Great Lakes Institute of Management hosted 15 students from University of Miami’s School of Business at its Chennai campus as part of an international experience learning programme.
An annual affair, the programme aims to help students with a greater understanding of India’s culture, traditions, its growing role in world affairs — in particular about the unique Leadership Experiential Action Program: Karma Yoga, offered at Great Lakes. Lead by Dr. Vaidy Jayaraman, Associate Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, this year’s programme consisted of debates, discussions and an interesting case study Challenge on a retail store, in which students from the University of Miami were divided into groups and followed the students from Great Lakes.
The case discussion was followed by a video presentation which showcased Great Lakes’ Karmayoga project — how the B-school adopted several villages in and around its campus to empower rural population, in particular — woman upliftment, education of less-privileged children, free medical camps and so on. The session came to an end with a cultural programme in which Great Lakes students singing and dancing. Students from both the institutes also exchanged gifts and networked over lunch.
The students of the University of Miami also visited villages in and around the campus, which have been adopted for the Karma Yoga project. They interacted with the villagers about their livelihood skills and how the programme has helped them become self-sustainable.
Speaking about his experience about the visit to Great Lakes, Adrian Perez-Siam, who is pursuing MBA at University of Miami said: “It is wonderful to be present at a prestigious institution like Great Lakes. I am impressed with the Green campus and the way students are aware of global markets. The culture, the food and the visit to these villages around are something I will carry with me from here.”
Commenting on the programme, Dr. Vaidy Jayaraman, said, “Today’s competitive market requires MBA graduates to distinguish themselves and international experiential learning is the perfect way to do so. One gets to learn the foreign culture, gets a perspective about the economy of that particular region which creates a life-changing impact both personally and professionally.”
The students of Miami will also visit several other heritage spots in India.