Lord Meghnad Desai announces economics academy in Mumbai

Mumbai, March 18: Eminent economist and Indian British politician Lord Meghnad Desai announced the launch of the Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics here on Tuesday. Scheduled to start from July, the MDAE's vision for the one-year post-graduate certificate course is "to learn, think, apply and prepare students to take leadership positions in the global economy", said Lord Desai.

"The MDAE is designed to be an institution of excellence that will provide graduate students with the academic rigor and applied skills to meet the dynamic needs of a globalised workplace. Its approach of marrying theory with real-world practical education from the corporate sector will provide students of economics and finance with enhanced toolkits when they enter the workforce," he said.

The MDAE students are sure to be brilliant and becoming great economics, shaping the future of economics in India and worldwide, said the 75-year-old Lord Desai, born in Gujarat's Vadodara. On the occasion, he also provided a sneak preview of his forthcoming book to be launched in April, titled: "Hubris: Why Economics Failed to Predice the Crisis and How to Avoid the Next One" on the 2008 global financial crisies.

"This is a very unique venture, with great emphasis on training and curriculum and courses which will produce people who are readily absorbable in the industry," said Ajit Ranade, the MDAE's head academic and chief economist of Birla Group.

Ranade said that his experience in both academic and corporate revealed that there is a gap of what the industry is looking for and the people who are trained in economics, and the economics allied, as they are not ready to hit the ground running.

"At MDAE, there is a process of learning and applying in the workplace to fill that niche gap by ensuring that the curriculum will be taught from a practitioner's point of view," he added.

The MDAE's Academic Board includes Vice-Chairperson Indu Shahani who is principal of Mumbai's HR College, Tushar Poddar, P. D. Singh and journalist Niranjan Rajadhyaksha.