My classes Term 8

Thankfully I didn't have the bidding problems that I had in Term 7, so I got classes that are much more interesting and relevant to me this time around! For Term 8, I'm taking:

- Business Law: At first, I wasn't sure if this was going to be a good choice because it's unlikely I will need to know specifics about Indian law when working in the U.S. However, at the first class, the professor noted that Indian law, like U.S. law, is based on British law. After that I decided it would indeed be a useful course, especially after it became apparent that the course is really more about general language, major landmark cases (both U.S. and India) and definitions used in law. To my lawyer friends out there (Wenchi, Dave and Carla), maybe I will have a better idea of what you guys do after this class :)

- Microfinance: The title says it all, it's a class about Microfinancing! For Term 8, I was really looking forward to taking more India-specific classes, and this class was very appropriate. Interestingly, this class has been anointed a "novelty" course by other ISB students, meaning it's unlikely that most in the class with actually go into Microfinance. But the class is packed, so it must just be a class of large general interest. In addition, because I want to take courses that will add something to my skill set, the professor told me that she will be intertwining general finance ideas/tools into the course, and I think it will be interesting to gain tidbits about India's financial system in the class.

- Outsourcing and IT Based Businesses: This class has exactly what I'm hoping to learn in India - best practices in outsourcing. On the first day of class though, it seemed that there were only about 10 students in the class! After asking around, it seems the professor running the class got low student satisfaction scores in the previous term. I think I can see why - she's a new professor so is still honing her presentation skills and experience set, but I am sure I can still gain something from the readings and the other students in the class, many of whom have worked with outsourcing vendors directly in previous jobs or played a role in strategic outsourcing.

- Manufacturing Wealth: Economics of Urbanization: Yeah, I didn' t completely know what the title meant until I read the class syllabus. It's about how urbanization of a country's population creates overall country wealth. It's more of an economics class, but I took this class for the same reasons I am taking Microfinance - to take something more India-specific and learn more about India's development, economy and practices. It's pretty interesting, and the professor has some pretty radical statements in class which makes for good discussion. I can't explain everything the course is about, so here is his website if you are interested: http://www.deeshaa.org/