The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Showcasing American colleges

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Sunday, Jul 04, 2010
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Showcasing American colleges

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: A group of alumni of top-notch U.S. colleges, who participated in an interactive session here, said that America with its ‘accepting culture' and excellent educational infrastructure is a worthwhile destination for higher education.

The panellists in the session said that the ‘edge' and ‘exposure' offered by higher education institutions in the U.S. gave Indian students the ability to compete globally. The session was organised by GREEDGE on Saturday.

“There might be issues of legal practicalities or context, wherein a few American companies will sometimes prefer their own citizens, but overall all companies look for people who can add value and asset to them,” said Narasimhan Raghavan, Managing Director, RTS Pvt. Ltd, and an alumni of UC Berkeley University.

“In a field like robotics, the practical experience offered by American colleges is much better than anywhere,” said Dhanushkodi Mariappan, CEO, Techpassion, and alumnus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Urging students to opt for research in upcoming fields, the alumni asked them to weigh their options carefully. They also highlighted the growing importance given to extra-curricular activities.

“Sometimes students opt for Ph.D programmes because of the availability of financial aid, but later stop with a Masters degree. This causes damage to their own reputation and reputation of the future generations,” said Sridhara Ramachandran, Vice-President, Indo-US MIM Tec Pvt Ltd and alumnus of Wharton School of Business. Anand Kannan, Managing Director, GREEDGE, and a Ph.D from Purdue University, said it is important for students to start their research on universities at least a year before to make the best choices.

“Students interested in management, computer science and engineering courses have always seen the U.S. as a favourable destination, but now humanities and biological sciences are picking up. American universities offer a dual major which is a major attraction for students all over the world,” said C. Vijayalakshmi, Educational Advising Services Associate, United States-India Educational Foundation.

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