Sham – Page 2 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2013-07-262013-07-25

Members of Goducate’s Global LifeSkills Center in India get to “Meet America”

On July 19, Goducate’s Global LifeSkills Center (formerly known as the Global Life Hub) in Hyderabad, India, held a special full-day program called “Meet America”. Learning about global life in a classroom cannot match the experience of mixing with foreigners. And it is rarely that university students in India get an opportunity to mix with foreigners, even though they do come across some on the streets.

Exposure to the international world is vital for students’ development and for their career prospects. For those who might have a chance to go abroad for further studies or to work, such exposure during their undergraduate days will ease their adjustment to life abroad. With this in mind, we invited a group of 10 Americans from different professions to spend a day with our members. These Americans happened to be visiting Hyderabad.

Half the day was spent at the Center, and the evening we went to the park. The “Meet America” day gave our members had a Great opportunity to chat, eat, and play with the Americans and to learn about their lifestyles, cultures, and tradition.

After the visitors left, our members told us how they never imagined that they would meet foreigners who would be so friendly towards them and would answer all questions they had about the USA .

2013-02-222013-02-27

Goducate’s Global Life Hub moves on steadily

Goducate’s Global Life Hub in Hyderabad, South India, was launched on 11 August 2012. Today, 6 months on, we have 100 members, of whom 30 are women. Some 50 members come regularly to enjoy the ambience, the activities, the free coffee, and to surf the internet.

We Indians have been brought up with the idea that only marks and grades guarantee a good fortune. Nevertheless, students are now realizing that grades alone are not enough for securing a job. Every year India produces thousands of graduates of all specialties, yet few of them fit into professional life in multinational companies. And this is due to lack of confidence, poor ability to communicate in English, and insufficient knowledge of the wider world.
The aim of the Global Life Hub is to provide a place with an international ambience where students can develop the skills they need by talking and chatting to other students and people from different countries, by learning to think creatively, and by practicing how to communicate well.

To help the members learn about international culture and lifestyles we have invited foreign business consultants to talk about life and opportunities for employment and further studies in their countries. In addition, we have 2 American teams who come to interact with the members every week. Members were also exposed to foreign culture, traditions, and food habits through a baking session in December.

To expose the students to life in the corporate world we have invited software engineers from large multinational corporations to share their experiences.

To help members learn to speak English well and confidently, we hold sessions on pronunciation and accents, and on public speaking. An example of a speaking activity was the one held a couple of weeks ago, when members were asked what sections they would include, and why, if they were given a chance to edit a new magazine for teenagers. They had to choose from a list of sections, such as, music, fashion, problem page, study opportunities, summer jobs, astrology, health, etc. Each was given 3 min to talk about their choice, and they came up with some creative ideas.
I think we are achieving our goal. Those members who come regularly have become more confident, have become more creative in their thinking, and have overcome their fear of addressing a crowd.

"Hmm, what sections should I include in the magazine?" — “Hmm, what sections should I include in the magazine?”

2012-12-252012-12-25

Members of Global Life Hub get a break from Indian spiciness

Food is what everyone enjoys. Thus among many interesting events held at the Global Life Hub in Hyderabad was a baking session conducted by an American team. The main purpose of the session was to expose our members to a foreign culture and its traditions and food habits so that they will be well prepared to face any ethnic group or people in future. I remember someone saying to me “You can only understand other cultures by having their food”. And what is very difficult here is to find real American food cooked by a real American, but Global Life Hub made this possible last week.

The session started with the making of hot chocolate with spongy marshmallows. And this was our first time seeing marshmallows, which are not found here normally. Our next food was puppy chow, a tasty cereal-and-chocolate-based sweet snack that all our members enjoyed. The third item was delicious cookies that members were able to take home.

The session ended with singing and sharing about how Christmas is celebrated in American homes.