'We've never felt left out'

Conducive atmosphere

Nationhood, it is said, is part fiction and part reality. This is confirmed by the spirit and gusto with which expatriate student community have merged with the culture and tradition of the City.

“We’ve never felt left out. The warmth, love and the support we get from the people here is unmatched,” observe the international student community studying at the Indian Academy.

Metrolife interacted with a few expat students at the Indian Academy and found that they had so much to say about every aspect of the City — weather, food, shopping, friends and of course, the college.

Most of them are meritorious students who wish to take the education, experience and exposure, they get here back to their country.

The students couldn’t stop raving about the Academy and said that the faculty members made sure they went beyond the curriculum to ensure that the international students felt at home.  

There are students from 24 countries studying here. It is the NAAC accreditation that prompted the students to choose the Indian Academy.

The Academy has an international student association that takes care of all their needs.

A specially designed language laboratory helps these students pick up the English language. “They can improve their English, pronunciation and vocabulary by using a software which helps to better their accent as well. There is a teacher who assists them in this regard,” says T Bharathi, secretary of the Indian Academy Education Trust. Prof P Keshavdass, coordinator of the international student body says, “There’s a culture shock when the students come to India. Ours is a pretty conservative society and theirs is more open. It takes a while before they begin to respect our culture and society,” says Keshavdass.

Jesiah Selvam, director of School of Management Studies says the emphasis is more on the methodology of teaching and emphasis on quality.

“The challenge is to make the students more receptive to our way of communication. The disciplined atmosphere also helps,” he informs.

Jessica R from Tanzania says, “We have the freedom to walk up to our teachers and share with them our problems on and off campus. This warm interaction has made it easier for us to adjust,” explains Jessica. While Hamid from Iran feels that though the education is good, more emphasis must be laid on creativity of students.

“The students must have more practicals than theory. Extra classes and project works leaves us with very little time to focus on other things,” he says.   

Mastaneh from Iran says while the education is great she wonders why foreigners are taken for a ride in the City. “Whether it’s the auto drivers, police officers, the bus conductors... or even shopping we foreigners are cheated wherever we go. We face a lot of harassment from the foreign registration office as well,” she says.

The students love the food. Most of them swear by butter chicken, masala dosa and chicken tikka masala. Z Bayoro from Ivory Coast sums up, “The Indian students have been instrumental in helping us merge with the City. They introduce us to good food, great shopping and even help in the academics as well.”