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

Stansfield prides itself on its strong academic tradition and the prestige of being the leading provider of University of London'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 Business offers twinning degree programmes and Postgraduate Diploma in Management, which is partly conducted 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 population. The Indian population itself has more than doubled in the last 15 years, and more Indian professionals are required to work in Singapore. 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 importance of imparting soft skills such as communication, 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 faculty from London School of Economics. Students would typically pursue the first year of the course in Chennai with the award of Diploma in Economics awarded by University of London in association with London School of Economics (LSE). Students also have the option of transferring to over 30 UK Universities as well as reputed universities in the US, Europe, and Australia, as nearly all universities will accept 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, inclusive of accommodation and meals for the 22 months of study in Singapore as well.

Stansfield also offers the Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM). The PGDM is a one-year course with three trips abroad to Singapore. Students spend about a third of the course in Singapore and will have to undergo a three-month internship program as well. The fees for the PGDM are about Rs. 3 lakhs, inclusive of three air-tickets to Singapore. Students will also be provided sharing accommodation with two 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, abandoning 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 family 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-including being the only education organization in Singapore to have won the coveted Singapore government's Enterprise 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 eat 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 businessmen 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 maelstrom. He says: "Although profits are important for a commercial organization, this objective can be fulfilled by doing a great job and not being personally 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.