Chennai based Great Lakes Institute of Management – India’s leading business school – hosted 15 students from the School of Business, University of Miami as part of an International Experience Learning programme held recently at its campus.
Organised every year, the programme aims to help students with a greater understanding of India’s culture, traditions, its growing role in world affairs and in particular about the unique Leadership Experiential Action Programme – Karma Yoga, offered at Great Lakes. Lead by Dr. Vaidy Jayaraman, associate dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, this year’s programme comprised 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 were tagged along students from Great Lakes.

The case discussion was followed by a video presentation which showcased Great Lakes Karma Yoga project – how the B school has adopted several villages in and around its campus to empower rural population, particularly, woman upliftment, education of less-privileged children, free medical camps and so on.

The session ended with scintillating song and dance performances by Great Lakes students. Students from both the institutes also exchanged gifts and networked over lunch. The Miami students also visited the villages in and around the campus, which have been adopted for the Karma Yoga project. The Miami students interacted with the villagers about their livelihood skills and how Karma Yoga programme has been helping them to be self-sustainable.

Commenting on the programme, Dr. 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. ”

Sharing his experience of visiting Great Lakes, Adrian Perez-Siam, MBA student 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. ”

The students of Miami will continue their India trip by visiting various heritage spots in India.