July/Aug 2014

JULY/AUGUST 2014 Rs. 20

Opening Doors to Success Study in the U.S.�

SPAN magazine organized its first online photo contest, on the theme “My Community, My Planet,” to highlight how efforts by an individual or a group can contribute to the creation of a clean and healthy environment. The contest opened on April 22 (Earth Day) and the winners were announced on June 5 (World Environment Day). Besides the three top winners, prizes were also awarded for creativity, composition, photo quality, originality, appropriateness to contest theme and for receiving the most “likes” from SPAN readers. The winning entries can be viewed online here: http://goo.gl/RHJPi1

1

st SUDIPTO DAS, Kolkata “Wind of Change”

2

nd SRINIVASA PRASATH, Hyderabad “Post Immersion Cleanup Drive, Mumbai”

3

rd VISHAL KUMAR, Dharamshala “Innocent Love of a Gaddi Girl”

July/August 2014

http://span.state.gov

V O LU M E LV N U M B E R 4

Click and Learn From the Best

By Michael Gallant



A Special Message to Parents

By Don Martin

17



FAQs for Undergraduate Applicants

By Don Martin and Wesley Teter

26

Your 5 Steps to U.S. Study

28



From Chicago to New Delhi

By Raktima Bose



Perfect Degree of Housing

By Paromita Pain

30



Studying While Working, Working While Studying

By Howard Cincotta

A Journey Through America’s Past

By Carrie Loewenthal Massey

37



News Scape

38



Going Beyond Bollywood at the Smithsonian

By Jane Varner Malhotra



Five Job Search Tips For International Students

By Lindsey Pollak

22

Academic Center

Housing

© Getty Images

15

24

28

Publisher Walter T. Douglas

Editor in Chief David Mees

Editor Deepanjali Kakati Hindi Editor Giriraj Agarwal Urdu Editor Syed Sulaiman Akhtar Copy Editors Raktima Bose, Shah Md. Tahsin Usmani Editorial Assistant Yugesh Mathur Web Manager Chetna Khera

Art Director Hemant Bhatnagar Deputy Art Directors Qasim Raza, Shah Faisal Khan Production/Circulation Manager Alok Kaushik Printing Assistant Manish Gandhi

Front cover: Illustration by Hemant Bhatnagar.

Photographs © Getty Images, Filipe Fortes/ Courtesy Wikipedia

Research Services Bureau of International Information Programs, The American Library

38

Travel

30

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Courtesy MummyDaddy.com

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20 22

U.S. Universities Attract Increasing Number of Indian Students

By Steve Fox

JANE VARNER MALHOTRA

10

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Partnerships for Innovative Learning

By Giriraj Agarwal

Exhibition

Education

2 2

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JOHN KANNENBERG/Courtesy Flickr

© Getty Images

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Published by the Public Affairs Section, American Center, 24 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001 (phone: 23472000), on behalf of the U.S. Embassy, New Delhi. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited, 18/35, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad, Haryana 121007. Opinions expressed in this 44-page magazine do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Government.  Articles with a star may be reprinted with permission.

Those without a star are copyrighted and may not be reprinted.

Contact SPAN at 011-23472135 or editorspan@state.gov

U.S. Universities Attract

Increasing Number of Indian Students

By STEVE FOX

American universities have become stepping-stones to success for thousands of Indian students in a trend that seems destined to accelerate.

LUCA ZAPPA/Courtesy Flickr

s globalization continues to shrink the world, advanced education and competitive skill sets have become mandatory for Indian students who seek to build rewarding careers both at home and abroad.

American universities, with their welcoming and flexible attitudes, commitment to quality and worldwide name recognition, consequently have become stepping-stones 2 JULY/AUGUST 2014

to success for thousands of Indian students in a trend that seems destined to accelerate.

More than 113,000 Indian students—about 11 percent of all international students in the United States—are currently enrolled in colleges and universities certified to accept foreign students, according to an April 2014 Student and Exchange Visitor Information System

36%

(SEVIS) report from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That’s a huge increase—the number of Indian students in the United States has tripled since 1995, according to the Open Doors 2013 report from the Institute of International Education, an independent, nonprofit educational exchange organization.

The Open Doors report cites Indian

Business and Management

Math and Computer Science

14%

23%

Stanford University in California. It is considered one of the United States’ leading research universities.

students’ preferred fields as engineering (36 percent), math and computer science (23 percent) and business and management (14 percent). About 56 percent of all Indian students currently in the United States are graduate students and about 13 percent are undergraduates, the report says, while more than a quarter (29 percent) are taking part in Optional Practical To share articles go to http://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST 2014 3

EDUCATION

Engineering

(Clockwise from above left) ANDREAS METZ/Courtesy Flickr; UBC Library Communications/Courtesy Flickr; JONATHAN REYES/Courtesy Flickr; © Getty Images

Indian students’ preferred fields

Council of Graduate Schools survey http://goo.gl/ppqKk

Training programs, which enable them to remain in the country and work in their chosen fields for varying periods of time after obtaining their degrees.

“The United States has become the higher education magnet for Indian students, and indeed for many students around the world,” says Adam J. Grotsky, executive director of the United StatesIndia Educational Foundation (USIEF), which promotes mutual understanding between the two countries through the educational exchange of outstanding scholars, professionals and students.

“In 2012-13, over 800,000 international students pursued higher studies in the United States,” says Grotsky. “Indian students flock to the U.S. for the quality of education, high-end research, hands-on learning and practical training opportunities. Individual needs of students vary, with career advancement uppermost in grad students’ minds, while the quality of education, the flexibility of the education system and the multiplicity of degree options guide the decisions of undergraduates.”

While a number of factors are driving the growth in Indian student applications, most observers agree that higher income levels associated with advanced education is a primary factor. While figures for Indian students specifically are not available, there’s little question that individuals with U.S. college degrees command higher salaries, with the advantage increasing along with education levels. According to Education Pays 2013, a study by the nonprofit College Board, the median annual earnings for full-time U.S. workers with high school diplomas in 2011 was $35,400. That number rose to $56,500 for those with bachelor’s degrees, $70,000 for those with master’s degrees, $91,000 for those with doctoral degrees and $102,200

“

Applications From India

Driving Rise in Foreign Graduate Students

T

he number of Indian students applying to U.S. grad schools grew by 32 percent for the 2013-14 school year, according to the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, following a 22 percent gain the previous year. Meanwhile, applications from China, the main driver of graduate student growth in the past, fell by one percent in the 2013-14 school year and three percent the year before, according to the CGS survey of 308 institutions that conferred about two-thirds of all graduate degrees awarded to international students in the United States.

The financial rewards asso-

for those with professional degrees. Over a 40-year working lifetime, the study found, those with bachelor’s degrees could expect to earn 165 percent of what those with high school diplomas made, with comparable numbers rising to 196 percent for those with master’s degrees, 243 percent for doctoral degrees and 292 percent for professional degrees.

For 20-year-old Shreyas Vivek Gupta from New Delhi, who is finishing his studies in entrepreneurship and business management at Babson College near

ciated with grad school are significant. For example, the jobs website monster.com lists the median mid-career salary for an employee with a master’s degree in electrical engineering as $121,000, while those with a master’s degree in computer science earned $109,000 and those with a master’s degree in finance made $120,000.

Graduates of schools that are considered prestigious can command even more, but applicants should be prepared for rejection, says Robert Frederking, associate dean for graduate education at Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science.

“I tell prospective students that if they’re going to apply here or

Boston, Massachusetts, a U.S. university offered the opportunity “to gain from the hands-on approach to teaching.

“In the U.S., ‘learning by doing’ is emphasized rather than rote learning,” Gupta says. “Therefore, I hope to make optimum use of this practical learning by gaining the necessary skills to succeed as an entrepreneur after graduation. My father runs our family business and I plan to join him and take the business to newer heights using my learnings from the four years I spent in the U.S.”

Indian students flock to the U.S. for the quality of education, high-eend research, hands-oon learning and practical training opportunities.

4 JULY/AUGUST 2014

ELIZABETH DUNHAM

“We consider ourselves a very good value,” says John Ho, dean of the Graduate School at the University of Buffalo, where outof-state tuition fees is $10,400 annually. Ho says first-time enrollment by Indian students rose 80 percent last fall at the university, which is located in upstate New York and now has 1,266 Indian students.

“Certainly there is an emerging middle class in India that is now more capable of sending their children overseas for opportunities,” he says. “Also, students who had a good experience at the University of Buffalo take that information home and that encourages others to come here.”

Most foreign students rely on

personal and family sources to finance their U.S. education, according to the Institute of International Education. However, students who gain admission to doctoral programs at some prestigious schools often receive full funding from the colleges.

“I haven’t spent a penny, which is standard, you never pay for your studies if you’re in the Ph.D. program,” says Rahul Sharma from New Delhi, who is a fourth-year Ph.D. student at Stanford University. “I also get a monthly stipend of about $2,500, but this is California so that can go pretty fast. Basically, I just want to do research, work on interesting problems and be independent without a boss sitting on my head.” —S.F.

RIC FRANCIS © AP-WWP

to other tough schools, be sure you have multiple applications going, because even if your application is perfect, we’re only going to admit you to areas in which we expect to have [government] funding,” he says. “Applicants often want to know what’s most important, and while test scores and grades need to be outstanding, the most important things are good letters of recommendation and a good statement of purpose written by the applicant.”

The demanding admission requirements and high costs of some universities have led many Indian students to apply at more affordable colleges, with some lesser-known schools experiencing strong gains in enrollment.

A predeparture orientation session for Indian students, hosted by the American Library in association with USIEF, at the New Delhi American Center.

Frederic Farina, assistant director at the Office of Technology Transfer at California Institute of Technology, with a Lego model of the Mars Exploratory Rover. The institute runs the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA.

JULY/AUGUST 2014 5

Rob NREC/Courtesy Wikipedia

TIANMING CHEN/Courtesy Flickr

“When I got admitted to the Ph.D. program here, it was like getting my first big role in Hollywood,” says Robert Frederking, associate dean for graduate education at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science. “If you get a computer science Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon, everyone in your field knows who you are.

Our graduates go into academia or, if they go into industry, they’re running research groups at Google or Facebook or Microsoft. I tell my students, ‘If you don’t make it after getting a Ph.D. here, it’s your own issue.’ ” Although U.S. universities have stepped up their recruiting efforts overseas in recent years, many colleges have lengthy histories of welcoming foreign students, including the school with the largest number of international students—the University of Southern California, which has 10,635 international students.

“USC has always actively recruited foreign graduate students—even back to this institution’s earliest days in the 1880’s, one could find international students in our

classrooms,” said USC Dean of Admission Timothy E. Brunold. “USC believes that no one can truly claim to be educated unless they have had the opportunity to live and learn with people from other countries and/or with people from backgrounds different from their own.”

Colleges with large numbers of international students tend to attract even more, Brunold observes, as graduates return home and spread the word about their experiences. For example, USC enrolled 1,585 students from India in Fall 2013—a 20 percent increase from the previous year—with a majority pursuing graduate degrees, primarily in engineering.

However, USC is also seeing more undergraduate applications, with Brunold noting that, “The emerging middle class in developing countries has really spurred the recent acceleration in undergraduate recruitment.”

While competition and costs at the highest levels are significant, Indian students who want an American college education have thousands of schools—including

While competition and costs at the highest levels are significant, Indian students who want an American college education have from.

thousands of schools to choose

6 JULY/AUGUST 2014

ANH DINH/Courtesy Flickr

An American college education is expensive—in its most recent survey of college pricing, the College Board reports that a “moderate” college budget for an in-state public college for the 2013-14 academic year averaged $22,826. Private colleges cost much more—the comparable “modest budget” figure from the College Board is $44,750 a year. For colleges that are considered prestigious, the numbers can be even higher. At Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, international undergraduate students currently pay an estimated $65,015 per year for tuition, room and board and other expenses. Costs for graduate students vary, ranging from about $60,000 to about $75,000 per year, says Linda Gentile, director of Carnegie Mellon’s Office of International Education.

These numbers don’t dissuade foreign students though—about one-third of Carnegie Mellon’s students are from overseas, including more than 1,100 from India—in large part due to the potential career payoffs, especially at the Ph.D. level.

HBS1908/Courtesy Wikipedia

Right: Students at a Harvard Business School classroom.

The school has a full-time MBA program, doctoral programs and executive education programs.

Below right: Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

Right center: Electromechanical fabrication at Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center.

Far right: The Gates Hillman Complex, home to Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science. More than 40 percent of the school’s students are from outside the United States.

higher education.

“The most important thing is for them to define their own goals—exactly what they are hoping to achieve by studying abroad—and to be realistic about where they are academically and what their family can afford,” says Jahan. “Harvard and MIT just aren’t going to work for everybody, but if they start doing their research early, they can find the right university and put together a good application package.”

Prospective students can meet representatives of U.S. universities at the annual IIE-USIEF-EducationUSA Higher Education Fairs in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Also, many U.S. institutions have alumni groups in India or can connect students with individual alumni who can provide firsthand information about specific universities and career opportunities.

SEVIS April 2014 report http://goo.gl/v9xaDz

Education Pays 2013 http://goo.gl/J3VLD3

College Board budget http://goo.gl/zSzAts

Open Doors 2013 report http://goo.gl/GegU6o

EducationUSA

http://goo.gl/elHYJJ

University of Chicago.

Madcoverboy/Courtesy Wikipedia

Steve Fox is a freelance writer, former newspaper publisher and reporter based in Ventura, California.

The Barker Engineering Library at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

JULY/AUGUST 2014

7

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community colleges—to choose from.

“Indian students and their families have realized that the intense competition for limited spots at the top Indian schools translates into low admit rates,” says Renuka Raja Rao, EducationUSA country coordinator at USIEF. “While for some families, going to the U.S. is Plan B, for the majority, it is Plan A. Many families decide not to put their children through the two to three years of stress of preparing for the competitive entrance exams to elite Indian colleges and universities that admit less than one percent of applicants and instead look to options abroad.”

Indian students who want to gain admission to a good U.S. university need to begin their planning in the 9th or 10th grade, says Ishrat Jahan, regional educational advising coordinator in New Delhi for EducationUSA, a U.S. Department of State-supported network of advising centers in some 160 countries that is the primary source of information for students and scholars who seek access to U.S.

RDsmith4/Courtesy Wikipedia

CATARINA OBERLANDER/Courtesy Flickr

©Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved

Below and below center: The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Founded in 1898, it offers a range of full- and part-time MBA degrees. It has the United States’ oldest doctoral program in business.

Courtesy Ninh Tran/Montgomery College

Community Colleges Take

Practical Approach to

Washtenaw Community College/Courtesy Flickr

Education

“

Now, community colleges are becoming more familiar to Indian parents and prospective students because they are so

cost-e effective.

Gates Foundation/Courtesy Flickr

DOUG KAYLOR/Courtesy Flickr

SANJAY SUCHAK/Montgomery College

F

lexibility and adaptability are hallmarks of the U.S. higher education system, with America’s roughly 1,200 community colleges providing an example that is attracting increasing numbers of international students while also being studied as a model for India and other nations.

Conceived in the late 1880’s as a bridge between high schools and fouryear colleges, these two-year institutions still fulfill that role but also have become gateways to meaningful employment for thousands of students focused on obtaining practical skills that will make them attractive both to local companies and to global firms. This broadening focus —sometimes called “glocal”—reflects a more inclusive concept of community that recognizes local industries with global business ties, foreign firms with U.S. operations and the reality that practical skills are valued everywhere.

“U.S. community colleges have been and continue to be gateways to higher education for American and increasingly for international students,” says Alice Blayne-Allard, associate vice president for International Programs and Services at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

“Now, community colleges are becoming more familiar to Indian parents and prospective students because they are so cost-effective. Even though most community colleges have to charge foreign students the higher, out-of-state tuition rates, they are still far less expen-

By STEVE FOX

Top: The Rockville campus of Montgomery College in Maryland.

Top right: An aerial view of Carroll Community College in Maryland.

Above right: The Student Union Building at Highline Community College, Washington.

Above left: The ceramics studio at Washtenaw Community College in Michigan.

Left: A student at the Rockville Science Center of Montgomery College.

Below left: The library at Sinclair Community College in Ohio.

Bottom left: Students in a biology class at LaGuardia Community College in New York.

Right: An Engineering Expo hosted by College of DuPage, a community college in Illinois.

sive than public or private colleges.”

Community colleges offer a wide variety of programs, with subjects ranging from culinary arts to criminal justice and nursing to nuclear technology. Most have ongoing relationships with companies that can make it easier for their graduates to find full-time employment.

Since most community college students already work, many classes are offered at night or online. Most students obtain some form of financial aid to help with tuition and fees whose combined costs run less than half than those of public four-year colleges, according to AACC. Although most international students who attend U.S. community colleges go on to four-year institutions, “We are seeing growing interest in skills development coming from foreign governments that see the benefit of sending students to the U.S. for technical training and English language development that will help them be more competitive in the job

TIM LEAGUE/Courtesy Flickr ATOMIC TACO/Courtesy Flickr

American Association of Community Colleges COD Newsroom/Courtesy Flickr

http://goo.gl/F4Zs8

markets at home,” says Blayne-Allard.

The next logical step for foreign governments—adapting the American community college model for their own countries—is the focus of cooperative efforts between the Indian and U.S. governments.

“When we look at countries around the world in terms of who has been most effective in educating their population as a whole, the only country that has done it at a scale anywhere near that required by countries like India is the United States,” says Lee Lambert, currently chancellor of Pima Community College in Arizona.

Lambert was a keynote speaker at an international conference on community colleges in New Delhi in February 2013.

“It’s exciting to see a country like India that wants to provide more education for its people, and it’s exciting for us as well because we can help them where they are right now and where they want to go in the future,” says Lambert. “They

have an advantage because they don’t have to start with old technology, they can start with where things are now.”

India’s enormous opportunities in the education area are well recognized by U.S. educators.

“I believe India is going to potentially change the way higher education is delivered around the world, given their human dividend, the sheer number of citizens they are trying to educate,” says BlayneAllard. “India is exploring best practices from around the world and looking at the U.S. model and we are happy to share our best practices and help them develop. It’s an exciting time for India and the U.S. to be engaged in this effort, because I believe India’s population and economy is going to drive the 21st century economy and that requires an educated workforce.”

Steve Fox is a freelance writer, former newspaper publisher and reporter based in Ventura, California.

JULY/AUGUST 2014

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10 JULY/AUGUST 2014

Š Getty Images

Click

and

Learn

From the Best

By MICHAEL GALLANT

In the United States and India, students

gain valuable knowledge from

MOOCs

Massive Open Online Courses.

To share articles go to http://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST 2014 11

Photographs courtesy Coursera

ot long ago, learning from the brilliant professors at Harvard University meant having to amass an outstanding academic record, complete rigorous standardized tests, emerge victorious from a brutally selective admissions process and relocate to the institution’s historic campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Thanks to a recent trend that’s equal parts education and technology, though, students around the world can now study with Harvard’s top minds—using nothing more than a computer and the Internet.

Harvard is just one of the many institutions in the United States that has begun offering Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs for short. “A MOOC is taught by an expert instructor like an author or professor, offered for free or very cheap, has thousands of students enrolled and is composed of dozens of mostly video-based lectures that you can take at your own pace,” says Dinesh Thiru, vice president of marketing for the San Francisco-based

12 JULY/AUGUST 2014

“

Courtesy edX

Anant Agarwal

MOOC company Udemy. “Four years ago, MOOCs didn’t exist. Now there are thousands.”

Udemy offers more than 16,000 courses in 10 different languages, reaching millions of students in over 190 countries. Participants can learn the ins and outs of designing iPhone apps or how to play classic hymns on the piano, take in an overview on quantum physics or plunge into a 90minute crash course in the history of India. And that’s just the beginning.

Two of the biggest names in the MOOC world, edX and Coursera, offer equally diverse opportunities to learn from the best. A nonprofit initiative created by Harvard in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), edX offers 180 courses—a majority of them in English—created at renowned universities around the world, including Columbia University in New York,

With online learning, it has become much easier to supply content through videos and interactive exercises.

Go Online edX

Coursera

https://www.coursera.org

Udemy

https://www.udemy.com Courtesy edX

https://www.edx.org

University of Toronto in Canada and IIT Bombay, the latter of which offers courses in computer programming and thermodynamics.

“Right now, they [students] can take the courses for free and the certificates that they get at the end of the course are also free. Our mission is to increase access to education for students around the world...The courses are developed by our university partners and each university has some key courses that they would like to offer...Many students have now begun putting these courses on to their résumés,” Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX, said in a Google hangout interview with SPAN. Founded by two professors at Stanford University in California, Coursera is different in that it was created as a for-profit venture, though it still offers courses on subjects ranging from cybersecurity to global affairs—for free. The service hosts over 400 courses from Yale University in Connecticut, Princeton University in New Jersey and dozens

Dinesh Thiru

Courtesy Udemy

“

of other prestigious institutions from countries around the globe.

As Thiru describes it, the seeds of the MOOC movement began in the 1990’s through experimental online courses created by MIT, though he himself first discovered the phenomenon in 2010 when he stumbled across the Khan Academy website. “I was incredibly inspired by the way Khan was teaching calculus to hundreds of thousands, and now millions, of students on YouTube,” he says.

“With online learning, it has become much easier to supply content through videos and interactive exercises where the students can self-pace themselves and the millennial generation is very comfortable with doing things online,” says Agarwal.

Though MOOCs offer convenient, affordable and flexible ways to learn new skills, they are not without their flaws. In an article entitled “The Year of the MOOC,” The New York Times cited retention of students as an issue that MOOCs

Four years ago, MOOCs didn’t exist. Now there are thousands.

JULY/AUGUST 2014

13

Photographs courtesy Coursera

Online and Beyond

ever-growing catalog of courses, Thiru and his colleagues plan to continue focusing on the mission of helping anyone learn anything, online. His hope?

That MOOCs will serve as a great equalizer, both within the United States and across the globe.

“No matter who you are, how rich or poor, or where you are in the world,” he says, “if you have a desire to learn something, a MOOC—and a worldclass instructor—is waiting to teach you.”

Michael Gallant is the founder and chief executive officer of Gallant Music. He lives in New York City.

14 JULY/AUGUST 2014

T

hanks to the U.S. Department of State, teachers and students around India are learning from a variety of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in a new way—both online and in person.

Shaping the Way We Teach English, for example, is a 10week MOOC that arms English Language educators with new skills and knowledge. The course was created by the University of Oregon and is hosted on the Coursera platform. Another course, College Writing 2x, was created by the State Department in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, and hosted on edX. What makes MOOCs like these different from thousands of others available through Coursera, edX and beyond? As part of the State Department’s MOOC Camp initiative, participants begin by learning online, but are also invited to meet their fellows for weekly discussion sessions, allowing them to go even deeper into the course material—and encouraging them to stay engaged. According to Diane Millar, Regional English Language Officer, the initiatives

have been a notable success.

“For the current Shaping the Way We Teach English MOOC, a colleague in Kolkata is organizing facilitation sessions and 75 teachers signed up to do the course during their summer holidays,” Millar says, citing just one example of the programs’ regional popularity. Such interest in the MOOCs has already exceeded her expectations and is likely to only increase in the years to come.

For Millar, the value of these courses comes not only from the material taught, but also from the opportunities to interact with other participants.

“While learning, students are also networking,” she says.

“They are learning what other people think, not only in America, but in Brazil, Japan, South Africa and France. They are gaining a global perspective on the world, which I think will serve them well for years to come.”

To learn more about MOOC Camp courses and discussion groups in India and beyond, visit eca.state.gov/programsinitiatives/mooc-ccamp.

— M.G.

Illustration by HEMANT BHATNAGAR. Photographs © Getty Images

MOOC Learning in India:

grapple with, though discussion groups, such as those sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s MOOC Camp program (See sidebar), have been shown to help. The article also mentions the difficulties that can arise from grading the work of thousands of participants—especially on assignments that cannot be evaluated by computers—and spotting cheaters as challenges that MOOCs and their administrators face as they try to take top-notch education to a global level.

Despite such challenges, MOOCs continue to create powerful learning opportunities. “We have students that write into us every week, telling us that they’ve started a business, changed careers or just learned something they never thought possible because of a course they took on Udemy,” says Thiru.

Through increased international expansion and an

A Special Message to

Parents

P

arents play a major role in the college selection process. They want the very best for their children. Here are some tips and suggestions for parents as they work with their children on the prospect of studying abroad.

First, my congratulations to you. It is quite an adjustment to have a son or daughter travel to another country for undergraduate studies. In some cases, you may not be able to see them for one, two or more years. Yet, you are doing your

Be supportive of your children and do not obsess about institution ranking and prestige.

To share articles go to http://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST 2014 15

STUDY ABROAD

Š Getty Images

By DON MARTIN

EducationUSA India

http://goo.gl/elHYJJ

Study Abroad Parent Guide

http://goo.gl/Czzzz0

best to support and encourage your children to pursue their educational and career goals.

As a dean of admissions and a dean of students, it was my privilege to speak with the parents of many international students, be that via phone, online or in person.

What always amazed me was the strong desire parents have to see their loved ones succeed. In many cases, parents make huge sacrifices so that their children can study abroad.

When asked to provide advice to the parents of international students, the following two major tips come to mind.

Tip No. 1 To the best of your ability, give your son or daughter permission to make some mistakes along the way. Do not expect perfection from them. At times, parents can place quite a bit of pressure on their children to get straight A’s, get overly involved in extracurricular activities and not fail in any way whatsoever. This could actually make things worse. Let your children be human. Do not place unreasonable expectations on them.

Let your children be human.

Do not place

unreasonable expectations

on them.

16 JULY/AUGUST 2014

In one meeting with an international student, I understood that the parents told their daughter not to come back home unless she finished her degree. Unfortunately, this student was having academic difficulties and was faced with being placed on probation, perhaps worse. This, in and of itself, would be a major challenge for any hardworking student. However, the pressure of not being welcomed home, unless she graduated, hanging over her head served only to lessen her ability to focus on what needed to be done to improve in her course of study. Thankfully, we were able to help her transfer to another institution.

Be supportive of your children. But remember that sometimes our greatest learning opportunities come from mistakes and errors. If we are afraid of or forbid failure, we actually create a culture where it is more likely that failure will occur. That is because the person who is being pressured to be perfect, focuses on not making a mistake, which only causes more mistakes to be made. Focus on success with your children, not on perfection. There is a huge difference between the two.

Š Getty Images

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© Getty Images

FAQs

for Undergraduate

By DON MARTIN and WESLEY TETER

Applicants

More than 12,000 undergraduate students from India are currently studying in the United States, according to Open Doors Data 2012-113. If these students could make it to the United States, so can you.

To help you prepare, here are a few questions frequently asked by undergraduate students.

Q. What is the best university for me?

There are many “best” universities and colleges. Remember: the quality and wide range of opportunities in the United States means you have to match your personal goals with those of the university or college. Answer the personal inventory questions in the section “Know Yourself” and then explore search engines like BigFuture by the College Board or the American Association of Community Colleges.

Q. Can I get a scholarship?

Full scholarships for international students are rare and highly competitive at the undergraduate level.

Distinguish yourself in a competitive applicant pool with careful selection of schools where you have a realistic chance for admission with aid; a distinguished academic record; excellent SAT/ACT and TOEFL/IELTS scores, if required; leadership and extracurricular interests; great essays and neat and complete applications.

Q. Which schools accept international students?

Many U.S. institutions welcome international students on their campuses.

Look for an “international student” section on the university or college website to see if the schools in which you are interested offer programs, services and facilities that appeal to you.

Q. What are the application requirements?

Application requirements vary, but most institutions require an application form, transcript from secondary school, one or two essays, an official score report from an English-language assessment and other standardized tests, two to three letters of recommendation, a financial statement and an application fee.

Tip: Take your time to prepare highquality applications that are tailored to the schools where you are applying. It will make all the difference.

Q. Can I get a student visa?

Qualified students are granted visas once they apply and successfully complete an interview with a U.S. consular officer. When the time comes to prepare your visa application, it is important to only use official sources of information such as the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in India.

Don Martin is a former admissions dean at Columbia, University of Chicago and Northwestern; and author of “Road Map for Graduate Study.”

Wesley Teter is a former regional director for EducationUSA in New Delhi.

He is also the editor of the multimedia outreach campaign, 10 Steps to Study in the United States.

JULY/AUGUST 2014 17

© Getty Images

Help and encourage your children to find the best institution or program for them.

Do not put an obsessive emphasis on rankings and prestige. There is absolutely no reliable evidence that success in life is dependent on where one attended college.

How many examples do we see, in any country, of very well-connected individuals who attended all the best colleges and universities, yet who have failed miserably? And conversely, how many

Know Yourself

By DON MARTIN and WESLEY TETER

Studying outside your home country is not an easy decision.

For example, applying to study at the undergraduate level in the United States often requires a significant amount of time and planning. To get started, explore these five questions to see if studying abroad is a good fit for you.

1. Who are you? Think broadly 4. How might studying abroad make about your academic goals as a difference in your life? What well as your values and personal about studying abroad specistrengths. List everything that fically attracts you? Try to imagcomes to mind. ine your life overseas and write 2. What inspires you? Try to be down some of your questions and specific about what motivates and initial ideas. inspires you. Reflect on how you 5. Who is in your support network? spend your personal time.

Teachers, friends, local business 3. What skills do you want to leaders and the EducationUSA improve? You may only have gennetwork of advisers can be exceleral ideas at this stage—that’s okay. lent sources of information. Be From coding to leadership, studying sure to identify them early and abroad is a chance to develop new ask for their advice as you ideas and skills. What do you want explore your plans to study to learn about? abroad.

18 JULY/AUGUST 2014

times do we witness instances of the major success of individuals who attended institutions that were not highly ranked or very prestigious? This is a testament to the fact that it is the individual who determines ultimate success or failure, not the ranking or prestige of the institution he or she attends.

Please do not make the mistake of assuming that the ranking or prestige of the institution your child attends will make a huge difference down the road. It may initially open a few more doors, but that is all.

Who they are in terms of honesty, integrity, communication skills and demonstrated work ethic is what determines their success over time.

Don Martin is a former admissions dean at Columbia, University of Chicago and Northwestern; and author of “Road Map for Graduate Study.”

© Getty Images

Tip No. 2

Of all the study abroad destinations, the United States remains, by far, the most popular among Indian students.

Over 100,000 Indian students are currently studying in America making India the second largest sender country in the world, according to the U.S.

USA Education

EducationUSA http://goo.gl/iSE13 20 JULY/AUGUST 2014

Courtesy Columbia University

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program April 2014 figures.

The numbers notwithstanding, misconceptions remain about what it actually takes to get admitted to a U.S. college or university. The vast

range of American institutions offering a multitude of study options and majors in a variety of settings makes it even more challenging for prospective students to find the right fit. Very often, poor choices are made based solely on a ranked list or hearsay.

RESEARCH YOUR OPTIONS

12 to 18 months prior to the intended date of enrollment The best college or university is the one that meets your requirements—academic, financial and personal. Begin by defining your priorities by answering questions like, “What type of institution is best based on your academics?”, “How will you manage financing?”, “Why do you want to study in the United States?” and list your interests and long-term goals.

Next, begin your research—EducationUSA centers can help students with tools, guide how to refine searches and assist in narrowing down choices.

PREPARE FOR DEPARTURE

2 to 4 months ahead of the intended date of enrollment Predeparture orientations are offered by EducationUSA advising centers.

Advisers and alumni provide information and resources that help prepare you for new experiences. Topics discussed include cultural differences, classroom expectations, housing, coping in a new cultural setting and what to pack for your trip.

Get started today by attending free group advising sessions at EducationUSA, available both online and in person.

EducationUSA is the U.S. Department of State-supported network of advising centers providing international students with accurate, comprehensive and current information about how to apply to accredited U.S. institutions of higher education. There are seven EducationUSA centers in India in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. Visit www.educationusa.info/ India to find an advising center near you.

In an attempt to demystify the process, EducationUSA brings you the “5 Steps to U.S. Study”, a stepby-step process of understanding, preparing, applying and being admitted to a U.S. higher education institution.

COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION

6 to 12 months before the intended date of enrollment Application packages require time, preparation and planning. Students will benefit greatly by starting the process early. A majority of U.S. schools evaluate applications holistically, which means decisions are based on several criteria and the strength of the complete application package. Key elements include academic records, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, application essays and work experience.

Your 5 Stepsto U.S. Study

APPLY FOR A VISA

3 to 5 months in advance of the date of enrollment You will first need to receive an admission letter and an I-20 from your U.S. institution before you can begin the visa application process. All students are required to appear for an interview in person at the Consular Office that serves their region. Consular websites provide detailed information on the process and requirements. EducationUSA advisers work in cooperation with consular officers to inform and educate prospective students as well. Students are encouraged to take advantage of information sessions that are frequently offered.

Article courtesy EducationUSA India

FINANCE YOUR STUDIES

3 to 9 months prior to intended date of enrollment Tuition fees can range from $20,000 to $70,000 depending on the program, location and type of institution, i.e. public versus private. It is important to start financial planning as early as possible. Each year, international students receive significant amounts of financial assistance toward their studies but these are limited and intensely competitive. Financial assistance is typically provided through scholarships, grants, fellowships, assistantships, internships and on-campus employment.

Applications for financial aid accompany the applications for admission.

JULY/AUGUST 2014

21

Perfect Degree of

HOUSING

By PAROMITA PAIN

T

he idea of studying abroad is full of exciting possibilities, but the wrong choice of accommodations can mar it all. For some, the university-offered housing options are wonderful choices. Rita Dasgupta, a recent graduate from the University of Southern California (USC), wanted to stay close to campus. “I signed my acceptance and immediately signed up for my housing,” she says. “The USC housing website had floor plans and pictures of the rooms. I loved them!”

© Getty Images

Above right: Student residence buildings on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin.

22 JULY/AUGUST 2014

Most university apartments are usually shared and that might not work for everyone. Also, applying on time is important. Sananda Mukherjee, a recent architecture graduate from USC, lived in private housing during her graduate studies.

“Campus housing was my first choice, but by the time I applied for it, all spots for the year were gone,” she says. “So it didn’t work out in my first year. By the time I reached my second year, I knew the area well enough to choose housing to my liking. I did not want to share an apartment or room with anyone else and that was also one of the reasons that deterred me from USC housing.”

Making matters simple Housing matters can get confusing for international students, since few have friends or family who can actually check out an apart-

SAMARESH GUCHHAIT

A guide to choosing the right accommodations in the United States for international students.

“For students coming in from India and abroad, university accommodation is a practical choice,” says Hemlata Jhaveri, associate director of residence life in the Division of Housing and Food Service at The University of Texas at Austin. “At UT, we have over 7,000 single or shared living spaces. Our residence halls on campus are open to both graduate and undergraduate students.”

University residence halls are muchmaligned spaces, often thought unfit for graduate students, but that isn’t always true.

“While mostly undergraduates live there, we have strict ‘no noise’ policies after 10 p.m. and designated study times,” says Jhaveri. “Graduate students find it close to libraries and, during exams, find it easy to walk back to their dorms after late study sessions in the library.”

For those opting for private housing, it is imperative to know which telephone numbers and people you can turn to in case of an emergency. “When choosing roommates, make clear right at the start what is okay and what isn’t,” says Jhaveri. “It may seem hard and you may not want to do it, but it makes issues simpler in the long run.”

Finding a perfect place may seem confusing, but as Mukherjee says, “Arrange for temporary housing for the first one or two weeks and check out places. It’s a myth that the ‘good ones’ are taken before you even land here. Try not to be with the same community of people. You have come for new experiences and to meet new people. Let that happen.”

USC Housing

http://housing.usc.edu

Housing Tips for International Students http://goo.gl/xr3NsE

University of Texas at Austin housing http://goo.gl/QvTaq

Paromita Pain is a journalist in Austin, Texas.

To share articles go to http://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST 2014 23

HOUSING

—Hemlata Jhaveri

JOSHUA COOK

“

When choosing roommates, make clear right at the start what is okay and what isn’t. It may seem hard and you may not want to do it, but it makes issues simpler in the long run.

Viable options

Go Online

ment before they sign the lease.

“The most common trend for students coming from India is to search for roommates and hurriedly sign a lease without seeing the place in person,” says Mukherjee. “My advice to them, and I feel very strongly about this, is not to commit to a place where you’ll possibly be spending the next two years of your life without seeing it.”

Saif Sahin, a third year Ph.D. student at The University of Texas at Austin, also has some advice for students from India. “Start looking as early as you can,” he says. “Check out as many options as possible, at least at a preliminary stage. Also, try to stay close to campus, as it makes life and work a lot easier. Don’t worry too much about prefurnished housing, but also don’t buy expensive new furniture.

You can get a lot of what you need from other students who might have too much or are leaving and want to sell their furniture for cheap.”

Studying While Working,

By HOWARD CINCOTTA

What work opportunities are there while studying in the United States and after you earn a degree?

Here are some answers.

International Student and Scholar Services, University of North Carolina Illustration by HEMANT BHATNAGAR. Photograph Š Getty Images

http://oisss.unc.edu

Students and Employment

Go Online

http://goo.gl/Fw38PZ

International Center, University of Missouri

http://international.missouri.edu

Jobs for International Students in the U.S.

http://goo.gl/MNn654

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F

Working While Studying inding a job can be tough for any young person today, but it can be especially challenging for international students looking for work while studying in the United States.

Work opportunities are available for students with F-1 and J-1 visas, but they come with a thicket of rules and regulations that has to be negotiated with care.

The good news is that U.S. colleges and universities have international student centers whose advisers are experienced and eager to help students deal with the complexities of balancing school and work. The school’s career office can also help with workshops on interview techniques and résumé writing.

over the regulations and how they can work at the job they may have been offered.”

additional months of OPT employment—a total of 29 months.

CPT must be closely tied to the student’s classwork. Typically, the interWork and practical training national student office will authorize One big exception applies to the CPT and specify the dates and location study-related rule—on-campus jobs. that a student can work, unlike OPT As a full-time student, you are through which a student or graduate can generally eligible to work up to 20 hours work anywhere in the country. a week during the school year and full“Our responsibility is to ensure that time, or 40 hours a week, during CPT is integral to the student’s courses, holidays and summer breaks. But keep with grades and college credit,” says in mind that paying campus jobs—at Barnum. bookstores or food-service outlets, for Students with J-1 visas, for academic example—are often highly sought after exchange such as the Fulbright program, and may be limited in availability. have similar work opportunities, which OPT permits international students 12 are managed by their administering months of employment related to their organization. Some sponsored programs studies. “Students typically save their even require work sessions, or “experi-

OPT time for after graduation, since summer or part-time work counts against the total,” says Barnum. “But for students planning on returning home immediately after they graduate, parttime OPT is an option.”

Each degree program adds another potential year of OPT. Students can work for a year after earning a bachelor’s degree and another year following a master’s degree. Students in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math) can often add 17

The 2014 Internship Expo organized by College of DuPage in Illinois.

ential learning,” as part of the program, says Mihaela Britt, assistant director of international student and scholar services at the University of Missouri.

In general, J-1 students are eligible for up to 18 months of practical training integral to their field of study following graduation. Certain types of postdoctoral research may qualify for as long as 36 months of employment.

To share articles go to http://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST 2014 25

JOBS

The first step is an obvious one—plan.

“There is an explosion of information online, some good and some questionable, so pay close attention to what the international student office sends you,” says Elizabeth Barnum, director of International Student and Scholar Services at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “It’s also important to contact the international student adviser before arriving with any questions.”

The basic rule for working in the United States on a student visa is that employment must be related to the student’s field of study.

For students with F-1 visas, the principal avenues for work are Optional Practical Training (OPT), which can take place during one’s studies or after graduation. Curricular Practical Training (CPT), on the other hand, is a job or internship that must be integral to a student’s coursework.

The starting point is always the student center. “We provide walk-in advising for international students and I would say that about half come in with employment questions,” says Callie Fleming, an international student services coordinator at the University of Missouri’s International Center. “We go

COD Newsroom/Courtesy Flickr

Work-study basics

“

Courtesy University of Missouri

U.S. companies are the tougher side of the work equation because they must be willing to hire students with F-1 or J-1 visas in OPT status—or to sponsor them for an H-1B nonimmigrant work visa. Some companies may be unwilling to tackle the extra steps and paperwork necessary, although others may simply be unfamiliar with how the process works.

But student status cuts both ways and

We maintain partnerships with regional industry and multinational firms that value the language and cultural skillset that international students provide.

”

—David Currey

student centers keep lists of companies willing and eager to hire qualified graduates. “We maintain partnerships with regional industry and multinational firms like Caterpillar—firms that value the language and cultural skillset that international students provide,” says David Currey, University of Missouri’s director of international student and scholar services.

One obvious tip is that students should look for U.S. companies that have operations in their home country.

For their part, international students must use the most valuable job-search tool of all: networking as widely as possible—formally and informally, in person, online and through social media.

The same rule for an international student’s overall education experience can apply to the job hunt, says Britt from the University of Missouri. “You can choose to stay in your cultural comfort zone, or go out and take risks. It’s not easy, but the rewards can be greater.”

Howard Cincotta is a freelance writer living in Virginia.

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Five Job Search Tips for International Students

By LINDSEY POLLAK

On almost every campus I visit, international students approach me seeking advice on how to land positions in the United States, once they receive their degrees. Here are a few tips I share, based on research, conversations with successful international workers, and my own experience attending grad school in Australia and acquiring a visa to work there for an additional year.

1.

Start early. This is good advice for any student, particularly in the current job market, but it’s especially crucial for students from outside the United States. It will inevitably take longer to find a job with an employer that sponsors employees requiring work visas, so the sooner you start looking for positions, the better chance you’ll have.

2.

Become an expert on the laws. Take it upon yourself to become an expert on your situation. The more you personally know about visas, work permits, deadlines and academic requirements, the better decisions you’ll be able to make and the more empowered you’ll feel. Yes, this is a lot of work, but it’s more than worth it.

3.

Engage with career services.

In addition to doing your own research, seek expert help. If you attend a school that has a large population of foreign students, your university’s international student center and career services office will have lots of experience helping international students. Take advantage of everything they offer. Attend any event specifically for international students, read all information your career services office publishes, and set up an appointment with a career adviser to discuss your individual situation.

4.

Network. As more and more international students attend U.S. universities, there is a growing community of alumni who have walked in your shoes. Meet these people and ask for their advice. Through your career services office, professors, LinkedIn and Facebook, seek out people a few years older than you who have come from your home country and managed to find jobs in the United States. They’ll likely be happy to share some tips and possibly even introduce you to the hiring managers at the companies where they landed jobs.

5.

Stay positive and confident.

While it can be frustrating to go through an international job search and visa application process, remember that you have a lot to offer an employer. Fluency in multiple languages and a global perspective are extremely valuable in the workplace right now. Make sure that you are confident in your own abilities so an employer will want to invest in you.

Lindsey Pollak is an expert on managing and marketing to the millennial generation (http://www.lindseypollak. com). She is the author of “Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World.”

Courtesy Lindsey Pollak

Finding work

Partnerships for

Globally relevant agriculture education

Cornell University—in collaboration with University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad; Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut and Sathguru Management Consultants—received an OSI grant in 2012 to implement curriculum reforms in the agriculture and food security sectors.

“New courses are being developed through faculty interaction and exchange,” says K.V. Raman, associate director (special projects) and professor at the College of

By GIRIRAJ AGARWAL

Photographs courtesy Sathguru Management Consultants

D

esigning globally relevant new curricula in seed science and technology for Indian institutions, establishing a science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM) center of excellence at an Indian university and digitizing programs to make them available to more students—these are some examples of the initiatives that have been taken as part of the Obama Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative (OSI).

The initiative aims to promote collaborations between American and Indian institutions of higher education to encourage mutual understanding, facilitate educational reforms and foster economic development.

The first set of projects was announced in June 2012. The U.S. and Indian governments have pledged $5 million each for the initiative. Eight partnerships are announced each year. The four projects led by U.S. institutions are administered by the U.S.-India Educational Foundation, and the four by Indian institutions are administered by the University Grants Commission. Each partnership receives $200,000 to $250,000 over a period of three years.

Innovative Learning

Above: The seed processing facility at University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad.

Below left: Syed Rizvi (second from right) and Alicia Orta-Ramirez (third from right) from Cornell University conduct a training workshop on fruit and vegetable processing at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut.

Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell.

Students and faculty from India and Cornell interact digitally as well as during field visits in India. “The tangible benefit is that it is enabling students and faculty to work on globally relevant group papers, publish the best ones for others to use; and in terms of intangible benefits, there is a change for the better in students’ attitude to critical thinking to solve complex problems,” says Raman.

This partnership is developing an e-learning program as well as a six-year program that includes a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science program in seed science and technology. Two nanotechnology courses are also being developed, and the new curriculum is expected to be integrated at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Indian universities by 2015.

“There is a great potential to use the learning from this project to develop a longterm linkage project similar to the U.S.-Israel bilateral project which promotes long-term research, training and extension in several areas of agriculture,” says Raman.

Training STEM faculty

Ohio State University (OSU), in partnership with Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), received an OSI grant in July 2013 for its project “Training the Next Generation of STEM Faculty at Higher Education Institutions in India.” A STEM Education and Research Center has been established at AMU, and four AMU graduates are scheduled to arrive at OSU later this year as part of a new twoyear dual-degree program where students would spend a year each at Ohio and Aligarh.

“Concurrently with the M.Ed. (STEM) program, the students will conduct research under the supervision of carefully-matched OSU research advisers at the forefront of their fields,” says Anil K. Pradhan, professor at Ohio State University and director of the U.S.India STEM education and research faculty project. “A novel feature of the program is that students would obtain two graduate degrees simultaneously….”

Pradhan says that the main thrust of the pilot project is to launch a unique capacitybuilding program in STEM faculty training. “As a pilot project, the OSU-AMU partnership is designed to provide a pathway for other such partnerships,” he says. “We have initiated negotiations with other universities. However, the success and continuation of the OSU-AMU partnership is vital to demonstrate the viability of a nationwide U.S.-India endeavor.”

To share articles go to http://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST 2014 27

From Chicago to

By RAKTIMA BOSE

CHRIS SMITH/Courtesy Flickr

The University of Chicago’s new academic center in India will promote research and scholarship.

T Courtesy The Photo Session

he University of Chicago (UChicago) has a long-standing association with India. In 1913, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore visited the university to deliver a talk. This relationship has expanded over time with collaborations across various disciplines among scholars and students from India and the university.

The university’s chic 17,000-square-feet academic center in New Delhi, inaugurated in March this year, is an extension of these close ties. “The center will host Indian and South Asian students and scholars as well as serve as a base for UChicago students and faculty working at other institutions in India and throughout the region,” says Bharath Visweswariah, executive director of the UChicago Center in New Delhi.

The center is not a degree-granting campus, unlike the one in Singapore and the

28 JULY/AUGUST 2014

“

center in Hong Kong, which will open soon.

The New Delhi center will promote scholarship and research under three broad umbrellas: business, economics, law and policy; science, energy, medicine and public health; and culture, society, religion and the arts.

It will represent all parts of the university, including the academic divisions, the professional schools and the university’s affiliated laboratories—Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Marine Biological Laboratory.

“As scholars at the university look to conduct research that pertains to these topics, we expect the center to provide a focal point, provide a physical location where people can come and do workshops, conferences and other ways of just engaging with local people as part of their research work,” explains

It’s a fairly unique center and we believe that over time it

could become a model

that many other universities will start to emulate for the sheer breadth as well as depth of engagement with India that the center is going to represent.

—Bharath Visweswariah

Courtesy The Photo Session

Far left: The University of Chicago.

Left: Speakers at a discussion titled “A Conversation on Indian Elections” at the UChicago center in New Delhi.

Go Online

The University of Chicago Center in Delhi http://www.uchicago.in

The University of Chicago

http://www.uchicago.edu

important part of the center’s activities. The alumni interact with prospective Indian students through seminars and workshops and share their experiences at the university.

According to Visweswariah, Indian and Indian-origin students constitute about five percent of UChicago’s student population.

“It’s a fairly unique center and we believe that over time it could become a model that many other universities will start to emulate for the sheer breadth as well as depth of engagement with India that the center is going to represent,” he says.

To share articles go to http://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST 2014 29

ACADEMIC CENTER

Visweswariah. The center will not have any permanent faculty as it is not a degreegranting campus.

The university had set up a similar center in Beijing in 2010 and has so far received 7,000 visitors from 25 countries. UChicago hopes to replicate this success in New Delhi by projecting it as an intellectual hub in South Asia.

The university currently collaborates with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences—established in 1936 by an alumnus of the university’s Divinity School—to study issues related to urbanization, urban poverty and local models of community practice. It is also working with the Public Health Foundation of India and the Government of India to study the health insurance model and the possible impact if it is extended to the entire population.

After its inauguration in March, the center invited project proposals for the 2014-15 academic year from institutions in India and its neighboring countries. “We had about 30-odd project proposals and we expect that a large chunk of those will actually get funded by the center which, in turn, will yield workshops and conferences at the center,” says Visweswariah. The proposals covered diverse topics including legal issues related to India’s Supreme Court and the impact it has on various aspects of public life, compilation of audiovisual cultures in India and exploration of new methods of processing large digital humanities databases.

Engaging with UChicago alumni is another

Courtesy The Photo Session

New Delhi

Tourists camp under the stars at Everglades National Park in Florida.

30 JULY/AUGUST 2014

NATE BOLT/Courtesy Flickr

From revolution to natural geysers to rock and roll, heritage travel uncovers the United States’ diverse history and geography.

A Journey Through

America’s Past

By CARRIE LOEWENTHAL MASSEY

below only scratch the surface of the nation’s history, but they give the heritage traveler an adventurous itinerary. Pick from this list and you can delve into Native American history, examine artifacts of colonial times, wander through an array of natural wonders, get a glimpse of prison life, and hear and see the hallmarks of a musical revolution.

Pack your suitcase and let’s get going.

TRAVEL

Y

ou can travel to a beach to relax, a mountain to hike, a city to feast and take in some culture. But where do you go to learn the history of a place? To discover how it came to be what it is today? To understand how its people once lived and its natural wonders developed?

In the United States, you can go to different places to find answers to these questions. The five locations profiled

To share articles go to http://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST 2014 31

Boston, Massachusetts

http://www.thefreedomtrail.org

Paul Revere’s house

http://www.paulreverehouse.org

I

32 JULY/AUGUST 2014

Faneuil Hall

EMILEE/Courtesy Flickr

WENDY/Courtesy Flickr

http://goo.gl/ZIMZJg

Top: Faneuil Hall in Boston.

Above: Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

Left: Paul Revere’s house.

Below left: The USS Constitution at Boston Harbor. It is considered the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world.

FRANCISCO ANTUNES/Courtesy Flickr

f you’re interested in learning about how the United States became a country, you’ve got to visit Boston for a lesson in colonial era and Revolutionary War history.

The good news is, in one four-kilometerlong, brick-lined, beautiful walk through the city, you can learn a whole lot. Sixteen historical sites line The Freedom Trail, telling the story of the road to American independence from Britain.

Don’t miss Paul Revere’s house, a wooden structure built in 1680 and Boston’s oldest building standing. Revere was a silversmith, famous for being part of the crew of men that, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, rode to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn the colonial forces stationed there that British troops were coming. Revere lived in this house with his family before and after the war—though he may have abandoned it for some time in the 1780’s and 90’s. In 1800, he sold it and the house became a tenement. It is open for self-guided tours all year round.

Be sure to check out Faneuil Hall as well, both for the adjacent modern marketplace and the second floor meeting hall in the older main structure. In this room in 1764, Americans first protested British tax policies, claiming they should not have to pay taxes if they have no say in British government policies. A series of meetings built up to the Boston Tea Party, during which Americans destroyed an entire ship’s load of tea in the spirit of their battle cry, “No taxation without representation.” Then began the escalation to war.

Organized tours of The Freedom Trail run year-round and visitors can book them at The Freedom Trail Foundation’s website.

Some of the options include the Pirates & Patriots tour, focused on the Revolutionaryera traders who worked at the Boston Harbor and the African-American Patriots tour, which tells the tales of black Bostonians’ influence on colonial and early American life. Also, don’t forget about the Historic Pub Crawl—a festive way to learn about the importance of pub culture to rallying the war effort.

Elmschrat Coaching 38/ Courtesy Wikipedia

The Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail

Everglades National Park http://goo.gl/dP1cU

Clockwise from top: A watchtower at the Everglades National Park; tourists enjoy an airboat ride at the park; a vulture soars over the Everglades marshes; shell mounds created by Calusa Indians on Sandfly Island; a boardwalk through the mangroves in the Everglades; an aerial view of Tarpon Bay, looking southwest toward Florida Bay, in Everglades National Park.

GRANT MALLORY/Courtesy Flickr PETER W. CROSS/Courtesy Flickr LEN RADIN/Courtesy Flickr

rivers and along the coasts.

They used seashells to build their homes and craft tools, jewelry and ornaments. Take a narrated boat tour of an area called the Ten Thousand Islands, where many Calusa Indians lived, to learn about their customs and spot remnants of “shell works,” as they’re officially called, that were once platforms, canals, courtyards and other structures crucial to Calusa communities.

A word to the wise: the dry season, from December through April, is the best time to visit, with its mild temperatures, more visible wildlife and noted absence of mosquitoes.

The wet season, May through November, brings borderline stifling heat and humidity, quite a lot of bugs and reduced tour schedules. But, if it’s solitude you seek among the park’s many natural wonders, this is the time to visit, according to the National Park Service.

Book reservations and tours through the Everglades’ official Park Service website.

SARAH H/Courtesy Flickr

H

eading south, to the southernmost tip of the East Coast to be exact, Everglades National Park offers a wonderland of wildlife.

Visitors can hike, bike, canoe, boat, fish and bird-watch throughout the park’s 1.5 million acres. You’ll likely catch glimpses of alligators, crocodiles, snakes, frogs, toads, more than 300 species of fish and the endangered Florida panther, all in their natural habitats.

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Everglades National Park protects pockets of freshwater and saltwater, cypress swamps, sawgrass marshes, mangrove forests and pine forests, along with thousands of years of Native American history.

While several major Native American tribes have called the Everglades home, the Calusa, considered the largest and most powerful tribe in South Florida, occupied the region from 1000 B.C. through the 1700’s. They lived, hunted and gathered near the mouths of

PETER W. CROSS/Courtesy Flickr

Everglades NationalPark PETER W. CROSS/Courtesy Flickr

Homestead, Florida

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in American cities as well as London and Liverpool, England.

Travel through it to 1950s’ Memphis and the earliest days of rock, to Detroit for Motown, San Francisco for the psychedelic era, Los Angeles for country rock, both sides of the Atlantic for punk and Seattle for the 1990’s grunge. Other sections devoted to country, folk, bluegrass, gospel, the blues and R&B pay homage to the greats in those styles, too. Finally, in a “Right Here, Right Now” section, the museum displays artifacts of artists currently on the scene. Think Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi, Katy Perry and more.

The Rock Hall is open seven days a week and often hosts evening concerts and lectures. Adult admission is $22 per person.

Purchase tickets in advance at the museum’s website.

JOHN KANNENBERG/Courtesy Flickr

or a taste of modern history, journey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum that sits on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. The museum, designed by I.M. Pei, features seven floors of memorabilia from all the rock and roll greats—from Elvis and the Beatles to Beach Boys, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and Nirvana. Instruments, costume pieces, news articles and personal diaries of the artists and their managers tell the stories of the music and how it has shaped social and political movements since its inception. Exhibits detail protests against rock music through the years as well.

Within the museum’s permanent collection lies a full history of the rock genre. The “Cities and Sounds” exhibit profiles specific time periods

Above: Four Trabants, the East German cars that decorated the set of U2’s Zoo TV tour in 1992-93, hang above the main lobby of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

Left: A tourist outside the museum.

Right: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum against Cleveland’s night skyline.

CHRIS CAPELL/Courtesy Flickr

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum ROB BOUDEN/Courtesy Flickr

Cleveland, Ohio

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum http://www.rockhall.com/

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Yellowstone National Park/Courtesy Flickr

Yellowstone National Park

Wyoming, Montana and Idaho

FRANK KOVALCHEK/Courtesy Flickr

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arther west and back into the great outdoors, the Yellowstone National Park encompasses 2.2 million acres across three states.

President Ulysses S. Grant declared it the United States’ first national park in 1872. An entirely different topography and ecology than the southern, subtropical Everglades, Yellowstone boasts canyons, rivers, mountain ranges and lakes, along with grizzly bears, bison, elk, wolves and eagles.

It is also home to the world’s largest collection of geysers. No trip to Yellowstone is complete without a visit to Old Faithful. While not the world’s largest geyser, it is perhaps the most famous. Old Faithful gets its name from its reliable pattern of eruptions, which occur every 60 to 110 minutes, according to the National Park Service. The average height of the geyser’s eruptions is 130 feet and each eruption typically lasts between one-and-a-half and five minutes. Stand back when you watch, because the steam from Old Faithful’s eruptions can reach above 176 degrees Celsius.

About 11 kilometer north of the Old Faithful is the Grand Prismatic Spring, the United States’ largest hot spring and a sight to behold. It is 250 feet by 300 feet of rainbow-colored water. The reds, yellows and oranges that outline the spring’s deep blue center reflect off of thermophilic bacteria living in the water at the spring’s edges. The spring is rich with minerals derived from its geothermic activity, though the water at its center is too hot to support life.

Finally, the Hayden Valley, located north of Yellowstone Lake, provides a prime wildlife-viewing spot. Hike the trails lining the area to reach lookout points above the valley. Peer down to see herds of bison, the occasional bear and many species of birds. Don’t

Yellowstone National Park

http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm

Old Faithful

http://goo.gl/fJ7zIV

forget to explore Mud Geyser, Sulphur Spring and Black Dragon’s Caldron along the paths.

A visit to Yellowstone does require some planning: while the park is open year-round, some areas are restricted and services limited during the spring, winter and fall. The visitors’ center at Old Faithful operates from mid-April through the beginning of November.

Check the National Park Service website for available activities and facilities when planning a visit.

Top: Visitors watch the Old Faithful geyser erupting at Yellowstone National Park.

Above: The Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone National Park.

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Alcatraz Island

http://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm

Alcatraz history http://goo.gl/e8tuH

Civil War in the 1860’s proved critical to national defense strategy. It was also a military prison until 1934 and then became a federal penitentiary until 1963. Later in the 1960’s, American Indians held an 18-month occupation of the island that resulted in dramatic changes in domestic policy, including the return of land to Native American tribes and the establishment of a Native American university.

Visit The Rock to soak up all of this history as well as incredible views of San Francisco and its surroundings—the Golden Gate and Bay

bridges, neighboring islands and more—by catching a short ferry ride from the city. Be sure to book tickets in advance, as seats fill up fast. On the island, it pays to pick up a set of headphones and let the audio tour lead the way; you can go at your own pace, but the stories narrated through the guide are truly captivating. Walk the grounds, go into the cells and try imagining what it was like to attempt an escape! The audio guide is available in several languages.

Carrie Loewenthal Massey is a New York City-based freelance writer.

PDPhotos/Courtesy Pixabay

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his island in the San Francisco Bay, also called The Rock, is famous for its history as a prison that housed the most infamous of inmates. The notorious gangster Al Capone did time there, as did Robert Stroud, a convicted murderer who raised hundreds of birds while incarcerated and earned himself the nickname, “The Birdman.”

But the island is so much more than just a prison and a trip there lets you experience its full history and impact. Alcatraz served as the first West Coast lighthouse and fort for the United States, and as early as the

Above: The prison and lighthouse on Alcatraz Island.

Left: Alcatraz Island can be seen from anywhere along Fisherman’s Wharf on San Francisco Bay.

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BRIGITTE WERNER/Courtesy Pixabay

Alcatraz Island

San Francisco, California

lose to 800 applicants for student visas were treated to a festive collegiate atmosphere and refreshments at the U.S. Embassy’s “Student Visa Day” on June 19. Wearing clothes featuring U.S. university logos, Embassy staff interviewed students applying for F, J, and M visas to pursue educational opportunities in the United States, while representatives from EducationUSA provided tips and information on academics and campus life. http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/pr061914.html

SUBHAS RAY

SCAPE

he U.S. Consulate Mumbai hosted a Pub Quiz Night in June.

Eleven teams competed in the multi-round quiz competition at The Barking Deer Pub. With an American from the Consulate playing with each team, the groups were well-prepared to answer questions about U.S. and Indian literature, television, science, geography, sports and food. http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/pne250614.html

he U.S. Consulate General Chennai, in association with The Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington, D.C., and the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, organized a three-day maritime trade and security conference on “Sea Change: Evolving Maritime Geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific Region” in Chennai and Kochi in June.

The conference was attended by senior officials, policymakers, business leaders, academic analysts, military representatives and energy and shipping industry experts from India, the United States, Australia, China and other Indo-Pacific region countries. The participants discussed security, socioeconomic, commercial and environmental trends as well as challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region and their possible solutions. http://goo.gl/7GIIjG

T.G. VENKATESH

ANAMIKA CHAKRAVORTY

© Getty Images

Photographs by RAKESH MALHOTRA

he American Library in Kolkata organized a seminar on egovernance at the Kolkata American Center in June, in partnership with the Indus Institute of Information Management.

The seminar was inaugurated by Consul General Helen LaFave.

Professor Aroon Manoharan from Kent University participated via video conference and discussed the current status of egovernance, challenges and capacity-building efforts. http://kolkata.usconsulate.gov/amlibkolkata.html

To share articles go to http://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST 2014 37

Go Online

National Museum of Natural History http://naturalhistory.si.edu

Beyond Bollywood http://goo.gl/d1mifa

Smithsonian museums

http://www.si.edu/Museums

DONALD E. HURLBERT/Smithsonian Institution

A large dining table set with real plates and photos of Indian delicacies adds to the homey feeling of the “Beyond Bollywood” exhibit.

38 JULY/AUGUST 2014

Going Beyond

Bollywood

at the Smithsonian

By JANE VARNER MALHOTRA

The colorful displays give a glimpse into the struggles and achievements of the Indian community in America.

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39

EXHIBITION

T

ourists from around the world love the grassy expanse known as the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Stretching from the Capitol building to the Lincoln Memorial, it is lined with the world-class Smithsonian museums, including the American History, American Indian and soon the African American Museum set to open in 2015. While not every group has its own building, the struggles and achievements of many of America’s ethnic and immigrant communities are represented in some form through the vast Smithsonian collection.

However, a group of D.C.-area Indian Americans noticed something was missing. These life-long supporters of the Smithsonian, who brought children and then grandchildren to the museums over the years, wondered: “Where are we in this story?” The community approached the Smithsonian Institution and, in response, received a commitment in 2007 to begin building a collection. Unveiled in February this year at the National Museum of Natural History, “Beyond Bollywood: Indian

DONALD E. HURLBERT/Smithsonian Institution

“

We see ‘Beyond Bollywood’ as both a starting point and a point of departure for the story of the Indian American experience.

—Curator M asum M omaya

doctors came from overseas to fill the needs of the new Medicare system, especially in poor and rural areas.

The exhibit does not gloss over a sometimes difficult past and reveals examples of prejudice and racism that impact South Asians—and many other immigrant communities—in America even today. From the history of the struggle for rights to citizenship and land ownership in the early 20th century, to the more current problems of racial profiling, employment discrimination and violence such as the 2012 killings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, “Beyond Bollywood” sheds light on the many challenges and the painful experiences of the Indian immigrant story.

The turban of Balbir Singh Sodhi, the Sikh gas station owner gunned down in the days after 9/11 because of his appearance, offers a heartbreaking reminder of the progress yet to be made in building understanding and acceptance in America.

The exhibit celebrates the numerous achievements of the community as well. Highlights include a bejeweled white gown worn

by First Lady Michelle Obama, which was designed by Indian American Naeem Khan. The first turbaned NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) basketball player, Darsh Singh’s college jersey hangs on the wall nearby. The “hall of fame” contributions continue with the doctor bag of acclaimed author Abraham Verghese, the Olympic medal of Mohini Bhardwaj, the national spelling bee trophy from the first of many Indian Americans to win the coveted prize and campaign materials from Dalip Singh Saund, the first Indian American elected to the U.S. Congress.

Courtesy DiyaTV

Americans Shape the Nation” explores the ongoing story of the Indian American experience. The exhibit will be in Washington, D.C., until August 2015, when it will begin traveling to other parts of the United States for five more years.

To find artifacts for the exhibit, staff at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center reached out to Indian Americans of all ages, recent immigrants and longtime citizens, from urban and rural communities. Curator Masum Momaya emphasizes the monumental effort of building such a collection. “It’s really hard to cram a whole community into an exhibit!” she laughs. “We see ‘Beyond Bollywood’ as both a starting point and a point of departure for the story of the Indian American experience.”

The colorful displays give a glimpse into the complex and diverse struggles and achievements of the Indian community in America. The story begins earlier than many people think: Indians came to America’s shores over 200 years ago, to help build railroads, to farm, to trade. Most know of more recent Indian immigration from the 1960’s onward, when many

Courtesy Eliot Baha’i Archives and Maine Memory Network/Smithsonian Institution Asian Pacific American Program

C ourtesy A li A kbar Courtesy Ali Akbar K han/Foundation S mithsonian Khan/Foundation Smithsonian A sian P acific American American Program Program Asian Pacific

PRITHVI SHARMA

Far left: Family photos sent by Indian Americans displayed along a wall in simple frames alongside mirrors.

Left: The Sharma family in San Francisco in 1983.

Below: Sanjukta Ghosh, Vikram (Boomba) Ghosh and Pandit Shankar Ghosh at Samuel P. Taylor State Park, Lagunitas, California, circa 1970.

Courtesy Eric Saund

CORKY LEE

Above: Swami Vivekananda and guests at Green Acre School, Eliot, Maine, circa 1894.

Left: Congressman Dalip Singh Saund (center) with Senators John F. Kennedy (left) and Lyndon B. Johnson (right) in 1958.

Left: Indian Youth Against Racism, a group from Columbia University, documented violence against Indians in New Jersey and implemented educational programs on South Asian cultures in Jersey City schools.

Not everything here is star-studded, though.

“Beyond Bollywood” also features personal, everyday artifacts. Momaya points out shoe racks placed at the two entrances to the exhibit, filled with everything from sneakers to sparkling slippers. “We collected shoes from Indian Americans around the country,” she explains, “so that people could materially contribute to the exhibit.”

People sent in family photos as well, which are displayed along a wall in simple frames alongside mirrors so that the viewer is part of the family, too. The homey feeling continues throughout the exhibit, evoked in a dining table set for a crowd. A familyrun motel lobby is designed to give the museum visitor the perspective from behind the desk, noting that over 50 percent of American motels are owned by Indian Americans and that the motel often doubles as home for the owners. Thus behind the desk, shelves display books, music and other objects typically found in Indian American homes, such as a small temple.

“Some of those items came from my parents’ basement!” laughs Momaya. She affirms that artifacts throughout the exhibit are from real homes, real people, from all over the United States.

“We didn’t want people to feel distanced from the exhibit. Our stuff is in here.”

People of all ages from around the world are touring the exhibit, reflecting the broad visitorship of the Museum of

Natural History itself. Momaya estimates that roughly half of the visitors to the 5,000-squarefoot exhibition are non-Indian. The title draws people in, as it did Salmaan Faraaz and his family.

When Arizona resident Faraaz brought family visiting from Bangalore to tour Washington, D.C., the Museum of Natural History topped their list of attractions. The museum boasts dinosaur bones, mummies and a rock collection no one—especially his geologist father—should miss. “I came to see and photograph fossils,” says Saleem Ahmed Khan, smiling as he touches the camera around his neck. But like many of the 10 million annual visitors to the museum, he stumbled upon another exhibit that piqued his curiosity. He saw a sign for the “Beyond Bollywood” exhibit, just down the hall and around the corner from the famed Hope Diamond. And so they wandered in to have a look.

Welcomed into the gallery with the sound of familiar Bollywood music, the family lingers at the large dining table set with real plates, but just photos of Indian delicacies. “Oooh, I was hoping those jalebis were real!” laughs Faraaz.

Before heading back to view more fossils, they look around the exhibit with pride. “I’m pleased to see this here,” says Faraaz, nodding. “And a little surprised!”

Jane Varner Malhotra is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C.

Courtesy Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

Registered under RNI-6586/60 Faceless, 2002 Painted cloth on canvas Smrati, Lubaba, Ishrat, Surbjeet, Kamaljeet and Sadia from “Desi Girls on da Rise” of South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!)