The Study in India Program: A Journey in Internationalization

Last time I posted about how students from India, China and other eastern countries must avail of the opportunity to study in western countries like US, UK, Canada, Germany etc. There is also a

huge opportunity for students from the western countries to study the rich culture and heritage of India. Here is a note from Dr. Aparna Rayaprol, Director, Study in India Program (SIP) University of Hyderabad, about what opportunities exist for students who are keen on learning what India has offer.

"I have been the Director of the Study in India Program (SIP) at the University of Hyderabad since June 2009, but have been associated with the SIP since its inception in 1998 as its Academic Coordinator. The University is a central university created through an Act of Parliament and is regarded as among India’s top universities.  In the last 12 years, I have been involved in the conceptualization and development of the only program of this kind in an Indian university. SIP is an interdisciplinary initiative emphasizing the study of the culture and heritage of India along with providing insights into India’s emergence as an economic power and a leader in scientific and technological innovation.

The SIP has partnerships with several universities such as the University of California (Education Abroad Program), University of Pittsburgh, Hofstra University as well as with consortia such as the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), the Nordic Centre in India (NCI), American Institute of Foreign Study, and International Educational Exchange Program (ISEP). As the Director of SIP, I am primarily responsible for forging inter-institutional agreements that allow foreign students to come to our university for a typical study abroad experience.  My role extends from initial contact and development of rapport with counterparts in other institutions, understanding their academic and administrative needs and matching them with our strengths, negotiating on the basis of institutional imperatives on both sides, leading eventually to a formal agreement between the institutions.  At SIP we coordinate and supervise planning and execution of all academic matters, such as course curriculum design, development of content, and credit transfer arrangements. At the university end, SIP maintains constant communication with participating faculty members as well as with the various administrative wings of the university that ensures a smooth ride for the program.  It takes at least a year for new agreements to get operationalized. For the first time this year, we have successfully put together a tailor-made, 10-week, 12- credit program for Dartmouth College. This particular program took almost three years in the making, with meticulous planning and designing of exclusive courses. At SIP, while we strive to offer special courses designed to meet the interests of students, we attempt to integrate foreign students into the common classroom with other Indian students. We also started a specially designed program with Duke University, and Ohio State University. The biggest challenge has been to maintain the uniqueness of SIP, while catering to the very diverse demands of our partner institutions.

We have also developed short-term 4-6-week summer programs as well as 16-week (semester-long) programs for foreign students who come to our university.  It is a typical study abroad for students where SIP acts as a single-window system facilitating both academic and administrative support to the students. We provide one-on-one course counseling for the semester students, where we give them a long list of all the courses available in our university and help them match those courses with their interests. We also communicate with the study abroad administrations in their host institutions to help prepare the students for the program. Organizing SIP involves a complex management of speedy correspondence with the host institution and prospective students as well as planning and operationalizing these courses at our end. Once the students are here, SIP helps them in settling down in the international student housing and offers them a detailed orientation which includes both academic as well as cultural issues. The typical American student who is used to a lot of independence and space needs to adjust to the challenges of an intensely sensual and sometimes overwhelming Indian experience. SIP acts as a buffer for these students who need the support system.

For the short-term summer courses, we usually discuss the details of the course curriculum with the faculty at the host institutions and offer courses that give the students a firsthand experience of India. An interdisciplinary course on Contemporary India is one of our designer courses, where we have one faculty coordinator and a series of experts who lecture on different topics. I have also designed and taught a course on Ethnographic Approaches to Indian Society, where I have tried to help students understand Indian society through a research topic of their choice.

At the university end, SIP has been at the forefront of realizing the vision of executive leadership of the University for internationalization of our campus. Although there have been several challenges, our University administration has been extremely supportive and exhibited a great deal of flexibility to accommodate the peculiar needs of administering SIP. It has been a long road and we are expanding like never before. From a 9-week, 9-credit summer program in 1998 with eight students, we are now close to reaching the 200 mark in the last academic year. From housing students in a small apartment and the University Guest House in the early years, we have gradually moved to building an exclusive residence hall, the Tagore International House (TIH), which is a fully-furnished, air-conditioned space for about 150 international students and 12 faculty suites. It has a dining hall that caters food prepared in hygienic conditions to suit the dietary and health needs of international students.

At present, SIP has been involved only in dealing with those students who come to us for a semester’s study. It is only recently that an Office of International Affairs has been set up at the University and there is an attempt to centralize the international linkages of the various schools and also deal with other international students who come for full degree programs. We are entering a new phase where a lot of our international partners are showing active interest in student exchanges.  The University has been deliberately going slow on this because various issues concerning the Indian students’ social background and their differential paying ability to study abroad are yet to be sorted out.  However, with macro-level changes in the global higher education environment as well as in the Indian education system, it is time that progressive universities like ours take a lead role in finding appropriate and equitable solutions to such problems and open up opportunities for international exposure for our students."

- Dr. Aparna Rayaprol
arayaprol@gmail.com 

Hesitating to Studying Abroad?

Studying abroad is now more common than ever. In the US, we see that universities are full of international students. While it is debatable whether funding your education is easier than before, many people do not want to leave the comfort of leaving their home country for a variety of reasons. Most important of them being return on investment (ROI). Job situation in the US for international students is very uncertain even for the best and brightest.

Let us briefly try understanding why students/professionals from countries like India are now hesitating to come to the US for higher education more than ever. When international students come to universities in the US, the tuition is very expensive. When you consider India's exchange rate, the rupee has become weaker and weaker making it more burdensome for students and the family at large to afford tuition and living expenses. So when you do the math coupled with uncertainty of finding a job to pay back your parents or banks, the attractiveness of coming to the US for education is lost. 

But here are reasons why one should consider studying abroad and should make suitable arrangements to make use of the opportunity:

• A change of perspective: When you study abroad, you are on your own for the first time and this struggle is important to toughen you mentally. For those especially from middle and upper class societies of the world where children lead a rather sheltered life, it is important to get out of the comfort zone and fend for yourself. You realize the importance of money, time and other valuable assets. More emphasis is laid on meeting assignment deadlines, paying your bills and other daily chores. 
• Communication: When you are an international student, you meet with a lot of people who are not from the same place as you. No two people see a piece of art the same way. The idea of communication is not just speaking grammatically correct English. That's is just the beginning. Rather it is the art of putting your point across, selling your ideas and send out a cogent message. 
• Opportunities: It is important to seize opportunities when you have them. Most US universities are melting pots - in that you meet people from various countries and cultures. That's the place where you meet and engage in meaningful conversations with people. Note that people are curious to know about you and your country as much as you show enthusiasm in theirs. To be culturally sensitive and knowledgeable is the best gift of studying abroad. It will shape your personality and your understanding of the world. From a personal standpoint, I have a broader understanding of countries, cuisines, cultures, world politics  than I did 5 years ago before coming to US. 
• Work while you study: This can under opportunities and perspectives also but it's worthy of being it's own bullet point. Most students work as research/teaching assistants when they study abroad. Some of them work in libraries, college cafeterias, parking systems etc. The benefit is twofold: you learn the dignity of labor not only from doing your daily chores but also the work that you take up here to cover your living expenses. The second benefit is that of time management. You have to work, study, do dishes and laundry etc. You have finally entered ADULTHOOD which probably you never have experienced as an undergrad. 
• Flexibility in programs: Most programs have core courses that you HAVE to take and electives that you can choose from. This is true for all levels of education in the US - undergrad, Masters and PhD. I didn't have this freedom in my undergrad in India. So I attended classes that were of little to no use because I HAD to take them. The flexibility in programs here allow you to think creatively and let you design your own course structure based on your professional needs. If you like a professor and think you can benefit from his/her class but cannot afford to pay for the course, you can always request him/her to audit the course. Most professors are kind enough to let you sit in. 
• Starting from scratch: This kind of overlaps with my previous point - a change of perspective. You start as a nobody in a foreign land. In your home country you can be son or daughter of a politician, actor or anybody for that matter. In a foreign land, none of that will be carried over. For the most part, you are admitted based on your credentials and assessed objectively. Almost never have I heard of subjective bias towards a particular international student. You are on a global platform where you are treated as equal with almost everyone else. 
• Learning Resources: Finally in terms of learning, there is a wealth of information that universities provide for students in the US. I am almost sure that the same is true for schools in other developed nations like UK, Germany, Australia etc. You have access to world class information, data and personnel in most accredited universities. To go with that, learning is enhanced when you communicate with your colleagues/classmates and professors who will always give you an opportunity to look at the same problem from a different perspective. In my personal experience, I loved the structure of assignments, take-home exams and group-problem solving. It challenged me in ways I was never challenged before.

These are just some of the benefits of studying in another country; be it Canada, UK, US, Australia or Germany. Studying for a few years in another country will give you a deep appreciation for the opportunities that exist in an unknown land. I hope this post encourages skeptics to think twice before rubbishing the idea of studying abroad.