Leading Edge

C a mp u s A b r o a d

T

rue to all our mythological and ancestral stories, attaining prized pots of gold and godly nectar for the one who crosses the seven seas, has been gradually made possible by not one, but by many today. Thanks to the tremendous economic boom in many subcontinental and south-east Asian developing countries. The resultant power attained by Gen-X benefits Gen-Y who are given a prized chance to get exposed to international cultures, while developing their academic qualifications in a country other than their home country. When we profile three of the most favoured destinations in order of preference, USA stands tall at number one. The reason is that, America is projected as the ‘land of opportunities’. It is of great interest to engineering prospects, with heavy cuts on education fees in the name of aids, which is lacking in UK and Australia. These aids help a student to 12

US, UK and Australia provide a perfect balance to mould one’s personality into a culturally vibrant, an effectively employable and a constantly energetic one. cut through his fees, almost until one fifth of his total tuition expenses. Besides this, the enormity of jobs available especially in software industry makes it a favourable hot spot educational destination. UK comes second with the likes of traditional biggies such as Harvard and Oxford among many other beautifully constructed aesthetic education atmosphere. UK is the most preferred for the one year executive management courses such as an MBA, which still tops the most sought after post graduation course amongst Indian students. However, Arts, Economics, creative courses such as Fine Arts and Fashion are equally preferred. ed matrix MAY 2008

Australia lies away from most of its other Caucasian counterparts and has successfully landed itself as one of the most liveable countries/continents in the world. Australia is a mixed bag opting equally to both engineering and business, along with Architecture, Fashion and creative arts. Many students even take up courses such as Accounting, Patisserie and Hair Styling. The ability to work outside the university while pursuing degree is accepted only in UK and Australia. It provides a chance to network in the chosen career field. USA allows students to work within the university premises. Also, unlike UK and Australia whose campuses are located within city limits, some even in the heart of the cities, universities in USA are usually located in towns, which may be re-christened as ‘university town’. Indeed all the three destinations provide a perfect balance to mould one’s personality into a culturally vibrant, an effectively employable and a constantly energetic one.

C a mp u s A b r o a d textbooks with two to three decades old syllabus are absolutely impractical in today’s ever changing online era. Access to latest databases, journals, current market information and academic sources enable students to come up with more recent and more practicable academic reports in all their submissions. The resultant product thus scores much above the Indian reports giving a foreign educated student more chances of being employed with a good list of portfolios.

Preferences to get a degree from universities based in the three top western countries can also be argued with the likes of Indian premium institutions: namely, IIM’S, IIT’S, ISB and FMS. But, how many students of the second most populous country gain admissions into such premier institutions, considering the enormous cut-offs and stringent competition? While only the cream of India’s high rankers get into such big institutions and land up with a six figure starting salary package, what about the other good students who don’t make it?

Even the second grade universities abroad try and provide excellent facilities to students and have very structural organisational and management procedures, which are lacking in many Indian institutions. But, many would criticise that such claims are merely a false projection and that students just want a foreign university degree because it is ‘foreign’. This criticism cannot be blamed, as most developing countries look up to developed western countries for emulation. A premier institution in a country like Thailand would score very

In India, only the pick of the bunch of India gets into big institutions and a majority of students have no other choice but to gain admission into a second grade institution Do they get similar quality education from other big players or do they get employers lining up to recruit them even if they are not premium B-school or related university pass outs? These class divisions are minimal when it comes to universities abroad. In most cases, the quality of education of the third grade universities would be similar to the ones which are ranked first or second. The conditions, a student is subjected to while pursuing his university degree are very conducive for him to come out with flying colours and make himself an effectively employable candidate in competing with a premium B- School pass out. The reasons are aplenty.

low in comparison to a third grade university in UK or Australia when it comes to Indian student’s choice. The language barrier is prevalent in India. Indians are just not too good at grasping or learning new languages, this is one reason why they have limited liking towards countries such as Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, France, Japan, Russia and so on, where English is not the primary language. Apart from their traditional western coat, the reasons to choose USA, UK and Australia could be the fact that English is their primary language. Teaching methods in India are still very obsolete and textbook based. These ed matrix MAY 2008

Exposure to other students is enormous as most western countries such as UK, USA and Australia are educational destinations for many international students. While at universities, most projects are group based and create a constant exchange of thoughts among different international students. This gives rise to sharpened ideas resulting in an enriched mind, with different opinions from students other than Indian origin. All these amalgamated interactions and exposures help to mould the overall development of an individual. Living and studying off shore from home country not only develops one’s academic standards but also develops general living capabilities. When it comes to studying abroad, a majority of Indian students work while studying to support themselves financially. It improves their money management skills and helps them realise the important of every single penny at an early stage of life. Such overall developments make them capable of becoming responsible young adults. It would reflect on their professional life as well. Therefore, possibilities are aplenty as the world is becoming increasingly globalised. One may now dream of having breakfast in Berlin, lunch in London and dinner in Dublin. Though it does happen now, it will slowly become as common as foreign education in the next two decades. Praveen Vaidyanathan The author completed his Masters fromRoyal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Melbourne.

13

C a mp u s A b r o a d

I

f you had been to the UK already, then you will roughly know the cultural settings of UK. If it is your first time in the country - and perhaps your first time abroad - you may find that settling in is not an automatic process. At some stage you will use the term culture shock to explain your reactions. But what exactly is culture shock? What does it feel like? Can you prevent it? Probably not; but you can minimise its effect. Research into culture shock Culture shock has been a bona fide field of research for European and American anthropologists and psychologists. The anthropologist Dr. Kalvero Oberg was the first to use this term. Others have experimented with ‘culture fatigue’ and ‘role shock’ but these have not made it into everyday usage.

The symptoms They can range from the physical headaches, lethargy, sleep problems, loss of appetite and digestive irregularities - to the psychological, irritability and anger over minor frustrations, confusion about morals and values. Suffering from culture shock often leaves people feeling moody, isolated and insecure. Research has shown that the more welltravelled and practised at absorbing, accepting and adapting you are, the more easily you overcome culture shock. If you are confident from speaking the language and possess a thorough knowledge of your new home, you can feel settled after a relatively short period. Preparing for culture shock What strategies can you use to minimise, and cope with, culture shock?

Read all the pre-departure literature sent to you by your university or college. Before leaving home, try and find out some social survival skills like how to address people in different social groups, how gender roles affect social relationships, what constitutes acceptable behaviour in a range of everyday situations, how gestures and body language differ from your country’s Do not rely on TV or cinema films to provide you cultural pointers. British soap operas and films only give you a stereotypical and often idolised view. How to overcome culture shock After arriving at your new university or college, the following suggestions may assist you in reducing the strain of culture shock:

Studying abroad and culture shock

Are you planning to study in the UK? Are you looking forward to an exciting time, with high expectations of life in Britain? There are positive and negative aspects of living in a new culture. At first you are excited by the new environment and a few frustrations do not spoil your enthusiasm. Then follows a period in which cultural differences in behaviour and values become more obvious. What was exciting, new and challenging is now merely frustrating. In the next stage you may reject what is around you, perhaps becoming opinionated and negative. You may feel that everyone is against you and that nobody understands you. Based on your successes in negotiating a variety of social situations and, maybe, increased language skills, your selfesteem grows. Knowing that you cannot change your surroundings you now enjoy certain aspects of British culture and feel relieved and strengthened from having overcome the difficulties. You may even feel a sense of belonging. 12

Remember that other students probably go through the same experiences as you do. Even British students have to adjust to living away from home.

ead the very useful booklet ‘How to live R in Britain’ from the British Council. Perhaps you know someone who has lived in the UK, or - better still - studied at the university or college you are going to. Talk to them but beware, they may indulge in some nostalgia when looking back on their student days. Ask them what problems and disappointments they have experienced. ed matrix june 2008

e aware of the signs, including the B physical symptoms. xplore your immediate environment. E Take advice on personal safety and walk around to know your neighbourhood. Create a mental map of your surroundings. Be courageous and introduce yourself to your neighbours. If you live in university accommodation, there may be other students who feel just the way you do. Locate useful places such as the post office, the doctor’s surgery and the university welfare office so that you know where they are when you need them. ead a local newspaper and find out R what the topical issues are. If you are well informed, you can hold conversations with British people without always feeling the outsider. I f you are unsure of your English, boost your confidence by remembering

C a mp u s A b r o a d

that most British people do not speak a foreign language. Make an effort to improve your language skills by watching TV and listening to the radio. You institution may run free courses for international students. Take a break from studying and take part in social activities. Enquire about things like etiquette and dress code if you are not sure. Ask questions about social customs from people with whom you feel comfortable. You will always find someone who will assist you in finding out about life in Britain. This can be a two-way exchange, with you telling people about life in your home country. eep in touch with your own culture. K Visit the nearest temples and mosques and find out from where you can buy the

cookery ingredients that you are used to from home. Avoid mixing only with compatriots or other international students. Contact with British people allows you to adapt more quickly and to make friends. A good way of meeting British people is to take part in a hosting scheme where British families invite international students into their homes for a meal, or a weekend stay. Ask yourself which situations irritate or confuse you the most. Are you sure that you have always understood people’s reactions to you, or could it be that you misinterpreting their behaviour? Avoid comparing them and us, good and bad. Establishing why people behave the way they do and placing their behaviour ed matrix june 2008

in a social or economic context is more helpful. Help to reduce stress on your body by keeping fit physically. If you are feeling very low, talk to someone about it. Write down things you like and do not like. Can you change them? If not, you can try living with them. And finally, remember that other students probably go through the same experiences as you do. Even British students have to adjust to living away from home. Adapting to a different climate, different social conventions and different cultural values can be a complex and sometimes painful process, but coming out at the other end is rewarding, enriching and definitely worth the effort! Christine Eickelmann, University of Northumbria, U.K 13

C a mp u s A b r o a d

F

oreign education is becoming an achievable dream for more and more Indian students. In fact many long for it and consider it as a great achievement. No educational system is perfect but Finland’s is much admired by the world at large. The main aim of the Finnish education system is to ensure that the entire population has access to education and training. The principle of lifelong learning and the idea that people are always capable of learning new things at all stages of life, is an important principle for all education provision. The universities represent the oldest educational tradition in Finland. According to the legal definition, it is the purpose of the universities to promote free academic research, scientific and cultural education, and to provide higher education based on research and scholarship. The Ministry of Education is the highest education authority in Finland, and supervises all education and training provision that is covered by public subsidies. Finland has a network of 20 excellent universities and 29 polytechnics, all of which offer international education programmes. Go to www.edu.fi to learn more about the Finnish educational system. If you are currently enrolled in another university, you can explore different exchange opportunities by going to the following sites: www.edu.fi, www.finaid. com, and www.worldwide.edu. If you take the exchange path, you will have to continue to pay tuition at your home university. The second option is to apply directly to the Finnish institution. You can apply for specific study blocks or for a degree program. If you get accepted, you pay no tuition. The only fee is €75 a year for student union fees. The student union offers some great benefits. You can check them out at www.tamy.fi. Once you are accepted to a university, the application is simple. See www.finland. org for information on getting a visa. Non-citizens of Finland can get financial aid for studies in Finland if they live 12

Study in Finland Education in Finland is admired by world at large and preferred the world over in Finland on a permanent basis for a purpose other than studying. This requires that they are registered as a permanent resident in the Finnish population register system. The purpose of residence in Finland is determined by reference to such matters as the residence permit, registration or acceptance to an educational institution. If you come to Finland solely for the purpose of attending a school, you cannot get Finnish student financial aid. Many students in Finland finance their studies with part-time jobs. For vacancies and tips for job hunting, KELA - student financial aid, Scholarships on the CIMO webpage, Scholarships on the SYL webpage and Ministry of labour - job search (in Finnish) offer solutions. You can also contact the recruitment services of your university. ed matrix july 2008

Every student that studies in a Finnish higher education institution is eligible for a student flat. Respective housing foundation gives you more information. Student unions and/or universities take a good care of their international students. Many student unions are also members of the Erasmus Student Network. To find out what kind of services are available to you, each institution or student union offers many chances. Your biggest expenses will be rent and food. If you take advantage of the student housing options you can expect to pay between €130 and €500 per month. Food will cost €150-€300 per month. University cafeterias are also very affordable: about €2 per meal. You can find some international insurance carriers at the following sites:

C a mp u s A b r o a d www.ihi.com, www.globalcover.com, and www.imglobal.com. For international health insurance you can expect to pay between $75-$125 per month. A monthly bus pass costs €30 per month. Including some room for miscellaneous and fun stuff, the total comes to somewhere between €550–€1,100 per month. Most people have to find a job to help make both ends meet. This can be a challenge. Your first tip is to start looking for a job several months before arriving in Finland. Good web sites for jobs include www.uranus.fi and www. planetedu.com. A great forum for foreigners looking for jobs in Finland is www.iesaf.com.

example. If you have experience with e-bay, there are some ways to make money buying and selling online. If you have teaching experience, there are many English language schools that are always looking for native speakers. Start your search at www.tefl.com. Another place to look is the American Scandinavian Foundation. Or look into the Au Pair program at www. aupair-world.net. Don’t expect the jobs to come to you; you’ll have to put in some hard work. It is worth the effort as the education in Finland is admired by world at large and preferred the world over.

Also, get creative-freelance writing or proof reading for magazines, for

University of Kuopio The University of Kuopio in Eastern Finland has an international reputation in the fields of health, environment and well-being, with particular strengths in biotechnology, biosciences and molecular medicine. The University’s latest fields of expertise are business administration and technology education.The University contains five faculties namely, Business and Information Technology, Medicine, Natural and Environmental Sciences, Pharmacy and Social Sciences. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The University is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. Kuopio Science Park is a focal point of innovative education, creative research and expertise projects managed by the University, University Hospital, Polytechnic, national research institutes, Technology Centre Teknia Ltd., and over 160 private companies The A.I.Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences AIVI houses a Graduate School of approximately 90 doctoral students. The Institute is also fully responsible for implementing the international Master-level Degree Programmes in Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology and in Neurobiology at the University of Kuopio.Many of the researchers working in the A.I.Virtanen Institute’s laboratories are world leaders in their field. The University also houses several research units which have been awarded the prestigious status of Centre of Excellence by the Academy of Finland. These groups carry out research in the fields of cardiovascular diseases and type 2diabetes, atmospheric composition and climate change, health risk analysis of environmental factors, and development and testing of new biomaterials and medical devices. Nordic Centers of Excellence In addition, three research groups at the University of Kuopio are involved in the Nordic excellence programme (2002–2007), which focuses on global changes. The research group working on aerosol physics is examining the correlation between biosphere, aerosols, clouds and climate, and the global change research and educational unit, GLOBIOC, is a specialist unit exploring the exchange of greenhouse gases between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Also two research groups are involved in the Nordic Centre of Excellence in Neurodegeneration (2004–2009).

Zachary Sorrells Everett, PA. With Harish Tumma ed matrix july 2008

13

Le a d i n g e d g e

Visualise! Don’t Just See! Visualising beyond senses

D

eepak was an MBA student. The attraction of being part of the much advertised B-school brought him to a different sense of life, business, relationships and even the fact of studying. This chance of studying MBA in a prestigious institution brought him strategies and leadership toolkits that proved to be successful universally and globally. He found within the chance to get acquainted with the influential alumni. In fact there were too many of them. His horizon seemed to have been wide. It helped him to think big. He 12

Visualisation helps the mind to carry the signals to various parts of the body that gets tuned to the brain’s commands.

started dreaming, dreaming Big. In fact he knew everything in theory. He was aiming so high that he would not start till everything is set. Meena was a slim, in fact a famished lean girl. One can easily say that she ed matrix august 2008

hailed from a poor family of a remote village. She had almost no big option open apparently after her +2 studies. She managed to come to Chennai, the paradise of poor people of all south Indians with its variety, heat and choking crowd. She got into a small publishing industry not much known outside. She was inspired to do her BBA through a correspondence course in an university that is not known much outside. She passed out of the course with 70% of marks still not knowing how to explain what she studied. Back in the office, in

Le a d i n g e d g e deed she was doing better and better. She knew different ways of handling a problem. She started settling problems of revenue generation for the firm. She set up a proper mailing system. By the end of the third year as she graduated from the university in theory, she also graduated from her office in practice. She took charge as a manager of Administrative department. With her commitment and honesty she knew what she has to do. She learnt a new way of existing ain a city and managing her routine life without being attracted by the alluring advertisements of the city. Deepak launched a business with all the theory he knew. He hardly understood that apart from the huge money he spent to learn all theories from Big B schools, he has to spend much more to learn real life lessons known as experience. He did not truly learn anything until he learnt from experience. Now he began balancing between the theory he held so sacred and the hard learnt lessons after spending all the money in venture capital. He is dejected and life has taught him some of the best lessons he had learnt for life. Today he is moderate in his plans.

It is quite interesting to see how the gymnasts practice new fetes. Unusual fetes are practiced by them. We wonder how they do such fetes. The secret lies in visualising what they are going to perform before they actually do it before a huge gathering. Visualisation helps the mind to carry the signals to various parts of the body that gets tuned to the brain’s commands. After a few trials and practice, they feel more comfortable to perform the fete that seems impossible for any normal person who is sitting in the arena to watch them perform. What you need to do is to visualise and not just see. That is the key to initiating anything new with ease. That is the key to taking a right course of action. That is the key to directing and channelizing the energy towards one single direction.

Creatively remembering something that is not easy to recall involves a great bit of imagination and literally seeing with our inner eyes as if it is taking place in reality.

What you have not visualised you cannot see in action and in reality. Visualising is the key to a whole new way of being a leader. I used to repeat a phrase quite often to the students who attend my training sessions on memory power. That is creative imagination. Creatively remembering something that is not easy to recall involves a great bit of imagination and literally seeing with our inner eyes as if it is taking place in reality. For all the memory fetes the most fundamental process is the process of creative imagination and the key to registering that is to visualise it in action. This is also true of any invention. Take for example how did people arrive at the fact that the earth is spherical and not flat? How did people come to know that the earth revolves around the sun? Imagine all the scientific efforts were done on the earth and not sitting in moon or sun. While they were on the earth they were able to come out with facts about the universe. Scientists were able to dissect the laws governing the planets. It is still a big mystery for many. But it is quite simple for people who know the art of visualising beyond what they can see with their human eyes. It is said that in a hospital in California, the doctors help cancer patients fight against cancer by asking the patients to imagine themselves as angels. They are taught to look at cancer as a devil. Their only job is to constantly visualise a battleground where they keep chasing away these devils that attack them. This is how the doctors help these patients to fight. It is said that nearly 80% of the cure is taking place not with the help of any medicine but with this kind of visualisation process of fighting the enemy.

ed matrix august 2008

The same is true of any venture be it business or otherwise. We are limited by the vision we have created for ourselves. So dream and visualise your desires and plans. You will see the unbelievable taking shape into a big reality beyond limits. Benny Witt 13