IIM Ranchi sends 5 students to HRD Ministry led Youth Delegation to China

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India endeavours to provide a platform for international exposure to the future leaders of tomorrow in order to promote exchange of ideas, values and culture among the youth of different countries. 5 students from IIM Ranchi, Snehil Agrawal, Swadha Awasthi, Guneet Kaur, Snehitha Vedullapalli and Chakshu Kalra got an opportunity to participate this honourable programme which started with an orientation programme in New Delhi.

A trip covering major cities like Xi’an, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing involved interaction with the local youth, senior citizens, people of China and the officials working in the Indian Embassy. Mutual understanding of culture and values amongst the youth of both the countries in order to develop a better relation between India and China was one of the main reasons of the programme. With a warm welcome from the Chinese government, the students of IIM Ranchi were shown several tourist places to give a glimpse of the magnificence of the natural heritage and the cultural diaspora the country is proud of.

Their journey commenced in Beijing, with a visit to tourist spots (Forbidden City) followed by a dinner hosted at the Indian Embassy. The following day the students were divided into groups for 6 visits, each group designated a particular visit. The visits included prominent centres in Beijing such as China Alliance of Campus International Societies, Shijia Hutong Community and an interaction session with the Chinese Young Entrepreneur’s Association among others. (They were engrossed in a healthy interaction with the Chinese Young Entrepreneur’s Association and China Alliance of Campus International Societies.) The sessions provided the students with an enriching experience focusing on increasing leadership learning, developing a global network, striving towards better decision making process and bolder innovations. The visit to the Shijia Hutong Community, famous for its traditional city grid pattern unique to China, was a great learning and gave a new direction to ponder upon in terms of low cost housing plans. Before they departed from Beijing, a visit to The Great Wall of China, one of the 7 wonders of the world and a great engineering marvel left the young delegates in awe of the whole place.

The delegation was then divided into two groups. One group visited the Terracotta museum to commemorate the historic Terracotta warriors in Xi’an. While one team explored the culture at Xi’an and Guangzhou, the other group visited Hangzhou and Shanghai to gain an insight into culture galore and lifestyle of people. They also visited Dodo City Children Centre, a play area for children between the ages 4 and 12, having the unique concept of exposing children to the real life professions. The following day, they visited the headquarter of Alibaba Group at Hangzhou. Interaction with the senior management, other employees, discussions about business and the future plans was extremely insightful. Zhejiang College of Sports was next in the itinerary, famous for providing talented Olympic winners and National champions in different sports including martial arts, swimming, badminton, table tennis and gymnastics. The students also visited West Lake, the spiritual home and paradise for Chinese culture elites followed by a mesmerising view of the entire city from the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai.

The trip culminated in a farewell dinner organised by the Chinese authority with a cultural performance by Indian and Chinese delegates.

The joint effort of Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India and All China Youth Federation (AYCF), through this initiative strive to strengthen the bond of friendship between the two nations. The programme aimed at understanding the cultural diaspora and economical as well as social activities of the nation gives a great exposure and is a proud moment for students of IIM Ranchi to be a part of such an honourable programme.