Higher education institutions must keep up with the industry trends and simulate the corporate/industrial experience to prepare students for a successful professional career. The business world is becoming more competitive and demanding, and it is no secret that candidates have to meet higher expectations. This leads us to one of the most debated topics in the world: the gap between industry and academia. This makes constantly updating the curriculum vital to a student’s development. In fact, it also sets apart the best of academic institutions from the good ones.

For instance, let’s take the case of startup funding. There are thousands of educational programs on entrepreneurship, but hardly any on startup investment and venture capital. Setting a new benchmark in the space is the Indian School of Business (ISB), one of the leading business schools in the country. ISB has joined hands with the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), the Apex industry body for alternative assets, to develop a new startup board member training program for PE/VC fund managers.

This is a two-day certification program for professionals appointed by private capital funds as board members of companies in the ‘early to growth’ stage. The program is supported by IVCA members - Accel, Ascent, Catamaran, Peak XV Ventures, SkiCapital, T-Hub, and TMF Group. The program will be held every quarter in Hyderabad and Mohali campuses. The participants will have 16 hours of live classroom sessions, with eight hours each day. The participants will receive certificates after completing the program successfully. While ISB marches forward with such unique initiatives, it is always the right time to talk about the prestigious alumni of the institute. We dedicate this yearly special issue to them.