mumbai the indian centre for csr iccsr has collaborated with the university of applied sciences vienna austria to offer indias first master of science program in csr ethical management the program will bridge the gap that exists in the country for trained csr managers in the corporate world the new companies bill makes it mandatory for indian companies to spend 2 per cent of their profits on csr related activities which is likely to create need for trained managers in csr and sustainability the centre is currently accepting applications for its first batch scheduled to start on 30 september 2013 the programme is suitable for experienced professionals who are looking for a postgraduate qualification in csr to enable them to focus on working in this specialist area the course is designed to examine the social ethical and environmental issues faced by corporations and a range of other organizations it provides students with a theoretically underpinned analytical perspective on csr enabling them to critically assess csr issues initiatives drivers and responses executives associated with the fields like management hr finance corporate affairs public relations and marketing communications are eligible to pursue the course the course adopts an international multisector and multidisciplinary perspective the course curriculum has been designed to consider the impact power influence and responsibilities of corporations in a global society adopting the virtual classroom strategy the course will be taught by the experts from the csrsustainability world such as martin neureiter chair of iso26000 toby webbs chairman ethical corporation michael hopkins ceo mchigeneva irene daskalakis university of washingtoncsr legal luminary yann queinnec director general affectio mutandi rajesh tiwari director general ceo of iccsr saidthe course has commenced at the right time and place since india does not provide a degree in csr with the parliament making it mandatory for the corporate sector to have a csr programme the provision of a degree in csr will provide an edge to the csr activities organized by companies organizations are increasingly not limiting to financial performance and will need to imbibe in their core strategic vision the concept of social returns too leading corporations are suggesting that they will shift to sustainability numbers and as such this course will become much more relevant than the regular mba the program is unique as it provides comprehensive curriculum for professionals in csr and sustainability the students will receive a ms degree from europes premier university of applied sciences and are employable globally the degree will prepare managers with business practices that are valuescentric global in orientation and loaded with entrepreneurial spirit says martin neureiter an international program director from the university of applied sciences vienna neureiter further adds the curriculum directly reflects our existing oncampus program and will be taught by the best of the faculty students will be able to complete the degree in one year full time weekend or quarterly ten days immersion mode