IIM Ahmedabad goes global: First overseas campus to open in Dubai by 2025 | India News

IIMA director Bharat Bhasker (extreme left)

New Delhi: IIM Ahmedabad’s move to establish its first international campus in Dubai marks a bold step toward global leadership in management education. Director Professor Bharat Bhasker speaks exclusively with the TOI on tailored programmes, strategic partnerships, and cutting-edge pedagogy, and the institute’s aim to serve regional needs while reinforcing its vision of shaping future-ready leaders through a globally competitive curriculum.
What courses will the Dubai campus offer from September 2025, and how are they tailored to regional market needs?
As the first programme, the IIMA Dubai Campus will offer a full-time One-year MBA that is designed to cater to the advanced management learning and upskilling needs of global working professionals and entrepreneurs. As we grow our Dubai Campus, we plan to offer more programmes, including Open Enrolment and Customised Executive Education Programmes.
Dubai and surrounding regions has nurtured not only regional but several international industry leaders, multinational corporations, and high-growth startups as well. The ambitious executives officers in these organisations look for quality management education which can add value to their careers and help their organisations grow. By establishing our presence there we aim to provide world-class management education to these aspiring business leaders from the region and help them build their professional career. With the UAE’s ambitious economic development goals, we believe that IIMA’s programmes will further enhance the supply of managerial talent pool essential for accelerating growth in the region.
What is the scope of the MoU with Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, and what mutual benefits are expected?
With its ambitious economic agenda and a supportive ecosystem for innovation and prosperity, Dubai serves as a valuable source of talent and resources for IIM Ahmedabad to enhance the regional economy. IIMA has a well-established alumni network in the area and has been offering certificate executive education programmes in Dubai for over 15 years. Our international expansion is driven by the robust bilateral ties between the Indian and UAE governments. IIMA’s presence will enable India to extend its strong institutions globally, contributing to the economic prosperity of our partner nations.
How will the Madan Mohanka Centre of Excellence in Case Method of Learning enhance IIMA’s pedagogy for faculty and students?
Case-based pedagogy is one of the cornerstones of learning and research at IIMA. In fact, we were the pioneer to introduce it in India. Our newly formed Madan Mohanka Centre of Excellence in Case Method of Learning shall promote research, teaching, training, knowledge building and related activities in the area of case method of learning. In particular, it will coach faculty and others for excelling as case instructors, support for developing cases, do research on case pedagogy, propagate case methodology through conferences, workshops, short-term Faculty Development Programmes, and other related activities.
How is IIMA ensuring its curriculum stays globally competitive while addressing emerging business trends and Indian industry needs?
IIMA strives to uphold its academic rigour and exceptional training practices that transform young minds into an industry-ready talent pool that can not only enrich businesses but also actively contribute to the economic growth of the country and the world. We aim to make our curriculum and educational practices contemporary and global. Keeping the dynamic nature of the industry in mind, we continuously revise our curriculum to include contemporary business practices. With digital technology coming to the centre stage of businesses and industries, our curriculum is also keeping pace with current trends of emerging technologies for managing successful businesses.
What strategies are in place to strengthen industry partnerships and global collaborations, and how will they benefit student learning and research?
We have been working closely with the industry, government bodies, and policy think tanks, which allows us to take a closer look at their requirements. This makes a huge difference as we integrate these learnings into our courses and teaching-learning methodologies to ensure that our students are trained as per current and future industry demands.
The Centres of Excellence established at our Institute play a crucial role in enhancing our curriculum through research initiatives. These Centres provide valuable insights into industry trends, challenges, opportunities, and requirements, enriching the learning experience. Additionally, they serve as a bridge between our students and the industry, offering them the chance to engage in immersive projects that significantly contribute to their development as industry-ready leaders. For example, our Brij Disa Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CDSA) had worked on a report titled “Labour-force Perception about AI – A Study on Indian White-collar Workers”, studied the awareness and usage of AI among white-collar workers, their perception of its implications on the future of jobs and careers, and their readiness to adopt AI technology. This report is amongst the earliest studies of the topic and provides critical input for informed policymaking, strategic planning, and effective workforce development initiatives. The results of the Business Inflation Expectations Survey (BIES) published by our Misra Centre for Financial Markets and Economy are frequently referred by the RBI and the Finance Ministry in policy-making.
IIMA’s signature Case Study Method enables students to step into the shoes of company leaders and come up with strategies and solutions that are best suited to a particular scenario. This experiential way of knowledge and learning better prepares students in managerial skills.