Understanding the dynamism that defines India today
India immersion for SKOLKOVO Moscow School of Management – Global Advanced Management Programme (GAMP)
The Challenge
Designing a meaningful learning journey for a group of highly accomplished Russian leaders comprising CEOs, Board Chairs, and even a Business School Dean was a formidable undertaking. Many of the participants were visiting India for the very first time, making the programme not only an academic engagement but also a gateway to understanding the dynamism of one of the world’s most complex and fast-evolving markets.
The learning journey also had to reflect the bold theme articulated by SKOLKOVO Business School’s Programme Architect, Prof. Andy Shishakov:
Media power and entrepreneurship at the intersection of societies and at the edge of chaos.”
Compounding this challenge was the timing, as the programme coincided with India’s Republic Day on 26 January, when the country’s largest national parade takes place just steps away from the hotel where the group was staying, requiring the entire journey to be designed and executed amid heightened security, logistical constraints, and citywide restrictions.
From Singapore, orchestrating a seamless and intellectually stimulating experience under these circumstances demanded careful curation, agility, and deep coordination across partners in India spread across Delhi and Mumbai.
The Goal
Designed with the intention of moving beyond conventional market visits and curated success stories, the programme sought to expose participants to the complexity, contradictions, and raw dynamism that define India today.
Four key goals guided the design of the experience:
Understand India’s Complexity Beyond the Headlines by providing participants with a grounded understanding of India’s social, economic, and institutional landscape, exploring not only its remarkable growth story but also the tensions, inequalities, and structural challenges that shape its development.
Explore the Power of Media and Narratives in Society by examine how media influences public discourse, business environments, and political dynamics, particularly in societies navigating rapid change.
Experience Entrepreneurship at the “Edge of Chaos” by exposing the
participants to founders, innovators, and institutions operating in highly dynamic environments, to illustrate how uncertainty and volatility can create fertile ground for experimentation, resilience, and new business models.Encourage Discomfort as a Catalyst for Leadership Learning by intentionally placing participants in unfamiliar contexts and conversations that challenged assumptions.
The Solution
The learning journey was deliberately designed as a multi-layered immersion combining intellectual inquiry, field exposure, and cultural encounters. Rather than presenting a single narrative of India’s rise, the programme curated diverse voices and experiences that revealed the country’s economic dynamism, social contradictions, and entrepreneurial resilience.
Setting the Broader Context:
We began by helping participants understand India’s economic transformation and its rapidly evolving digital landscape. This foundation enabled the group to appreciate how scale, technology adoption, and demographic shifts are shaping the country’s trajectory.
Discussions then moved into the realm of media and influence, including an engaging session exploring the cultural and commercial power of India’s film industry through the lens of Bollywood versus Hollywood, examining how storytelling, identity, and market forces have helped Bollywood resonate across the region and beyond.
Thought Leadership Sessions:
These sessions added further depth to the exploration of values and societal impact in India.
The session on the “Soul of the Tatas” highlighted how purpose-driven leadership and ethical stewardship have shaped one of India’s most respected conglomerates for over a century.
Complementing this was a powerful discussion on “Affordable Healthcare Across the Nation” that examined how innovation and scalable models are addressing the challenge of delivering healthcare to a vast and diverse population.
Experiential Learning:
This formed a central pillar of the programme. Field visits to organisations such as Lemon Tree Hotels showcased how inclusive employment practices can be embedded into mainstream business models, while the visit to Svayam demonstrated how technology and design can improve accessibility and empower communities.
These engagements allowed participants to interact directly with practitioners who are shaping change on the ground.
Cultural Immersions:
To complement the institutional visits, the programme also incorporated cultural immersions trips that provided a deeper understanding of India’s social fabric.
Experiences at Bangla Sahib Gurudwara in Delhi, where the group witnessed community service and collective responsibility in action, and a visit to Dharavi, one of Asia’s most densely populated informal settlements yet a hub of entrepreneurial activity, exposed participants to powerful examples of resilience, dignity, and grassroots enterprise.
Together, these academic sessions, organisational visits, and cultural encounters created a holistic learning journey—one that reflected India not as a single story of growth, but as a complex ecosystem where innovation, inequality, tradition, and transformation coexist at the edge of chaos.
The Impact
The immersion in India proved to be one of the most impactful segments of the broader international learning journey. Participants rated the programme 9.4 out of 10, making it the highest-rated country visit among all the destinations included in the programme.
For many of the Russian leaders, the experience became a powerful encounter with the scale, diversity, and contradictions that define emerging India.
Several participants reported that the immersion sparked new business ideas and conversations around potential partnerships, with exploratory discussions already underway with some of the organisations and thought leaders they met during the programme.
Exposure to India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, combined with candid discussions on business, society, and leadership, allowed participants to see opportunities in markets and sectors they had previously not considered.
Equally significant was the shifting of long-held perceptions about India.
Visits such as the walk through Dharavi challenged simplistic narratives about poverty and development. Participants were struck by the intense entrepreneurial activity within the community and were surprised to learn that real estate values in Dharavi can rival prices in some Russian cities, highlighting the economic dynamism embedded even within informal environments.
Moments of cultural immersion left a particularly deep impression. At Bangla Sahib Gurudwara in Delhi, participants witnessed the spirit of seva—selfless service—in action. Observing volunteers prepare and serve meals to thousands each day prompted meaningful conversations about humility, community, and the universal value of giving back. These experiences added a human dimension to the learning journey, complementing the academic and business discussions.
Beyond the structured programme, participants embraced the everyday textures of India.
Sampling Indian cuisine, navigating the famously chaotic traffic, shopping for vibrant Indian silks, and experiencing the artistry of mehendi, these encounters created shared memories that made the immersion both intellectually stimulating and culturally enriching.
Notably, despite the intensity of the programme and the unfamiliar environment, the group navigated the entire journey without a single participant falling ill, a small but welcome testament to the careful planning behind the experience.
The programme also began each day with yoga sessions, grounding the immersion in one of India’s most enduring traditions.
As an Indian facilitator, it was particularly striking to see the enthusiasm and agility with which the Russian participants embraced the practice—many displaying remarkable flexibility while attempting advanced postures such as headstands.
—Dr Flocy Joseph
Programme Director
SMU Executive Development
The most enduring outcome was the network of relationships built during the journey.
Participants formed meaningful connections with speakers, entrepreneurs, and organisations they encountered along the way. More importantly, they left India with a deeper appreciation of the scale at which the country operates and the powerful narrative of a nation in motion.
By the end of the programme, what stood out most was the warmth with which the group was received across every interaction—from business leaders and community organisations to everyday citizens. The participants departed India not only with new insights and opportunities, but also with a genuine sense of having been welcomed into the fabric of a complex and rapidly evolving society.
This module revealed India from an entirely new perspective. It was an exceptional immersive experience for GAMP participants into a country that is so diverse, dynamic, and incredibly rich in culture, philosophy, narratives and valuable business cases.
—Daria Mischenkova
Director, Global AMP
Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO
SKOLKOVO Moscow School of Management Global Advanced Management Programme
India Immersion • Download Success Story
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