Video Conference with Indian MBA students
March 12th, 2010
In the last few weeks, Jason and Kirk were working hard to set up a video conference with some MET University MBA students whom we are going to meet in June. Last Thursday it was finally happening.
The evening started at 7:00pm with some fine Indian food prepared by Dr. Singh’s wife. After eating (a lot), we started the video conference with the MET students. The meeting was very interesting in terms of seeing the differences between the curricula of the programs, the off-campus life and the attitude of the students. Besides the content of the meeting, I think it was also very valuable to practise the use of video conferencing equipment. Since, we will most likely use this at the workplace in the future, this was a great “low risk dry run”.
A major difference between CalPoly and MET is how interconnected MET is with companies. It seems like the students over there start working closely with potential future employers from day one. Class projects are conducted in conjunction with industry partners. The geographical location of CalPoly might make such a high level of integration a bit more difficult but I think this is definitely something we should look into doing more than we currently do.
In terms of differences in students’ life, I found it to be very interesting. Apparently most of the Indian students still live with their parents. I feel like it is a major part of the college experience in the US (and as a matter of fact, in Europe too) to move away from your parents for the first time and learn to become independent. I am really curious to talk about this in more detail when I’m over there.
All in all, the MET students seemed like an awesome crowd and I am really looking forward to meeting them in June … ofcourse, we are also going to kick their butts in a game of cricket!!
Last but not the least, I want to use this chance to thank Jason and Kirk for their continuing effort to make events like this happen! I hope everyone understands how much value they add to the program and how much of their free time they are spending for us!!
-Vitus Holzner
Entry Filed under: 2010 Student Blogs, India, Misc.
4 Comments Add your own
1. Chris Carr | March 16th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Good post and good pics!
2. Matthew Perez | March 19th, 2010 at 11:37 am
In my experience at the video conference, I was amazed at the difference between how they viewed job prospects compared to the MBA students here at Cal Poly. Granted, they have an entire program at MET that specializes in job placement activities for their students, but I think there was something more than that. It could be argued that there are more business opportunities in India, making it easier for them to find jobs but that seems unlikely as well. I believe the difference is a result of humility. In India, the business students there do not seem to expect that their degree will give them a strong leadership position within a company. They are simply willing to accept the job that fits their acquired skills. MBA students here, on the other hand, seem to expect that they will be important figureheads within a company shortly after arrival. This might have been true in the past but with more and more people getting advanced degrees, this is not the case anymore. We should learn to accept more reasonable job prospects, especially given the tough economic situation we are in.
3. Kirk Story | March 19th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Thanks Vitus. I was expecting you to post the photo-shopped picture you took of me at the event. Thanks for not doing that.
In all seriousness, the MET teleconference was a great event. I also look forward to meeting our counterparts in Mumbai this June. We must win that cricket game. I don’t care if we have to dress some cricket-savy street kids in our huge MBA polo-shirts. We need a “W” on this one.
4. Yuxiang Gao | March 19th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
‘In terms of differences in students’ life, I found it to be very interesting. Apparently most of the Indian students still live with their parents. I feel like it is a major part of the college experience in the US (and as a matter of fact, in Europe too) to move away from your parents for the first time and learn to become independent. ‘
Vitus, speaking of students’ life, I think I may understand why Indian student still live with their parents.
First, in Asia, the filial duty is one of the most essential of fine culture. Students who live with parents can serve them better.
Second, India is still a developing country, economy could be considered more than in Europe.
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