Shastri News - October 2008 | Newsletters | Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute

Shastri News - October 2008

Shastri Institute Sends out Youth Interns
Small University with Big International Goals
Binational Research Underway for Breast Cancer Treatment
New Shastri Photo Competition
Shastri 40th Anniversary Celebrations
News from Members
New Members

Shastri Institute Sends out Youth Interns

We are happy to introduce this year’s Canadian Youth Interns who set out on September 15th to work for six months on location in India.

Amenda Kumar, Vancouver BC
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Internship: Healthy Aging in Chennai

After many years of intense study, Amenda is ready to get her head out of the books and immerse herself in the field. Amenda took many classes in International Development during her studies at UBC in the Master of Social Work program and decided the best way to learn was to go out and gain field experience. She is looking forward to learning more about Indian culture in Chennai and cannot wait to get her feet wet.

Richa Sharma, Victoria BC
Location: Keshod, Gujarat
Internship: Access to Quality Health Care and Information: How does Gender Intervene?

Richa applied for her youth internship for a number of reasons but primarily to sort out the confusion regarding her own identity as an Indian living in Canada. For the first time in ten years she has a chance to visit India and operate outside of the protection of her extended family and out side of a context where she is known as “Ms. Canadian.” This internship will provide her the opportunity to experience work culture in the non-profit sector in India and to be exposed to a different side of many of the realities and truths that are India. On a professional front, Richa hopes to clarify where to focus her future studies and to gain a foothold in the field of international development.

Robin Lau, Edmonton AB
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Internship: Healthy Aging in Chennai

Robin applied for the internship because he wanted to travel and to keep learning in his field of Health Policy and Diabetes. “I read the job posting and found something that interested me greatly. This was my opportunity to travel and to continue my research.” Robin wants to gain a new perspective on life and he hopes this internship will give him a great appreciation for his own culture as well as a greater appreciation for the culture of others

The Shastri Youth Internship Program is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency

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Small University with Big International Goals

“My dream is that, one day, all of our Students will be incorporating an international element into their undergraduate degrees,” says Ron Byrne, Vice-President, International and Student Affairs at Mount Allison University. Mount Allison recently added the VP International title to Byrne’s position as part of a larger initiative to focus on internationalization. At Mount Allison’s newly expanded International Centre, Adam Christie, Manager of International Affairs and Pronoti Majithia, International Advisor, are also excited to be filling new roles.

Mount Allison University has a student body of around 2,200 students and is situated in a town of 5,400 people. Despite its modest size and small-town feel, Mount Allison sees itself as a global player. With some recent help from the Shastri Institute, it has added India to its list of international partners. On September 22nd, we were able to visit Mount Allison to explore future India Studies initiatives and hear about the work that is currently being done.

While discussing some of the challenges that small universities face in their efforts to internationalize, Adam Christie points out that small universities do have advantages: “Since we are small, we are able to act quickly on initiatives. We have also been able to take advantage of the international connections already present within our faculty and staff.” A perfect example is the development of Mount Allison’s summer term in India program. This program has been successfully running for two years thanks to Professor Roopen Majithia, and his connections both to the Shastri Institute and to the director of the Vivekananda Institute for India Studies (VIIS) in Mysore.

Through the program, students take courses for eight weeks at VIIS and receive up to12 credits. They also participate in field trips and choose from a variety of co-curricular activities. Dr. Majithia is constantly thinking about how he can develop the program to continue to offer more enriching opportunities for both the students and faculty that participate. Since the program’s first year, one student participant has already returned to Mysore to gain work experience at a local hospital.

For more information on the Shastri Institute/Mount Allison summer term in India please click here.

If you would like representatives from the Shastri Institute to visit your campus to explore future India Studies initiatives please contact us.

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Binational Research Underway for Breast Cancer Treatment

The Shastri Institute recently funded two workshops held at the University of Windsor, which incorporated a delegation of Indian scientists from Bangalore’s St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences. The binational team is working with a rare substance extracted from the Hawaiian spider lily which apprears to induce cell death in cancer cells while leaving other cells unharmed.
For local media coverage of the workshops please click here.

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New Shastri Photo Competition

The Shastri Institute is introducing its first annual photo competition. Any individual taking part in a project or program funded by the Shastri Institute during the last five years may submit photos for consideration. The winner will recieve a prize of $500.00 and all accepted submissions will be showcased in an electronic photo gallery. Application deadline is January 31, 2009. More Info…