The Hindu Business Line : Finishing school for professionals

The Kerala Governor, Mr R. L. Bhatia, will on Wednesday inaugurate the Afras Academy for Business Communication (AABC), a finishing school for professionals being pioneered by Dr Shashi Tharoor, former UN Under Secretary General.

The AABC will operate out of the Thejaswini Annexe at Technopark here, Dr Tharoor told newspersons here on Monday. The academy is in fulfilment of the promise he had made during a visit sometime back about setting up a finishing school of international standards.

The academy will strive to provide the best available regime of instruction to prepare India’s future leaders with business communication skills that are on a par with global best practice.

‘WORLD CLASS’

Dr Tharoor, who is Chairman of Afras Ventures, said that the attempt was to try and provide world-class facilities that would equip Kerala to conduct itself in the best manner possible in a rapidly globalising world.

“We will help people speak English with confidence to communicate effectively as well as develop presentation skills required to survive in today’s competitive world.”

The course will commence in June and the curriculum is divided into four modules: language and grammar, accent modification, presentation skills, and business etiquettes.

The standard package designed for employment seekers and new hires is an eight-week course with flexible timings: a ‘Morning Track’ – Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.; ‘Afternoon Track’ – Monday to Friday, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.; ‘Evening Track’ – Monday to Friday, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Each batch will comprise 20 students and the fee for the standard course is Rs 30,000 plus service taxes.

Mr Ramachandran Jeeva Kumar is the Chief Executive Officer of AABC while Ms Tina L. Parsons, an eminent speech language pathologist and voice specialist from New York, is the Executive Director of Training.

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