FMS delegation leaves for Pakistan

New Delhi, Nov 20 (UNI) The capital-based Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), a premiere business school of the country, has forged links with Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan, the first of its kind tie-up between business schools across the border.

As part of the arrangement, a bright-eyed delegation of budding managers of the FMS today left for a two-week visit to Pakistan on a choc-a-bloc itinerary.

The delegation members will be staying at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) itself. The students will attend classes at the University, participating in debates and group discussions, just like any regular student.

The visit to Pakistan comes barely a week after its delegation's visit to South Korea and China.

Is the outlook of a student at LUMS really so different from a student's at FMS? What about ambitions? Hopes? Beliefs? How does an MBA in Pakistan which focuses more on Family Business Management compare to what is learnt in India? ''These are questions that we can only wonder about at present.

The delegation would have at least some of the answers after the visit,'' FMS sources said.

After staying at Lahore, the delegation will also visit the International Islamic University, Islamabad.

To soak in the culture of Pakistan, a country which shares a rich heritage with India, the students will also visit Rawalpindi, Harappa, Taxila, Murree, the Katasraj Temple and many other historical and cultural sites.

''This foray into the uncharted territory encapsulates what FMS believes in, pushing the boundaries, constant innovation and an addiction to excellence,'' the sources said.

The tie-up with LUMS has given the students here an opportunity to get a holistic education. Apart from this, at a macro level, it epitomises the coming together of the business communities of India and Pakistan, and is, perhaps, a sign of times to come.

''We believe that the time has come for relationships between India and Pakistan to reach a more personal level. Political diplomacy helped in ironing out past differences; sports were the means by which the multitudes across borders expressed a common passion, and now it is the turn of higher education to be the new face of diplomacy.'' Continuing with this trend, FMS said it had a host of activities lined up to energise the budding managers and future leaders of corporate India. The visit to LUMS is just one of them.

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