Hyderabad

Hyderabad was a unique place where we saw and experienced hospitality, love, and sights fit for kings and queens. During our stay we were housed at Immanuel University, which is one of Spring Arbor’s international sister schools. Immanuel University showed us a new definition of family and hospitality, as they were both our guides, and our companions on our daily endeavours. We visited the Golconda fort, a lavish ancient military stronghold with religious shrines and places of worship.

Upon our arrival , we were greeted by an array of students clapping for us as we stepped off of our bus. Immanuel is actually in a small village outside of Hyderabad – named Solipet. This only increased our sense of closeness to the students and faculty who we formed relations with. Our bags were taken to our rooms, and we were expected not to do anything, if we needed something we requested it. This kind of hospitality was uniform around India, however in Hyderabad it was very intentional (most comparable to Darjeeling).

The familial aspect amongst the university was high, everyone knew one another. While staying there we were taken care of by our house lady Lisa, and other seminary students who gave up their time to cook and clean for us. It was very different getting used to a group of individuals who were tasked specifically with making my life more comfortable. We were treated to a night of food and dancing, accompanied by games and henna.

While in Hyderabad, we had the opportunity to learn about higher education, as well as business in India, and Indias involvement in the world. We learned a lot of historical info about India – like it is the second most populated country in the world (every 7th person you meet is Indian). At Immanuel, many of the students were in graduate programs, and were older than us by an average of 1-2 years. The school offered programs centred around HR, Finance, and Marketing. Although majors were limited, many of the students were looking to get jobs directly related to their major in big corporations in Hyderabad. During a time of discussion with IU faculty and students, we learned that these individuals are introduced to at least 2 major corporations that they could apply for, in good faith of hope for employment.

In a trip to the main Dell centre in Hyderabad, the ccs group was given a full tour and description of what this company does and how it works with international consumers and partners. At this particular location in India, Dell was a major service centre that dealt with a number of international customers. By teaching their employees not to have a basic script, but to treat every call as a unique request or problem, Indians have been able to thrive in this area of Human Resources. This approach and framework is westernized and influenced by Dell in the United States themselves. The workers dealt with calls from USA, Canada, Australia, and more.

Many of the employees have degrees in HR, Marketing, or another form of Business which gives them the ability to administer help to a wider scope of customer. While working with individuals who are in other time zones can get difficult, Dell is a 24/7 operations centre, and most work at night in order to assist those in the other parts of the world. There was an exercise centre, as well as sleeping quarters and two different cafeterias. Working at a company like this is what some of the Immanuel students were striving for, exemplifying the link between education and business in India.

I learned a fair amount of Telugu in Hyderabad, and I made a ton of friends during my stay at IU. Getting to know other college kids my age in another part of the world was interesting, and I will cherish those moments.