After the political unrest in India last year, many of the global MBA programs cancelled their visits to India. The 2010 cohort opted to continue as planned but chose to go to Chennai in southern India instead of Delhi. I think we would all agree that we are glad we did.

A couple of our regular faculty members, Matt Mulford and Arun Maira, led the class with their well-received courses on negotiation and India’s rapidly developing economy. We expanded the emphasis on social enterprise and corporate social responsibility with a day trip to a near by town, Kanchipuram where we visited the Hand in Hand charitable organization. The highlights of the trip included a talk by the CEO Dr. Kalpana Sankar and a visit to a remote village to see a Hand in Hand village intervention at work (see above photo, photo credit Ignacio Guerra). We all benefited from viewing the organization's efficient management system that makes a real difference in the villagers’ lives with clean water, a library, Internet service, and educational programs. We finished the day with a visit to the ancient temples in Kanchipuram.

We completed the week with a lively session with Jeff Sampler and his insights into using technology to change strategic options.

The Taj Coromandel in Chennai was one of the most service-minded hotels we have experienced. TRIUM may have found a new home in the southern part of this vast and diverse country.