A business management graduate of Cornell University, USA, Nitish Jain is Founder-President, SP Jain School of Global Management, which has an aggregate enrolment of 2,668 students mentored by 202 faculty spread across five countries.

SP Jain School of Global Management (SPJSGM) is unique among all Indian B-schools by virtue of having established campuses in five countries — UAE, Australia, Singapore, Mumbai and recently in London. What are the aims and objectives of this multinational B-school?

SPJSGM was founded in 2004 on the simple philosophy that since business had gone global, B-schools should also provide global education. In our multi-city model, students are exposed to multiple regions and they learn about eastern, middle eastern and western business practices and cultures. Modern companies need talent that is culturally agile and can work in global teams.

Twenty years later, how satisfied are you with the progress of SPJSGM?
We judge our success by the success of our alumni. They work for the best companies worldwide including Apple, McKinsey, BCG, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Uber among others. Our high ranking in Bloomberg, Businessweek, Times Higher Education, Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Financial Times B-school league tables are based on the career progression and salary growth of our alumni. Notably, SP Jain London School of Management is the first Indian-origin business school authorised to grant UK degrees. Our recently launched London campus at Canary Wharf offers undergraduate and postgrad MBA programs, testimony to our commitment to providing globally relevant contemporary business management education.

In Mumbai, there is another well-respected B-school with a similar sounding name, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research. Evidently, there is a history behind the establishment of two B-schools bearing the S.P. Jain title…
The name SP Jain is of my late grandfather, who was the patron of SPJIMR through donation of an endowment upon the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, which promoted SPJIMR. They named it after him, to honour him. Moreover, there are other education institutes named after him including an arts and commerce college in Gujarat, and a school for children with special needs in Mumbai. The SP Jain School of Global Management is a trademark that we own with its own unique logo and identity. It’s analogous to the distinctions between IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Bangalore or IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Kanpur. Those who require clarity on this distinction are already aware of this.

Presumably the majority of SPJSGM students are from India or of Indian origin. What is the advantage they derive from SPJSGM education/certification?
Yes, a significant proportion of our students are from India. This is a testament to the appeal of our multi-city model. SP Jain Global offers students a world-class business management education experience that not only leverages our global model but students also derive the benefit of international faculty from 20 countries, and our razor-sharp focus on enabling their recruitment into the world’s best companies.

With real-time connected campuses in Sydney, Dubai, Singapore, London and Mumbai, SPJSGM is presumably heavily dependent on latest ICT (information communication technologies). Do you believe that SPJSGM has a technology edge over India’s top-ranked B-schools?
We have one of the world’s best technologies for our Engaged Learning Online (ELO) program that mimics a classroom in the comfort of your home. As the name suggests, that experience is quite different from the uninspiring technology usually used for online education. We have also innovated our Engaged Learning Classroom (ELC) so students can interact in real time with faculty. We strongly believe that technology will be the big differentiator in higher education in years to come.

One doesn’t hear much about SPJSGM’s industry placements record in the Indian media. How satisfied are you with it?
SPJSGM’s 2023 placements are testament to its global reputation. An impressive 50 percent of our graduates receive placement offers from companies based in South Asia and Middle East countries. The remaining 50 percent are placed in top-ranked Indian multinationals. Converting start-up remuneration to Indian rupees, our MBAs averaged Rs.39.70 lakh per year with our best student being offered a starting annual package of Rs.67.93 lakh. This places SPJSGM in the top-tier of B-schools worldwide.

How optimistic are you about India’s GDP rising from the current $3.7 trillion to $30 trillion by 2047?
It is difficult to put a dollar amount to GDP as there are many imponderables including exchange rates, price of energy, and climate change variables. However, it’s certain that India will remain one of the world’s fastest growing large economies. This optimism is warranted, given India’s potential, particularly in leveraging one of its most significant assets — our working age population. A key driver for achieving high sustained GDP growth is enhanced investment in education. By prioritising education, we can unlock the potential of our young population ensuring it is skilled, adaptable, and ready to contribute to all sectors of the economy.

Also read: SPJIMR listed among top 50 in FT Global Business School rankings