Education group announces $5,000 scholarship

By Staff -- Purchasing, 7/13/2000

The BOSE JIT II Education & Research Center has announced a new $5,000 annual scholarship for study in purchasing and supply management (or sales and marketing) plus two JIT II-related internships.

The JIT II Education & Research Center, located in Framingham, Mass., is operated on a non-profit basis by BOSE Corp. It was established in 1997 to meet the requests for JIT II information and benchmarking by the U.S. business and academic communities.

In establishing the education center, BOSE President Sherwin Greenblatt said revenues above operating costs would be used to create scholarships. With widespread adoption of JIT II and a significant donation of financial support by Damodar Ratha, chairman of Peerless Fabrikkerne, in Bombay, India, the center has reached its goal. The first $5,000 annual scholarship for a person studying purchasing or sales is named in his honor. Other scholarships will be created, as funds become available.

Purchasing Magazine will administer the scholarships with assistance from the Scholarship Committee. Comprising the committee are Ratha, Professor Gabriel Bitran, associate dean, MIT Sloan School, Jack O'Connor, vice president & publisher, Purchasing Magazine, Richard Pieranunzi, president and CEO of STMicroelectronics, Ratha, Sam Laufer, president of NABS Inc., and George Krauter, executive vice president of ISA Corp.

Anyone who wishes to apply for the scholarship should submit immediately a letter stating why they should be chosen, identifying both the school and course of study, to the attention of Jack O'Connor, JIT II Scholarship Committee, c/o Purchasing Magazine, 275 Washington St., Newton, Mass., 02458. The scholarship recipient will be notified by January 2001 with funds to be paid in support of the 2001 school year.

Interns wanted

Meantime, STMicroelectronics and Corporate Express are each funding JIT II internship programs. The STMicroelectronics intern program works in conjunction with the University of Rhode Island for students studying purchasing, materials planning, and or sales and marketing. The Corporate Express internship is not yet associated with any particular school. Paid interns will work approximately 10 hours per week compiling data and writing on the subject of JIT II.

JIT II has been named a "Best Practice" by Arthur Andersen Consulting, APQC and SAMA. Harvard Business School and Darden Graduate School have published JIT II case studies used in University MBA programs worldwide. Hundreds of U.S. corporations use JIT II techniques in purchasing and sales operations. Honeywell, IBM, Intel, Westinghouse, Sun Microsystems, ISA Corp., NABS Inc., and BT Office Products are among the leading companies.

Corporations or individuals wishing to donate to the scholarship fund or seeking information should contact Lance Dixon, executive director, JIT II Education & Research Center, 4A1, The Mountain, Framingham, Mass., 01701 or call 508-766-7515.