September 2, 2004.

Pictured (L to R) are Jennifer Jones, UH, marketing senior;  Saleha Khumawala, UH, associate professor of accounting and  taxation; G. Srivastava, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII),  director; and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Indian president.

A group of 26 students, faculty and administrators from the University of Houston returned from an extraordinary summer experience in India.

The group from the Bauer College of Business learned about politics, economics, and culture from India’s President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and other government officials and business leaders. The trip was organized and coordinated by Saleha Khumawala, associate professor of accountancy and taxation.

During the June 14 meeting at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kalam talked about his mission and future aspirations for India. He told the UH group that a true leader is the one who can identify the best and the worst human resource in his organization, and inspire the worst worker to become the best.

“The most exciting part of the trip was our private meeting with President Kalam,” said Jennifer Jones, a marketing senior. “He’s incredibly intelligent, and has high expectations for his country.” The group presented Kalam with a copy of the UH book “Our Time: Celebrating 75 years of Learning and Leading” autographed by UH President and System Chancellor Jay Gogue. He included a personal invitation to Kalam to visit the UH campus.

Students also met with the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, officials from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the director of National Securities Depositories Limited and Bombay’s police commissioner. Meetings were held with business executives from leading Indian and multinational companies including WIPRO, which runs a call center recently profiled on “60 Minutes;” KPMG; Bechtel Corporation; Link Shipping; Tata Energy and Research Institute; and Reliance Industries. The UH group also met with the U.S. ambassador to India, David C. Mulford, at the U.S. Embassy’s Roosevelt House. They visited an orphanage and the largest poverty-stricken area in Bombay and also made time for sightseeing, including visits to the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.

“I could have read facts and figures about India, but seeing everything firsthand gave me a new and unique perspective of the condition of the Indian economy,” said Jones. “India has long stressed the importance of education, but faces many hurdles, including an exploding population, in its efforts to create jobs and expand its economy.”

This trip abroad, open to all undergraduate and graduate students, was coordinated by the Bauer College of Business. Participants received up to six hours of course credit. It was Bauer College’s first study abroad trip to India, and it plans to offer similar programs in future years.

Angie Joe
ajoe@uh.edu