Stansfield School of Business offers courses conducted in both Chennai and Singapore

Stansfield prides itself on its strong aca- Business, Management, Economics & Finance, demic tradition and the prestige of being Banking and Finance and Information Sys- the leading provider of University of Lon- don's programmes'

Now you can study in an ambience rivaling that of a Singapore business school in Chennai. And then complete the rest of the course in Singapore. Singapore-based Stansfield School of Busi- ness offers twinning degree programmes and Postgraduate Diploma in Management which is done partly in its Rs. 30 crore state-of-the-art campus in Chennai and completes the course in Singapore.

"Singapore is planning a 50% growth in pop- ulation. The Indian population itself has more than doubled in the last 15 years and more Indi- an professionals are required to work in Singa- pore. Our goal is to build a highly skilled force that can be employed in Singapore or elsewhere or in MNC in India," says Stansfield Chairman Mr. Kannappan Chettiar.

The business school believes in the impor- tance of imparting soft skills such as commu- nication, presentation and spoken English. The undergraduate courses include the University of London degrees in 10 disciplines such as Business Management , Economics & Finance Banking and Finance and Information Systems

The examinations are set and marked by fac- ulty from London School of Economics. Stu- the course in Chennai with the award of Di- dents would typically pursue the first year of ploma in Economics awarded by University of London in association with London School of Economics (LSE). Students also have the op- tion of transferring to over 30 UK Universities as well as reputed universities in US, Europe and Australia as nearly all university will ac- cept credit transfers from LSE degrees.

The cost for a University of London degree is only approximately Rs 8 lakhs for the entire 3 year duration and this is inclusive of accom- modation and meals for the 22 months of study in Singapore as well.

Stansfield also offers the Postgraduate Di- ploma in Management (PGDM). The PGDM is a one-year course with 3 trips abroad to Sin- gapore. Students spend about a third of the course in Singapore and will have to undergo a will be placed in MNCs upon completion. The 3 month internship programmes as well. They fees for the PGDM is about Rs 3 lakhs and this is inclusive of 3 air-tickets to Singapore. Stu- dents will also be provided a sharing accommo- dation with 2 meals per day.

Drawing strength from detachment

Somewhat like an alchemist, Kannappan Chettiar holds a delicate chest of his life's mysteries and will lift the veil on these secrets little by little through a discourse in philosophy (a subject he is personally interested in).

"Perform your duty equipoised, aban- doning any attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga, said Mr. Kannappan, chairman of The Stansfield Group, quoting the Bhagavad Gita as his personal philosophy.

Like his father and several other fam- ily members, Mr. Kannappan received an education in law and has attained bachelors and masters law degrees. If he had not been in the education business, he would have been a lawyer.

Poised in the stillness of life,

Mr. Kannappan practices the philosophy of yoga in the way he revived the failing Singapore Institute of Commerce (SIC) standing, without being overwhelmed by the tribulations he faced in his life. He also built The Stansfield Group, which has received several awards-in- cluding being the only education or- ganization in Singapore to have won the coveted Singapore government's Enter- prise 50 awards for 5 consecutive years in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Mr. Kannappan was also awarded the Singapore Indian Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005. "Since about 2001, I shifted my focus entirely, leaving the profits that we create at the goodwill and hands of our students or customers."Entrepreneurs after all only eat the 'leftovers' and not the main course we only at the blessings of customers who say good things and recommend others to us which allows our profits to increase." Mr. Kannappan was nominated a finalist for the Phoenix Award 02/2003. The biennial award nominates busi- nessmen, who have looked challenges in the eye, overcome the trials and emerged successful in their businesses.

The Phoenix Award was launched in 2000 as a private sector-led effort to commend those, like Mr. Kannappan, who have found their own brand of tranquility in life's mael- strom. He says: "Although profits are important for a com- mercial organization, this objective can be fulfilled by doing a great job and not being person ally attached to the profits or losses." While he may not be the author of Sophie's World, his real experiences may be more endearing to businessmen. Mr. Kannappan says that individuals must be tolerant of failures and must be agile in responding to the trials life may bring.

"Failure is an intermediate step towards success. There is no such thing as 'failures', just people waiting to succeed" says Mr. Kannappan.

"We may not be able to direct the wind but we should be able

Singapore's Leading newspaper, The Straits Times, calls him "the poster boy for life-long learning."

Mr. Kannappan leads from the top. Over the past few years, he has been a well sought after speaker in Singapore and India and has given lecturers to various universities and government organizations. Students on the Stansfield Postgraduate Diploma in Man- agement will be taught by him for compul- sory units such as self and the Organisation, Business Competitiveness & Profitability and Organisational Leadership. The top students will get an opportunity to work with him globally as well.