Daniela Saldana-Mumbai

Greetings from Mumbai! These past three days (aside from exhausting me more than a day in Disneyland) have made me understand more about the reasons behind India’s fast economic growth. One of the reasons is India’s more practical educational system. On the first day, we were able to interact with junior college students (in our system, these kids would be in 11th grade) which have been already exposed to business theory like financial analysis and managerial accounting and practiced such theory in group projects. Also, I learned that students go to school Monday thru Saturday from around 9 AM to 5 PM which gives them more time to practice concepts in class. Aside from having a tight academic curriculum, Indian students find the time to volunteer and work on projects in the community because they want to help those in need. For example, many students volunteer at educational programs because they believe that educating the youth will empower and develop the country. Out of these reasons, I found the high level of social responsibility to be India’s “secret ingredient” for its “fast economic growth recipe.” Because everybody cares, everybody benefits. My time in Mumbai has given me the opportunity to see a side of India which has inspired me to become a better citizen of the world.