Mysuru: The third edition of Chief Information Officers (CIO) Leadership Excellence Program was held at MYRA School of Business here recently. Ten CIOs from Germany participated in the program.

Shalini Urs, Founder and chairperson, MYRA School of Business gave the visitors a snapshot of higher education in India. Urs took the participants on a journey beginning with ancient India’s pioneering efforts and rich legacy in knowledge dissemination; the current ecosystem and regulatory framework; opportunities for investment in the sector and challenges thereof.

The presentation was followed by an interactive group discussion on several issues pertaining to higher education in general and management education in particular. The CIOs shared their views and experiences on matters pertaining to accreditation of institutions; entrance tests and talent acquisition as well as the demand for and supply of highly specialized management courses including sports management, insurance management and tourism management. The discussion enlightened everyone about the common issues faced by industry and academia of both nations.

Rüdiger Ernst, Director Consulting, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Germany; Michael Stender, Head of Business Applications, SMA Solar Technology, Germany; Tobias Rölz, Head of IT Workplace & Application Services, Hilti Befestigungstechnik, Switzerland; Klaus Vogl, CIO, Semikron Elektronik, Germany and Rebecca Winkelmann, Managing Director Executive Education, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany were also present for the program. The event was organized by IDG Business Media, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, and Hewlett Packard.

Pratibha Messner, Faculty Director, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management; & Director, GloBus Research, India and Wolfgang Messner, Director of GloBus Research – Messner Consulting & Training Pvt. Ltd and Professor of International Management, MYRA School of Business were the coordinators for the program.