The trip proved demanding, with a tightly-packed schedule mixing cultural excursions and a number of highly informative company visits.

Before starting the pedagogical part of the course, the students had time to acclimatise to the Indian culture during their weekend excursions that took them to the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort among other places of interest.

The first company visit was to Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, a leading global provider of generic pharmaceutical medicines, followed by the inspection of the Apollo tyre plant where the students were able to experience the workings of a rapidly globally expanding Indian enterprise. Both these excursions allowed the students to quiz company executives on their business and expansion policies, and to get exclusive information on the workings and processes involved in running a company in the middle of a rapidly expanding economy.

The following day included visits to ST Micro and Maruti Motors, part of Suzuki whose fully automated factory line producing 2,500 cars a day left a lasting impression on the MBA students.

The MBA students were also able to experience a French perspective on expanding into the Indian economy through a presentation given by a top level Carrefour executive, who presented Carrefour's distribution strategy for India. This gave the MBA students a true hands-on perspective of how Western and European companies can hope to profit from these burgeoning economies by implementing particular supply chain strategies.

These company visits proved highly successful as the MBA students were for the most part accompanied by top company executives allowing them to gain invaluable insight into the leadership and organisational skills required to run a company in a developing intricate economy.

The trip concluded with a session of lectures on various aspects of the Indian economy, including a presentation on the Indian political system, a detailed illustration of the Indian economy and a highly informative talk on the legal aspects to be considered when setting up a company in India.

Peter Levant, an American MBA student gave his impressions on a trip that was a truly beneficial and unique experience. He said that the trip provided a very useful contrast to the recent Turkey trip in order to learn about two diametrically opposed economies, each following distinct paths towards becoming significant economic powers. It was for him the highlight of the MBA course so far and a truly memorable trip.