Northwestern Partners With India's Bridge School of Management

CHICAGO, Ill. --- Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies has entered into a joint venture with the Bridge School of Management -- part of India’s leading media company that brings Hindustan Times and Mint newspapers to more than 5 million readers everyday -- to deliver innovative blended online and in-person professional certificate programs in India, with the first program to be launched early this summer in predictive business analytics.

At a time the Indian education marketplace is in great need of high-quality professional education programs, the Northwestern and Bridge School initiative will combine online content developed and taught by Northwestern faculty with weekly in-person sessions led by local specialist faculty at the Bridge School’s new state-of-the-art learning centers in Delhi.

The agreement memorializing the venture was signed on March 20, 2014, in Evanston, by Northwestern University Provost Daniel Linzer and HT Media CEO and Bridge School Director Rajiv Verma.

“We are proud to join the Bridge School of Management in offering exceptional professional education in India via a cutting-edge delivery model,” said Northwestern Provost Daniel Linzer. “The Bridge School has demonstrated a deep understanding of the needs of industry and employees and is creating highly effective links between industry and academia.”

Talking about this collaboration, Rajiv Verma said, “We at Bridge School are elated about this new collaboration with one of the world’s foremost universities. The need of the hour is for Indian management schools to adopt the best practices of world-class management institutions and this collaboration bears testimony to our efforts in this direction. We hope that this joint venture between Northwestern and the Bridge School of Management will help in building strong human capital in India.”

The Predictive Business Analytics Certificate, modeled after Northwestern School of Continuing Studies’ successful online master’s degree program in predictive analytics, will be a one-year program for Indian professionals seeking to hone their skills in the field of big data. 

Analytics professionals are in tremendously high demand -- they are helping lead companies to make better business decisions, improve operations and increase profitability. This certificate will give students in India a comprehensive and practical understanding of how to harness data and analytics. Students will learn to bring highly valued data modeling and analysis into a business context.

The Bridge School of Management opened its doors late last year as part of a larger strategy to equip working professionals in India with key business skills and practical knowledge. The Bridge School has a deep understanding of the needs of industry and employees, creating highly effective links between industry and academia.

The joint initiative, championed by Thomas F. Gibbons, dean of Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies, and Rajesh Puri, CEO of the Bridge School, will soon launch other hybrid professional certificate programs to meet the needs of industry in India, starting with Delhi NCR.