Message from India Gateway Leadership
Dear alumni, partners and friends,

The India Gateway has had many exciting activities take place in the recent months. We are proud to say that through the work of many, the India Gateway has continued to capitalize on the strengths of Ohio State's growing global connections and has advanced the university's teaching, research and engagement mission. We would like to share with you just a few of the immense impacts directly related to the hard work of our faculty, staff, students and alumni:
  • The Waste Management Innovations Conference with Sustainable and Resilient Economy Discovery Theme was held on April 17-18.
  • The Fisher College of Business has launched its Operational Excellence Certificate with the Indian Institute Technology of Bombay's Mehta School of Management.  
  • 11 Fisher undergraduate students will intern in India this summer, with six in Mumbai and five in Jodhpur.
  • The College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Studies has partnered with Punjab Agricultural University and Jain Irrigation to provide 15 agricultural engineering students with a study abroad experience in summer 2018.
  • Alumni engagement continues, with India alumni returning to Ohio State for a Discovery Theme seminar in Materials and Manufacturing for Sustainability with Fisher College of Business students.
Waste Management Innovations Conference gains momentum
The Ohio State University and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay hosted the Waste Management Innovation Conference in Mumbai on April 17-18, 2017 at the Oberoi Hotel. This unique conference, "Toward a Green and Circular Economy," brought together industry experts from the United States and India, as well as government officials and academic thought leaders, to identify innovative waste reduction technologies and practices that will enable the Indian economy to achieve sustainable economic growth.

The U.S. Consulate in Mumbai, sponsor of the conference, has established a seed capital fund to invest in promising new initiatives, such as innovative waste reduction or avoidance technologies and practices. Proposals for funding will be solicited based on the results of the conference.

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Operational Excellence Certificate Program
The Certificate in Operational Excellence program, developed and offered jointly with the Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay, leverages Ohio State's deep expertise in operations management and the reputation developed through 23 years of growth in Fisher's Center for Operational Excellence.

Through this program, high potential candidates are trained in the practice of value stream management, employee inclusion in problem solving, waste reduction and capability building and innovation.

The program involves four distinct styles of learning: classroom, distance and Gemba (learning where the work is done), as well as project work that ensures  learning and drives greater return-on-investment from the program. In the classroom, students will learn through lectures and case studies focused on individual components of operational excellence. There will be three of these sessions (one week in length) held at IIT-Mumbai. The distance education will take place through the use of online learning aids, and the Gemba learning will look at local companies in Mumbai to analyze various operations and processes and apply some of the learnings from the classroom.

The course will be conducted in three week-long sessions, over four months, beginning in January 2018. All three weeks of the program will be conducted in Mumbai. Expert coaches will coach students on their projects via Skype between program sessions. For the first two weeks, there will be also be a company visit to a well- known operationally excellent company to understand their processes.

For more information about the OpEx Certificate Program, please contact Ratnesh Bhattacharya at Bhattacharya.11@osu.edu.
Executive director of Sustainable and Resilient Economy Discovery Theme Focus visits India
Joseph Fiksel, executive director of the Sustainable and Resilient Economy focus area of Discovery Themes at The Ohio State University, recently traveled to India to engage with industry leaders and government officials. The purpose of his visit is to promote and discuss the upcoming Waste Management Innovations Conference in April 2017.

The conference has several partners including, Mahindra and Mahindra. Tata Sustainability Management Group, Aditya Birla and Reliance Group. As a result of the conference, Ohio State hopes to increase partnerships and research programs with these companies.



Ohio State research associate professor presents at conferences
in India

Tarunjit Butalia, research associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, recently traveled to India to present at two different conferences in New Delhi.

Butalia spoke about the high volume utilization of coal combustion residues for new and failing pavements at the Indian Power Plant Operation and Maintenance Conference, which took place from February 13-15. He also spoke about laboratory testing of petcoke ash aggregate as a pavement base material to the attendees of the Seventh World PetroCoal Congress and Expo, held from February 15-17.

Also the director of Ohio State's Coal Combustion Products Program, Butalia focuses on exploring ways to reclaim thousands of acres of mine land in Ohio, while beneficially using a material typically destined for disposal in landfills. Read more about his work at ceg.osu.edu.

Fisher professor meets with IIT-Bombay faculty in Mumbai
Aravind Chandrasekaran, assistant professor of management sciences and associate director of the Center for Operational Excellence in The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, recently traveled to Mumbai to connect with partners at the Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay (IIT-Bombay). During his visit from February 14-19, he met with various faculty members, including the director of the institute.

Chandrasekaran spoke to the Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management at IIT-Bombay about the dual degree certificate operational excellence program with the Fisher College of Business. He also gave lectures at the Taj Lands End Hotel and attended an alumni reception where he addressed attendees on 100 years of the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State.
Fisher students to intern in Mumbai this summer
Six students from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business will travel to Mumbai this summer to participate in a five-week internship. With the combined efforts of the India Gateway, Fisher Office of Global Business and Ohio State alumni Vikas Goel, executive director and head of global markets, South Asia, at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Laxmikant Tanna, partner at Tanna Realty, these students will gain real world business experience in India from May 12-June 17.

John Allen, Phil Koch and Isabella Colasante will intern with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. As part of the internship, they will overlook and report on company financial activity while ensuring legal requirements are met to effectively seek out ways to reduce costs. They will also compare financial results to financial forecasts and determine the cost of operations in order to develop recommendations on finances to management.
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Ohio State alumnus gives Energy and Environment Discovery Themes Seminar
On February 7, 2017, Ohio State's Materials and Manufacturing for Sustainability Discovery Theme focus area, Institute for Materials Research and Fisher College of Business co-sponsored an Energy and Environment Discovery Themes seminar. The seminar was given by Ardeshir Contractor, Institute for Materials Research Executive-in-Residence, Founder and CEO of Kiran Energy and Ohio State mechanical engineering alumnus.

The seminar, titled, "Factors Influencing Product Innovation in Solar Markets," discussed solar energy and sustainability financing. Attendees ranged from those working in materials science, energy policy, clean technology, entrepreneurship, global sustainability, business, finance and innovation.

To learn more about Contractor and his background, visit imr.osu.edu.
Ohio State alumnus discusses business in India to Fisher students
Students in the Fisher College of Business received a special presentation on international business from Ohio State alumnus, Wilfried Aulbur, on February 16. Aulbur is a senior partner in the Mumbai office of Roland Berger, a global consultancy firm specializing in providing business solutions.

In addition to being a guest speaker in Fisher's Introduction to International Business class, Aulbur met with Fisher leadership and attended a lunch session with students. Around 15 students attended the lunch hour to hear about Aulbur's current role, work history and career highlights. They then had the opportunity to ask questions.

This visit was facilitated by the Fisher College of Business and India Gateway.
Ohio State alumni reception held in Mumbai
Alumni gathered for a dinner reception at the Otters Club in Bandra, Mumbai on Saturday, February 18. Aravind Chandrasekaran, assistant professor of management sciences and associate director of the Center for Operational Excellence in The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, was the special guest and speaker for the event.

Vinod Rani, administrative and events manager for the India Gateway, welcomed attendees and Priya Kurle, assistant director for the India Gateway, announced the details of the Waste Management Innovation Conference, taking place April 17-18 in Mumbai.

Chandrasekaran shared updates and developments for the Fisher College of Business. He also spoke about the certificate program in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay and congratulated the two new students admitted to the program.
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