MITians in IIT Kharagpur
Interacting with people of different cultures, different personalities and bearing different perspectives is one thing that excites me because I believe in the famous quote "Everyone we meet becomes a part of us".
Recently as student members of International Relations Cell, some of us got a chance to meet the students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA who visited IIT Kharagpur a few days back.
The bliss of breathing and walking in the fresh air away from the hustle and bustle of city life , is fresh and different but it adds on to the excitement by tonnes when you realize that you will be meeting someone new and that too completely from a different place and culture.
Me, Shubham Srivastava and Kamal Singh Nayal were going to meet some students from MIT who had come to IIT Kharagpur . A dizzying morning eagerness embraced us on our way to Technology Guest House where we met the students from MIT.
Soumya Pasumarthy, alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and now studying in MIT, introduced us to the whole student team and told us that they were here for a field trip under the IIT- MIT India Practicum. This field trip had structured lectures at Kharagpur by IIT Kharagpur faculty members and then they were scheduled to go to Santiniketan for a study tour.
They had been in IIT KGP for three days and attended lectures in the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning. All of them were Masters or Phd students. All of them had to say and share anecdotes about the things they observed and experienced in these three days; they had interacted with students and professors here and they found everyone convivial and amiable.
The most common differences in a new country include the culture, lifestyle and tastes so they mentioned the variance they felt in the culture, food, study, atmosphere and people.It was a proud moment for me when they said that they have heard about IITs.
They also liked the Indian food and liked the serenity of the campus. We got to know that at MIT , the courses are diversified and according to your interest and inclination :the focus on practical and theory part varies.
On the fun side they told us that they liked the traffic in IIT KGP : roads filled with bicycles which was exhilarating for them and they will like to visit again.
The interaction was really enriching and we left them wishing a great trip ahead to Santiniketan.
Shivani Manchanda
International Relations Cell, IIT Kharagpur