To get on in India today, one has to be a global citizen. With some 65% of companies here being international, and with Indians having to travel abroad for work or business, understanding other cultures and being able to speak English are important requisites for getting and holding on to a good job. Many students in India come from backgrounds that do not offer them these “qualifications”. Hence Goducate has set up a centre called Global Life Hub in Hyderabad to help the less advantaged university students learn to be global citizens.
Listening to an introduction about the Global Life HubParticipating in an icebreaker gameRelaxing in the lounge area
The center was launched on Aug 11. It will be a place where students can meet foreigners, learn about other cultures, and practise their English so that they can converse in this fluently, naturally, and confidently.
Also, about twice a month we will invite professionals from multinational corporations to come to talk to the students about life in the corporate world and about the challenges they face daily in their office. In doing so we hope to give the students an idea about what they will be facing in global India.
India is one of today’s fast emerging economies. Hyderabad is one of
the fastest growing cities in India—with many multinational corporations, especially high-tech ones situated in the ultra-modern “cities” in its suburbs.
Exterior of Global Life Hub (occupying top floor of the building as marked out in red) Renovation in progress
It is the dream of many young Indians to work in one of these MNCs.
So thousands of bright young Indians from all over India study hard to
attain the necessary qualifications for such jobs.There are many good universities that offer almost all the relevant courses for employment in MNCs. However, there seems to be one missing “course” to help many “poorer” Indians fit into MNCs—namely, the ability to speak English fluently in an international environment.
Most Indians aspire to send their children to English-medium schools.
Such schools are usually privately run and significantly more expensive than the government-run schools. Many children of upper-class families not only attend such schools but also grow up in English-speaking homes. They have much more advantage in securing jobs in MNCs because they are fluent in English, more comfortable among foreigners, and more familiar with international culture.
However, many bright Indians with professional qualifications come from less advantaged backgrounds and many more come from villages where English is merely an examination subject, foreigners are rarely seen, and international culture is totally strange to them. In the fast internationalizing scene of India, especially in cities such as Hyderabad, these Indians are severely handicapped in securing employment.
Flyer for Global Life Hub
Goducate hopes to help these worthy but “needy” Indians by helping
them to speak English fluently and familiarizing them with international culture. Goducate will be setting up a Global Life Hub in Hyderabad to provide them with the environment where they can speak English, meet foreigners, and be “immersed” in international culture so that they will be more confident at job interviews and more successful in their
jobs.
GLH will be an “international zone” where only English is spoken, thereby “forcing” members to speak in English. Foreign GLH volunteers will help members get used to speaking to foreigners and understand their accents and culture. GLH activities will nurture confidence and communication skills.
GLH Hyderabad will soon open its doors to help Indians to help themselves in this fast new world.
Goducate India kicks off its first project in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, by offering English classes and communication classes to college students.
Andhra Pradesh (AP) is India’s fifth most populous state – with a population of 80 million people. The capital of AP is the ultra-progressive city of Hyderabad – with it’s world class IT industry. However, in the rural areas of AP, 30 million farmers struggle to just to survive.
Goducate India plans to start in Hyderabad and then move into the rural areas, where there is great need for education, especially, in scientific, small-scale agricultural practices.
Our Goducate volunteer, Mrs Jayamala, is a seasoned English teacher who has taught in India and in our Goducate work in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. She will conduct her classes in a school, whose owner is a friend of Goducate.
