Day 2 – Wednesday 22nd April

Today was the first full day here in India and it turned out to be both a highly productive and busy one.

After a nice and very cheap breakfast (I had 3 pieces of toast with jam, bowl of corn flakes & pineapple juice for just under £2 in total) we were collected by our driver and taken to meet a lady named Pinki who represents an agency called SIEC at 11am at their offices.

We got into the car having no clue where the offices were, or how long it would take to get there, but were still really suprised and a bit embarrassed when the driver took us left out of the complex, to the traffic lights, U-Turned and then turned left and said ‘we are here sirs’ (5 minute walk away). Feeling like a stereotypical lazy Brit abroad I got out of the car and followed Mark up into the office.

The meeting lasted about 1 hour and a half and was productive, although we got the same message about the high demand for business MBA from Indian students, we stuck to what we have to offer and came away with some positive feedback and food for thought about current courses we have and also future things we could develop to suit the demands of the Indian market. The information we provided about our ability to offer distance learning through second life and other technologies also went down very well with the fact that the recession might make this option even more appealing to the Indian student made clear to us.

Following this meeting we met our driver who had been patiently waiting outside and he took us for a quick stop for lunch (im ashamed to say It was to mcdonalds – but after last nights head-blowing hot curry I wanted something tried and tested!) and then onto the next meeting with ‘The Combine Company’.

This meeting lasted again around an hour and a half and we came away feeling more positive then after the first one, with the agent highlighting a growing interest in ‘niche’ subject areas including Health, exercise and nutrition (specifically Weight/obesity management) and also Criminology. There was even greater interest in our Technology learning support from this agent and he was directed to the TELLS Second life site, he seemed like an IT friendly guy so im sure he will be on there already!!!!

A 15 minute drive then took us to our final meeting of the day to meet Meenu Agarwal from ‘International Placement Consultants’. It lasted around 2 hours and left us both feeling extremely optimistic about the potential of our school in this market. Again, further more detailed feedback will be provided about the meetings, but this one in particular satisfied our beliefs that we have a place in the market here and that students are perhaps looking to our courses as India develops as a nation and its students look for different things to MBA’s.

After the meeting we went back to the hotel, went to the pool, beat off the pigeons there and then tried to cross the crazy road infront of the hotel complex (which apparently has no crossing) to get to a restaurant. After further walking and car dodging without success, we resorted to the fine food at the hotel and then called it a night.

* todays videos will be uploaded tomorrow when the internet is quick enough!!!

Till tomorrow………