global management research, program and pedagogical innovation experience.  Both groups - students and faculty have returned with valuable academic learning and life transforming experiences that will strengthen MICA’s management education design and delivery.” 

MICA  team

Pic: MICA Team at World Headquarters of General Motors, Detroit.


Through the immersion program, MICA students underwent multiple workshops, conducted by MSU faculties that deepened their understanding of various concepts. The topics of the workshops ranged from C-suite leadership to audience analytics, digital analytics, digital metrics etc.

“The International Immersion experience was transformative. I learnt a lot of new concepts and got structure for a lot of the concepts I previously learnt. I interacted with an amazing set of professors and got to experience a whole new culture. It was a riveting mix of academic, professional and cultural learning” narrated by Nitesh Raj, one of the student participants.

 

Prof. Prabu David, Dean of the College of Communications Arts & Sciences at MSU said: “The MICA immersive program was a rewarding experience. Their students are among the brightest in India and I enjoyed learning from their perspectives. At the same time, our world class faculty have much to offer and I believe their students received a rich mix of classroom training and experiential learning”. Prof. Wietske Van Osch, faculty of Media and Information and MSU StratCom, who also took sessions with MICA students further added “…working with MICA was a particularly rewarding experience given how intelligent and engaged the students in attendance were! I look forward to more opportunities to engage with MICA faculty and students in the future." 

Prof. Jason Archer, Director M.A. in Strategic Communication Area at MSU and facilitator of this immersion, further stated “The excitement goes beyond just academics and cultural immersion. The [MICA] students and faculty were fantastic to work with. It was a truly collaborative experience.”

Prof. Wietske Van Osch, delivering a session

Pic: Prof. Wietske Van Osch, delivering a session on – Science behind social media.

 

As part of the immersion, MICA students also experienced the industry side of US, and visited the world headquarters of General Motors in Detroit. Students also visited Dearborn based production facility of Ford Motor Company. In addition, students visited Detroit based office of Leo Burnett, where Skip Drayton, Executive Vice President of Leo Burnett shared some very interesting insights from advertising with MICA community.  

They also visited the Grand Rapids Artprize Festival and experienced some of the great art forms of the world. “The International Immersion Program was a cultural eye opener for me, as it was my first experience of the West…”quoted Megha Upadhyay, another student participant..

In addition to students group, a MICA faculty team comprising Professors Anjali, Harmony, Kallol, Subrat, Sunita, and Suresh toured various US universities as part of their individual international immersion. The faculty members, individually as well as in small groups, interacted with senior academics of the communication and/or business schools of Michigan State University, Harvard University, MIT, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Texas A&M University, Northwestern University, Northeastern University, State University of New York, University of Pittsburg, and Virgina Tech.

 

Prof. Harmony Siganporia, MICA faculty stated- “The comparative lens is an invaluable one: opportunities like the international immersion ... give us the opportunity to really look at who we are as an organisation, and imagine afresh what we want to be; learning from all we’ve seen, but also remembering anew all that makes us so special as an institution to begin with”.

 

“The international immersion was a mind-blowing experience for me”- narrated by Prof. Kallol Das. “In a way, it was a pilgrimage tour for me as I got an opportunity to visit some of the most respected ‘temples’ of learning in USA and meet their enlightened "priests. The experience has completely transformed my approach towards research”. 

 

Commenting on the International Immersions, Dr Shailendra Mehta, President & Director, MICA, said:

“MICA – is a specialized Management School that is situated at the intersection of Business, Marketing, Creativity and Communication. Our global partnerships enhance or connect and learning in these areas. Our faculty and students visit and immerse themselves for periods of one week to three months in our US partner schools that include Michigan State University, Emory, USC and Northwestern. We are also building a partnership with Topline Inc., a digital marketing corporation in China. All of these partnerships are helping strengthen our research and teaching portfolio. On the research front, MICA is planning to launch a Behavioral Lab early next year. We are also launching a global research initiative that focuses on Women’s Leadership Journeys in India, China and the US. In terms of pedagogy, we are bringing global learnings including cross-cultural cases, into the classroom. Connecting with the global network of MICA alumni for the purposes of knowledge sharing and industry relevant curriculum development is also an integral part of our efforts. We believe that taken together, these initiatives will help position MICA for thought leadership in a variety of different areas.”

International Immersion in US Universities

Pic. Team of MICA Faculty on their International Immersion in US Universities

The immersion was a comprehensive experience ended with the Dinner hosted by Team MICA, wherein several MICA alums based in Chicago joined. They represented organizations like- Absolute Data, Abbott, IRI and University of Chicago etc.

"MICA has sent its students for an international immersion program after several years,” said Prof Anjali Bansal, MICA International Immersion Leader. “In the beginning, I was not sure how the program would go, but being at MSU and hearing the experiences of faculties visiting to the universities of repute is remarkable. This immersion has opened the doors of possibilities of partnerships with top notch universities in MICA’s endeavour to provide the best learning and development opportunities to its students and faculty members.”

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