University of Chicago Celebrates the Opening of the new Center in Delhi

This is a big weekend for the University of Chicago as the new Center in Delhi opens!



You can learn more about all of the program of activities and tune in via the University of Chicago website.

If you are on Twitter you can also follow along via #UChiDelhi

Tweets about "#UChiDelhi"

'Sunshine and Shade' - A New Documentary on the Experiences of Indian Students in Australia to be Broadcast on Public TV in India

Video Webchat of People-to-People Ties: The Heart of the U.S.-India Partnership

As a follow-up to the U.S.-India Higher Education Summit on June 12, 2012 [see videos below], Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy Tara Sonenshine and Indian Ambassador to the United States Nirumpama Rao met on July 19, 2012 to discuss the importance of and value placed on people-to-people exchanges between these two nations.  This webcast discussion was moderated by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Ambassador Robert Blake.  I have embedded the recorded webast below:



You can read the full transcript of this webcast discussion here.

If you are interested in watching the webcast of the 2012 U.S.-India Higher Education Summit you can do so via the following videos:

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4

INDO-U.S. Summit on Higher Education, July 30, 31 and August 1, 2010

Shortly before the NAFSA annual conference back in May I was invited to attend the INDO-U.S. Summit on Higher Education of the Indo-American Society by one of the task force members.  Unfortunately, I’m not able to attend but I offered to post to IHEC Blog about the Summit as I think it sounds really interesting and it has received little attention here in the U.S.

The Summit aims at building synergies between Universities abroad and in India so as to create opportunities for better system in India’s Higher Education Programmes. The Event is co-sponsored by Global Knowledge Initiative, Washington, D.C., the Institute of International Education, the U.S. Consulate General, Mumbai, and the American Chamber of Commerce in India among others.  United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been invited as the Keynote Speaker!  Following is a brief description of the summit that I copied and pasted from one of the conference documents.

Highlights of the Summit

• The Government of India is planning to open avenues for foreign educational institutions by introducing the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill in the Indian Parliament.  This will create new opportunities for several foreign educational institutions keen on opening in India.
• The Hon'ble Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Government of India Shri. KAPIL SIBAL has been invited as Chief Guest

• This Summit is co-sponsored by AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce) and supported by USG

• Several Deans and Heads of reputed American and other foreign Universities will participate in this interactive Summit

• From India, Deans and V ice Chancellors of leading Universities will participate

• Leading Speakers from U.S., U.K., reputed Indian Educational Institutes of higher learning and other Institutes from Europe, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan are also being invited

• You can compare notes and explore with WHO'S WHO in Education the world over

You can learn more about the Indo-American Society on their website at  http://www.indoamericansociety.org/.  You can also find a detailed 15 page brochure as well as register for the Summit at http://www.indoamericansociety.org/events.asp. 

Canadian Student Handbook on Opportunities in India

Some time ago I learned about the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and a relatively new publication that they produced that caught my attention and I thought I'd post to IHEC Blog about it.

First, a little something about the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (or L'Institut indo-canadien Shastri). According to their website, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute is “a binational organization that promotes understanding between India and Canada through academic activities and exchanges and their mission is to improve the quality of life of the peoples of Canada and India by building and strengthening intellectual and cultural linkages through research, dialogue and exchange.” I’m really interested in the work of these types of educational exchange organizations as well as their history so I spent quite a bit of time checking out their entire website to learn more of what they are all about. Check out the work of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute here.

Something that really caught my attention was new publication entitled “Canadian Student Handbook on Opportunities in India” produced by Sarah Hawkins (Communications Officer at the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute). I, like most people working in the field of international education, receive much programmatic literature that I try to at least look at but often times recycle before too long. For me, the "Canadian Student Handbook on Opportunities in India" is different and I found myself reading it and appreciating the value in the information provided. This thirteen page publication is well produced and provides Canadian students with an excellent overview of all of the academic and work/volunteer opportunities available in India. The information is not overwhelming for the students (and people like me) and allows for easy, informative and engaging reading. Check out the “Canadian Student Handbook on Opportunities in India” here.

I don’t see IHEC Blog heading down the marketing advice avenue (I’ll save that for Chris Brogan although I doubt he will delve into the international educaiton profession) but I have, receive and read much literature (both scholarly and practical) that I just may comment on from time to time about it on IHEC Blog.

Two Brief Notes of Sadness on Matters Related to International Education

On this first work day of the new year my inbox has filled with Google Alerts linking to articles on two important issues related to international education. In case you are busy and haven’t been able to follow the news:

1. Sad news out of Australia is that a twenty-one year old student from India was stabbed and killed in a park over the weekend while walking to work in Melbourne. You can read more about the incident and the ripple effects here. Violence against Indian students in Australia was a very hot topic in 2009 in both India and Australia. On July 15th I asked on IHEC Blog “has the recent violence against Indian students in Australia had an effect on Indian American students’ decision to study abroad in Australia?” which you can read here.

2. The aftermath of the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt of a Delta Airlines flight to Detroit has set in motion new and intense screening procedures at airports worldwide for citizens from 14 nations. Citizens from the four “state sponsors of terrorism” and nine “countries of interest” will now be required to “undergo full-body pat downs and will face extra scrutiny of their carry-on bags before they can board planes to the United States. In some countries that have more advanced screening equipment, travelers will also be required to pass through so-called whole-body scanners that can look beneath clothing for hidden explosives or weapons, or may be checked with a device that can find tiny traces of explosives.”[1] You can read more about these new security measures here.

These two issues will no doubt effect international education exchange in Australia, India and the United States.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/us/04webtsa.html

Indian Engineering Education in Peril

Guest post by Dr. Rahul Choudaha, http://www.dreducation.com/

Dr. Rahul Choudaha is an international higher education professional based in New York. He earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Denver and holds an MBA and an undergraduate degree in Engineering.

The gap between quality and quality in Indian engineering education is widening. The recent decision of the Washington Accord to turn down India’s proposal to graduate from the provisional membership to full membership highlights the lack of global competitiveness of the Indian engineering education system. The primary reason for denial relate to the “concerns over the quality of faculty members and students in Indian engineering programs.”

The number of seats for AICTE (Indian regulatory body) approved engineering colleges grew from 115,000 to 653,000 (CAGR of 19%) in the ten-year period from 1997-2007. Private institutions contributed to the most of growth however, it came at the expense of quality. This is clearly evident from the reports of unemployment among engineers on one hand and on other hand there are concerns of future unmet demand by the industry. Thus, there is a significant quality gap between what industry needs and what engineering education is providing.

One of the biggest challenges for Indian higher education is that institutional practices consider quality as an option and not a requirement. This means quality does not figure as a strategic priority. In addition, over-regulation and dysfunctional reward system further stifles quality orientation. This is also evident from the number of engineering institutions opting for “voluntary” accreditation of quality offered by National Board of Accreditation (NBA). This means given a choice, Indian engineering programs are not striving to integrate quality assurance in their academic offerings.

Source: http://www.education.nic.in/tech/tech_nba.asp

The problem is evident, urgent and systemic. It calls for solutions that more comprehensive and collaborative. Without the support of industry support, regulatory reform and institutional transformation, Indian engineering education is at the risk of created overeducated and underemployed youth.

Indian quality assurance system in engineering education requires an overhaul. A recent report by UNESCO, A New Dynamic: Private Higher Education, argues that "quality mechanisms must find a balance that ensures high levels of provision while at the same time not constraining appropriate innovation that responds to the evolving public and private education sectors."

Has the Recent Violence Against Indian Students in Australia had an Effect on Indian American Students’ Decision to Study Abroad in Australia?

There has been a flurry of news over the past few months about several incidence of violence against Indian students studying in Australia and the effect this has on higher education and the economy in Australia. Specifically, over 70 attacks on Indian students have occurred in Australia over the past year or so and this has sparked outrage in India as well as a swift “zero tolerance” response in Australia. Last week a nine-member delegation from Australia began a nine-day itinerary of India in an effort to mend relations and improve the image of Australia and its higher education system. I have copied and pasted the following from the July 7th Wall Street Journal article “Australians Travel to India to Talk About Student Safety” to highlight the impact these attacks can have on Australia:

“The issue is important for Australia's economy because the education of foreign students has become big business, generating 15.5 billion Australian dollars (US$12.54 billion) in 2008, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in May.

Foreigners now make up 25% of students, up from just under 10% in 1997. Indian students represent about 18% of the 542,000 foreigners studying in Australia, second only to those from China, according to data from the Australian Council for Private Education and Training. The higher-education sector is now Australia's third-largest export earner behind coal and iron ore.

In the state of Victoria, education is the biggest export earner and many of the attacks have occurred in Melbourne, Victoria's capital.”

Those of you who have not been following these developments in Australia may want to do a simple internet search or link to a few articles I have highlighted below:

“Australians Travel to India to Talk About Student Safety” from the July 7th The Wall Street Journal

“Punjab government seeks data of students studying in Australia” from June 10th The Times of India

“Indian Students Claim Epidemic of Racist Violence in Australia” from June 4th VOANews.com

“Indian students describe Sydney attacks” from June 3rd issue of ABC News

“Indian students unsure about studying in Australia” from May 29th ABC Radio Australia

It should be noted that Australia is not the only country where Indian students as well as others have been attacked or have experienced racism.

In answer to the question “has the recent violence against Indian students in Australia had an effect on Indian American students’ decision to study abroad in Australia?”…I don’t have an answer and I think it would be a bit challenging (but not impossible) to measure. Some immediate thoughts are that most U.S. students are not aware these attacks on Indian students even occurred. Indian American students may be more informed on the situation in India than their peers as it has received significant media attention in India and I’m guessing in Indian media outlets (as well as in the WSJ) here in the United States. As many IHEC Blog readers know, I have a strong research interest in diversifying the U.S. study abroad student profile and I’ve written about and compiled an annotated bibliography on heritage seeking in a study abroad context. What I don’t know and I need to investigate is “to what level do college and university level students in the U.S. keep up to date on news in countries of their heritage?” I will certainly try to seek answers to this question but if anyone has any leads for me please leave a comment.

Anyway…this question has been floating around in my head the last month or so as I’ve been reading about this situation and I thought I post to IHEC Blog about it.