Today we visited a real Indian wedding ceremony. The atmosphere I felt in the wedding hall was very special. I did not know how to act polite in such a special occasion but we were just welcomed by them. I felt that this shows the Indian culture, culture of inclusion.

I was even more surprised that we were served wedding lunch at there. As I was experiencing a real Indian culture, I tried to eat foods by hand as Indian do. It was also a new experiment.

I think India is a culture of Diversity and that is why we could experience what we had at the wedding ceremony and just felt fine, no worry or feeling uncomfortable.From that aspect, Japan is not the culture of diversity and we are not get used to embrace diversity.

For the real business situation, as I work with people from different countries, I think the idea of diversity perspective would be important than ever, especially India is a growing country and more Indian business people are in Japan recently. I do not have an experience to work with people from India yet though I think I will have a chance sometime in the future. Therefore I think this experience is very special and it will stay in my mind to understand the concept of “culture of inclusion”

This is my first visit to India. Actually, one of the reasons to attend this studying abroad program is because it is in India. I visited U.S. for several times but never had a chance to visit India.I wanted to see the growing country which has big population, 1.3billion, and it is ten times bigger than the population of Japan.

This time, I am the only Japanese attending this program so I was very anxious but even I knew that I would be the only Japanese to attend, I did not change my mind. Because if I did not take this opportunity, I do not know when I can have this kind of opportunity as I had a permission to take holidays from work and also made my family understood.

So I flew from Narita to Delhi then flew from Delhi to Bangalore by myself. Then I met other members from UMASS and China in Bangalore airport. I was happy to see others and joined a group. I am an online student so interacting with others face to face means a lot. This is the second reason why I wanted to attend this program. I wanted to work with others face to face in multinational environment.

After we got to the BVB university, we were welcomed by many students in BVB and their hospitality made me feel relax and comfortable. Lots of new things, and totally different environment, but I could manage myself. I think their hospitality contributes a lot. Especially, the people who I meet in this program is all new to me. I have never met anyone or never contacted anyone before. I only contacted Professor Ashwin through e-mail about the program. It is a challenging though, I believe that I will learn a lot from this experience and it will give me an ability and knowledge to adjust to new circumstances. I am sure that it will help a lot later in my carrier.

Here is a picture with MBA students.

Well, today’s the day… after months of anticipation and careful planning, in just a few hours I will be boarding a plane with 15 other UMass Lowell students and faculty headed to Hubli, India, described to me by a co-worker as “a small city in India of only about 1.5 million people”. Riiiight… Needless to say, I’m very excited to partake in this unique experience, working alongside fellow students from both India and China in a program that is part academic, part service-learning, and completely cultural immersive.

At an orientation dinner a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet my classmates, as well as former participants of the program. The cuisine was delectable, the conversation was, well… very informative. True, I have been very excited for this program, but prior to this event, I was admittedly very anxious. I have never visited an Asian community, much less one of rich culture and traditions. Will I be accepted as a fellow student in pursuit of academic advancement, or will I stick out as the typical American tourist? Will I quickly grasp the societal norms that await, or will I say or do something that may be interpreted as offensive. The group spent about 4 hours sharing past experiences, answering our questions, and even volunteering a bit of unsolicited advice; all of which has put me slightly at ease. Yes, I admit that I still remain a bit anxious about the impending culture shock, but I know that as long as I keep an open mind and a willingness to take part in new experiences (and yes, even make a few mistakes), this journey will be one I will cherish my entire lifetime.

Now, all I have to do is get past this 20-hour voyage…

On December 27 a group of 13 UML students along with Profs Ciuchta, Butler and Mehta will be traveling to Hubli India for their 2-week intensive Study Abroad program.They will be joined by 13 students from Nanjing University of China and 34 students from KLE Technological University (Hubli). From December 29, when we arrive, until January 12 students will be totally immersed in entrepreneurship learning and working on live technological projects.

Additionally, UML and KLE will launch a Minor in Entrepreneurship at KLE (http://www.uml.edu/News/stories/2015/MSB-Minor-in-India.aspx). Profs Ciuchta and Butler will train KLE faculty and will conduct 2 classes.

After 2 weeks in Hubli, students will go to Delhi and visit India’s cultural sites including famous Taj Mahal! They will return on January 16 all ready to start their spring semester!

This will be a rich and rewarding experience for our students as well as students from China and India!

Another 15 days to go. We are all busy with our current Fall semester Final. I am one among very few fortunate students from UML, got this astounding opportunity to be part of this program. Hope this concise but intense course will open a complete new vision about real meaning of entrepreneurship. I am Electronics Engineer by profession and Graduate MBA student of UML. I am president of UML MBA Club as well. It was my first click about entrepreneurship mindset when I heard from Prof.  Mehta on UML Graduate Open House about Venture and Innovation. Even though I am MBA student, I was seeking an opportunity to explore myself to fit into this new framework and concept.  At last this opportunity has come in my UML journey. I have met my UML Team at orientation session  for this program. They are so cordial and very friendly. Prof Mehta presented us the activities and ambience about the program and sketched some outlines which make me very excited. Hope this program will quench my thrust for being real life Difference maker  and cut deep marks in my memory for life time. I will share my experience to MBA Club.