Friday, March 15: Pune to Hyderabad

Today marked the seventh and eighth campuses we have visited and nearly the half-way point of the trip. It’s such a privilege to access the inner workings of Indian universities. On my own as a tourist, I’d never get beyond the façade of the main campus building. Here, we’re spending three hours with administrators, faculty, and students. And the questions are not merely factual ones. We probe their strategic plans, curricular design, and faculty development efforts. Our hosts are unfailingly hospitable and genuinely interested in identifying areas for potential collaboration.

We checked out of the hotel after breakfast and loaded the bus with our luggage (cue the jokes about my efficient packing). Our first stop was Indian Institute for Science Education and Research (IISER), one of several basic science universities set up by the federal government to enhance India’s competitiveness in the global academic rankings. Curiously, IISER’s size nearly perfectly matched the IHP’s: 1500 students and 120 faculty. As with all the visits so far, the hosts ushered us into a conference room and gave an overview of the institution while uniformed servers delivered snacks and tea to our places.

The Dean of Research at IISER gave us an overview of the Institute.

We toured a lab working on alternatives to lithium batteries. Some of their solar-powered projects bear a distinct Indian imprint, like the panels designed to be worn on a traditional wide-rimmed hat that can charge a farmer’s cell phone. The hosts had arranged for us to meet with eight doctoral students and then left the room so that we could hear their unvarnished opinions. It was telling that when asked about their post-graduate plans, all indicated they would like to seek a postdoctoral position in the United States. For all of the impressive equipment and research productivity at the Institute, students still saw a U.S.-based lab as their best path for success.

The PI of the lab explained research on solar-powered batteries.

IISER prepared lunch for us in their guest dining room. Nearly all the meals have been buffet style with several round, metal casserole containers set atop glass burners to stay warm. We always have a flat bread, a kind of rice, a vegetarian dish, and a chicken dish. Usually an array of chutneys and condiments accompany the meal. As flavorful as the stews are, the predictability has become a little monotonous. The salads entice, but I’m avoiding any uncooked vegetables as a precaution.

In the afternoon, we visited the University of Pune. You wouldn’t know it from the dessicated landscaping and low-slung buildings, but this is the largest university in India. It enrolls close to 700,000 students across 800 affiliated colleges spread across 400 kilometers. The students at the main campus are primarily master’s and doctoral students. They also welcome about 1,000 international students, mostly from Africa and the Middle East. We must have been short on time because our host, the dean of international partnerships, raced through a PowerPoint and then escorted us back on the bus to the main administration building.

The main building was once a summer escape for the rulers in Mumbai during the monsoon season, and it retains the palatial feel. We passed through metal detectors and walked by uniformed, armed guards on the way to a conference room on the second floor. It turned out that we were going to meet with the Vice Chancellor, the head of the university. As a state-funded university, the VC, as he’s called, is appointed by the governor for a five-year term. His office space was once occupied by Winston Churchill. We felt honored that the leader of India’s largest university devoted time to meet with us and even more humbled when we saw they had created a large banner welcoming us.

A fellow Fulbrighter in front of the banner, modeling the gift the women participants received.

The VC, like all the academics we’ve met so far, dressed casually and carried no electronics. He spoke about the university’s goal to expand access, equity, and quality for “the masses.” It was true that compared to the private universities we visited yesterday, Pune’s campus felt tattered. After his preamble, we peppered him with questions about funding, student outcomes, and industry partnerships. The primary concerns that worry higher education administrators in the U.S.—recruiting and retaining students, raising revenue—are not even concerns for him. He’s more keen on making sure graduates are employable. At each stop, we present a bag of swag from our home institutions to the host, and today was my turn.

For our final stop at University of Pune, the international partnership director arranged a meet and greet with master’s students in the department of defense and strategic studies. There were two dozen of them, all but two men. Here the contrast with the private universities also came through. Their English was not as fluent and their ideas not as well-formed. I asked how they would apply their learning to defuse the tension in Kashmir, and one young man gave a soliloquy about how Pakistan must stop sponsoring terrorism without acknowledging any culpability for India. 

A Fulbrighter, who is also a professor of political science, engaged the Pune students in a discussion about U.S. foreign policy.

Before we said goodbye, we posed with the department's tank.

We bade goodbye to our hosts and drove to an upscale Hyatt hotel for an early dinner. On the bus rides today, I finally finished reading Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. In it, the main character’s life parallels the emergence of an independent India and its first tantrums of democracy. He mentions many of the places we saw in Mumbai and will visit in Delhi. The seeds of the India/Pakistan conflict also figure in the story, leading to bloody ends for many characters. The book came out in 1981 and told of events that happened in the 1970s, yet the message remained relevant.

From the hotel, the bus drove us to the airport. In the end, all the worry about luggage weights was for naught as the airline checked us in as a group. The 9:10 pm flight was delayed until 10:50, extending an already late evening. In some respect, the matter-of-factness of boarding was refreshing without all the gold, emerald, and premium elite nonsense. On the other hand, it was so low-key that there were no announcements letting us know it was time to get on the plane. The flight took about 90 minutes, and a chartered bus awaited us at the Hyderabad airport. It was 2:00 am when we checked into the hotel. Luckily, tomorrow’s agenda is light.