Take away

I joined the India 2012 program for several reasons. As a Global Management Concentration, focus has been drawn towards the developing countries of B.R.I.C. (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). I feel that I need international experience in order to make myself more attractive to firms I want to work for. As a result, coupled with my interest of their culture, before I graduate I wanted to visit China.

While applying to study abroad in China, I found out about this program and I thought it would be a great chance to visit another of the BRIC countries. I had heard nothing but good things about the program, and it just seemed to fit. It would be a good chance to see how I would react and adapt to a new culture; professor Gupta was my professor last semester so, I felt comfortable going on the trip. In addition, I would receive credits for this course.

My take away from this course has exceeded my expectations. I have seen firsthand the lay of the land, and what problems the country is facing. Whether it is infrastructure, education, or any other sector, opportunities are in abundance in India. Something I realized during my time here is that you don’t need to completely reinvent the wheel to be successful; just taking something that works in another part of the world and translating it to work in India can make you successful.

I took marketing 101 with Subimal Chatterjee, and he always had examples of India products and advertising. Something that stuck with me about his lessons is that he always said the way to succeed in a market like India was to reverse engineer a product to a more simplified and cost efficient version of the original product. The majority of consumers in India are below the middle class and if you can offer a product that they need and can afford, that in itself can be revolutionary.

I made a bunch of new friends which helped broaden my network on a local and international level. The relationship you develop with the people on the trip is unmistakably different than what is provided in a classroom. For example, I didn’t know Sarah was as outgoing as she was even though I had a class with her prior to going on this trip. (She won the most adventurous person on the trip) Also, the e-buddies can be an invaluable tool if I ever decided to open up an operation in India. I will have a pool of talent I can draw from to help me establish myself and even partner up with.

India Tourism

India by far is one of the most beautiful places I have visited; there is poverty and dogs roam the streets like squirrels but, the architecture, culture, and people leave a greater impression than those things I previously mentioned. There is so much to see and enjoy, that it will take more than one visit to experience everything New Delhi and the surrounding areas has to offer; and this is only a small portion of the country.

The first attraction that we visited was a Sikh temple – Moti Bagh, where it was told that a Guru with supreme archery skills shot 2 arrows which reached the Red Fort (6.5miles away). “The Guru’s first arrow announced his arrival in Delhi and the second arrow carried a chit saying, ‘It is not magic but skill of archery’.” Here we learned about Sikhism from professor Kahai, and we saw the traditions associated with this religion.

(Picture of structure, knives, and paste we ate.)

We then went to the Lotus Temple of the Baha’i faith. This is one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen; even the surrounding area complements this structures beauty.

(Lotus temple pic)

We also went to the Kingdom of Dreams, Hindu temple (Big Shiva Statue), Taj Mahal and several other places. They are all just as beautiful if not more that the last.

(Small picture of taj mahal, Big Shiva Statue, kingdom of dreams, etc.)

Education and the perception of “quality” in India

The last four days (10-13) have given me an insight into India’s infrastructure, business, and education hardships and opportunities. We visited several companies: PWC India, Dunnhumby, Oxigen, etc.

During these visits a common problem always managed to become the focus of conversation. India’s education system seems to be a major concern for business and the community at large. As I understand it, IIM’s and IIT’s are the best universities in India. It is so competitive that about 1% of applicants are admitted into the schools; interestingly enough, students apply to our Ivy League schools as a backup. There is a shortage of quality education in this country and the migrating talent is being retained by the United States and other developed countries. This shortage of quality educations is forcing businesses to train the talent in house to acceptable standards and/or look for talent elsewhere. Due to this big gap in supply and demand, several opportunities have arisen in the education industry: Career launcher, online course modules, and building of new schools like JRE.

After our visit to Genpact, during our debriefing professor Gupta and Kahai corrected the perception that IIT’s and IIM’s are the only universities in India that are worth attending. Our visits portrayed India’s education system as a provider of low quality education (unless you went to IIT’s or IIM’s). This resounding theme was tackled by the professors in an interesting and impactful way. Professor Kahai attended an IIT while professor Gupta attended a local school before they both went to the United States. Their perspective on the topic offered both points of view meaning a “quality” education from an IIT and a “low quality” education from a non-IIT or IIM.

Professor Kahai explained that even though he attended an IIT, it wasn’t what he expected; professors did not motivate him or engage him in a way which was productive. Professor Gupta explained IIT’s and IIM’s are growing, and the schools being admitted into this group of “quality” education are the Binghamton Universities of India. They concluded by explaining that it’s not about what school you attend but, how you apply the knowledge attained and making yourself valuable to society.