Hosting a group from a different country can be an enlightening experience for students of a particular college, which is why many institutes have begun to conduct exchange programmes with universities in different parts of the world.

Acharya Institute of Management and Sciences (AIMS) too recently played host to a group of students and faculty members from the University of Shimane in Japan. In honour of this, a ceremony was held in the college recently.

Through this programme, the students sought to showcase a slice of their culture for their foreign guests. The Japanese students and teachers were treated to a traditional welcome, followed by the standard lamp-lighting ceremony.

Cultural events were organised by students from both countries, which formed the highlight of the event. The chief guest for the event was Kishor Jagirdar, a member of the executive board of India-Japan Global Partnership. In a brief speech, he described India as an attractive tourist destination, listing the different aspects of the country’s culture and history. Kitamura Masaki, a professor from the University of Shimane who was part of the programme, outlined some of the salient features of their institute.

To foster more knowledge about the two cultures, quiz programmes were held and the students encouraged to take part.

This was followed by the cultural programmes, which left the audience entranced. It began with an odissi recital, which the Japanese entourage was clearly impressed by. There were also visual presentations, which included interesting snippets of different cultures. While the students of AIMS put up a skit based on Buddha’s life, 24 of the Japanese students presented a dance to what they explained was one of the hottest numbers in their country. Post lunch, there was an interactive session, where both sets of students got to mingle with each other and exchange notes —
not only on the forms of education in their respective countries, but the customs and ways of living as well.

Akshay, a student of Acharya Institute of Management and Sciences, felt that the entire programme was a great opportunity for him and his peers. “It was a wonderful experience interacting with Japanese students — we shared our thoughts, e-mail ids and contact numbers for the future as well. We’re really looking forward to many other such programmes,” he smiles.