Human touch to international relations studies

PUNE: Indians studying International Relations at Symbiosis School of International Studies (SSIS) will soon be asked to team-up with a foreign student in the campus to get an in-depth idea about the life in that student’s country.
With international students abundant in the campus, every Indian student in the course will be assigned to a foreign student. The Indian student will then learn about his or her companion's country, life, the hardships he or she has faced, etc.Officials at the college feel this will take the students beyond text-books and help them learn the ground realities of various countries.
The SSIS has 33 Indian students. “Many of the foreign students come from conflict zones or economically poor countries. They may have had an entirely different childhood as compared to his or her Indian counterpart. Hence, it will be a great learning experience for the students,” said Shivali Lavale, director of SSIS.
Symbiosis started the buddy-programme a couple of years ago. “Whenever a foreign student enrolled with us, we would assign him or her to an Indian student. The Indian student helps the foreign pupil acclimatize with the city and how it functions. This was a huge success as they found it easier to interact with students of their own age than coming up to staff for help. It also forges friendship between the students which survives even when they move back to their own country,” said Vidya Yeravdekar, principal director of Symbiosis Society.
International conference
The fourth international relations conference (IRC) will be organized by SSIS titled India and the Indian Ocean: Sustainability, Security and Development’, at the Symbiosis International University’s Lavale campus on December 18.
“Everything that happens globally affects us and vice versa. There is a need to talk about major issues like economics, trade and security in the global scenario. This conference will focus on multifarious aspects of India’s relations with the countries of the Indian Ocean,” said Yeravdekar.
The conference is supported by the division of public diplomacy, ministry of external affairs. The ceremony will take place on Sunday and main guests include H E Ali Al Bimani, vice chancellor, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman, Ram Madhav, national general secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Amar Sinha, secretary (economic relations), ministry of external affairs.