The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : “Creativity valued in U.S. varsities”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Creativity valued in U.S. varsities”

Staff Reporter

International Education Week featuring programmes related to U.S. education inaugurated

— PHOTO: R.SHIVAJI RAO

IN CONVERSATION: Anna University Vice-Chancellor D. Viswanathan (right) with Fredrick Kaplan (left), Consul for Public Affairs, U.S. Consulate in Chennai, and Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce’s Tamil Nadu Chapter Devendra Kumar Saharia at the inauguration of the International Education Week in Chennai on Tuesday.

CHENNAI: “Indian students have a very good reputation in the United States. They are conscientious, bright and hardworking,” said Fredrick Kaplan, Consul for Public Affairs at the U.S. Consulate in Chennai, at a meeting here on Tuesday.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the International Education Week, which will feature a series of programmes and presentations related to higher education in the U.S., to be held at different venues till Friday.

“One option that foreign students ought to consider but largely do not are the community colleges, which cost lesser,” he said.

Elaborating on the teaching methods adopted in the U.S., Mr. Kaplan said professors expected students to be active participants in class. Their capabilities were tested through a series of assignments and presentations. “Students’ creativity is highly valued,” he added.

Consul for Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Consulate in Chennai Ragini Gupta said that last year over 80,000 Indian students studied at colleges and universities in the U.S. In the academic year 2005-06, there was a 20 per cent increase in the number of American students studying in India, she said.

Anna University Vice-Chancellor D. Viswanathan said that during his recent visit to the U.S., he made note of the superior infrastructure made available to students at universities.

“The teachers are highly experienced. Some colleges here tend to appoint fresh graduates or postgraduates as lecturers,” he added.

Emphasising the need for exposure, particularly in enhancing students’ employability, he said Anna University had collaborated with nearly 50 foreign institutions to enable faculty and student exchange programmes.

Devendra Kumar Saharia, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce’s Tamil Nadu Chapter and president of Ajuba Solutions, spoke on the increasing access to information on higher education as compared to the scenario a few years ago.

As a student who pursued his higher studies in the U.S., he said the system encouraged students to ask questions and think creatively. “The diversity in universities and the exposure the experience can offer are amazing,” he said.

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