Summary of Activities
US Interns in India (scroll down for Malaysia)

Enterprise Education Training

SIFE interns participated in training, orientation & delivery of enterprise education to 5th and 6th grade students. The training included reflections, observations, surveys, analysis and report writing. More than 160 students from 2 schools were taught during 4 hour sessions 4 times per week. The students were taught and observed on the following topics: Self-esteem, Raw Materials, Advertising, Concepts and Skills, Career Aspirations and identifying the difference between a Product and a Service.

 

Akanksha

SIFE interns attended an Orientation at the Akanksha office, a non-profit organization with the mission to impact the lives of less-privileged children enabling them to maximize their potential and change their lives. They were assigned individual Study Centers at different locations across Mumbai, where they went 2 days a week for 2-3 hours. Each center is staffed by a Head Teacher and an Assistant Teacher. Children come from their homes in the slums and are brought by bus to a nearby Akanksha center. As a result of this SIFE interns developed a greater understanding of the nuances of community outreach work in India, the problems and possibilities of reaching out to the less-privileged and to progress with the program by educating and enabling more young lives in India. As volunteers SIFE interns were assisting the head teacher in teaching the specific module for the day or in conducting play activities for them.

 

Business Mentorship

Sessions with business mentors were scheduled for the interns during February and March. The sessions were spread in 2-3 meetings with each intern learning about various aspects of the mentors' field of experience and expertise. Sometimes the interns surprised the business mentors with their level of insight and at times they had to go back to read and research before they met the mentor again. SIFE interns found the sessions very educative and enjoyed interacting with the experts. The legal topics ranged from legal aspects of immigration, labor laws, and contracts to offshoring pros and cons for the US and India. Other topics dealt with outsourcing, long term investments, asset management, research and development and Indian/US law compliance.

 

SIFE India University Visits

SIFE interns spent some of February and a significant portion of March visiting SIFE India universities and making presentations to students at these institutions. In February their visits were focused on interacting with the college students, answering their queries and helping them decide to start SIFE in their college. SIFE interns actively participated in these interactions and provided useful insights on SIFE to the students. These first meetings were usually icebreakers during which they got to talk about themselves and know each other better. The visits in March were focused on helping the Indian students identify community projects, share presentation skills & overall mentor them to take up SIFE Projects in their colleges. The SIFE interns were divided into 2 groups and each group was assigned a set of 3-4 colleges to mentor.

 

Industry Visits

The interns conducted 3 industry visits in March where they met with senior executives, toured the business plant and discussed the company's operations. The first business they visited was Lathia Rubber Company where they met with Y.S. Lathia. Lathia is the largest manufacturer of rubber in India. They also visited a small scale textile producer who exports to Dubai and a recording studio where they met with the studio editor and received an insight into the editing process and got a tour of the facility.

 

Business Forums

In March various business forums were organized to provide the interns with a platform for business learning and intellectual discussion. The forums were organized on college campuses and covered various topics of discussion in a classroom setting with a stimulated student audience. These forums not only gave the Interns an opportunity to learn, share and discuss business practices, policies and decisions, but it also helped them observe the Indian classroom style of teaching, while mingling with their counterparts in this part of the world. The forums were led by distinguished professors who were experts in the various fields covered.

 

S.P. Jain IMS - ‘SOCIAL IMPACT Awards' on 5th February 2005

S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai organized a national level ‘Social Impact' Awards function to recognize the best projects implemented by the Students of top B-schools and non-governmental organizations in the social sector. These projects stood out in their innovative, relevant and sustainable ideas and were outstanding in their understanding of societal development. The interns attended this event and observed the presentations of the participants as they showcased their enterprising ideas.. At the dinner which followed, Yoshi (one of the interns from Colorado) entertained all with his violin.

 

KJ Somaiya IMSR --Youth Social Forum on 19th February 2005

The Youth Social Forum (YSF) is a program of the Somaiya Vidyavihar to provide a platform to its 26,000 students as well as to the youth of Mumbai city to engage in socially responsive activities. The YSF aims to highlight the significant role played by NGOs across the country asserting their belief that another world is indeed possible! This was the first youth social forum to be incepted in Mumbai and had a number of NGOs participate. More than 200 students were in attendance. The highlight of the day definitely was the session with Dilip Chhabaria, one of the most talked about success stories in Entrepreneurship and car designing around the globe.

 

Rizvi Law College --Annual fest ‘JUST ICE' on 27th February 2005

The interns participated in the college's annual festival which involved a Group Dance, a Fashion Show, and a Social Dinner. Over 300 students and faculty were in attendance. The leading newspaper in the country published an article on the Rizvi College Fest and showed the interns' picture along with a mention on SIFE. During the program BII interns were invited on stage to introduce themselves and were presented with bouquets. The BII interns spent a significant amount of time with the students at the college and enjoyed a different cultural experience. Their participation in the event was very fruitful, and the college faculty and students are now very enthusiastic about starting SIFE in their college.

 

Dahanu trip

KJ Somaiya IMSR organized a day trip to their SIFE project site specifically for the interns. During an earlier visit to their campus the interns had bought a lot of products made by the NGO supporting the ‘Warli' Art, the beneficiaries of the SIFE project. They also attended the ‘Graduation Ceremony' for the school students in Dahanu village. They toured the village dairy farm, pineapple and mango greenhouses and compost operations.

 

College of Social Work

The interns participated in a women's day celebration at the College. There was an organized debate and discussion on ‘Use of Contraceptives and Empowerment of Women'.

 

Goa Trip

In March the interns showed keen desire in taking a short trip outside Mumbai, to Goa. This trip wasn't planned; it was adjusted in their schedule. GOA is almost like another country. The people are very helpful and honest. They have a very slow paced life during the day and as night falls it becomes very active. The business community dominates over others in terms of size and volume. Goan food is very different from other Indian cooking, a definite haven for seafood lovers. Goa has its own palette of religion, music, food, culture, history and leisure.

 

Holi Festival

Amongst India's innumerable festivals, Holi ranks as the most colorful. It celebrates the arrival of spring and death of demon Holika, it is a celebration of joy and hope. Holi provides a refreshing respite from the mundane norms as people from all walks of life enjoy themselves. Holi continues to be celebrated with great vigor throughout India. SIFE interns were invited to a private Holi party in March at one their newly established contacts in Mumbai. They not only played ‘Holi' they also danced to some of the local Hindi film tunes!!!

US Interns in Malaysia

UiTM Johor- Entrepreneurship Convention and Seminar

We attended a seminar hosted by UiTM Johor. The guest speaker was the Johor Corporation CEO who spoke on what it means to be a good business leader and entrepreneur and ways of incorporating the Islamic business practice principles. The seminar was followed by a luncheon and the largest entrepreneurship convention that the school has ever hosted. Afterwards, we visited the historical city of Melaka.

 

UiTM Panel Discussion

SIFE UiTM organized a panel discussion between the BII interns and thirty UiTM students to discuss economics, religion, life, racism, and politics.

 

KUITHO Foster Family Village Stay

This project was conducted by KUITHO SIFE. Each BII intern was paired up with a SIFE KUITHO student to stay in a village comprised of mostly Javanese aborigines who owned and operated their own small businesses. The two-day stay was designed to introduce us to their way of life as well as introducing ours to theirs.

 

KUITHO Business Fathers (Johor Bahru)

The BII interns did a two-day business mentoring program in which we were paired up with SIFE KUITHO students and were appointed different industries to learn about. The industries included: book publishing, shoes, logistics, switchboards, and print media.

 

KUITHO SIFE Motivation

The BII interns conducted a two-day Training of Trainers and motivational seminar for the SIFE KUITHO students to motivate them towards growing and improving the SIFE program at their university.

 

UTM SIFE Motivation

The BII interns conducted a Training of Trainers and motivational seminar for students who were interested in becoming part of SIFE. This school has had a SIFE team for several years but their progression had been stagnant of late.

 

SIFE UNITEN Entrepreneurship Convention

The BII interns attended a SIFE UNITEN Entrepreneurship Convention for locals and students who wanted to make some money selling some of their goods. We also visited the Putrajaya, the U.S. equivalent of Washington, D.C.

 

Malaysia Library

The BII interns toured the national library and learned about their structure, operations, and a program designed to teach the local communities of the educational procedures and the advantages of using the library.

 

Red Crescent Tsunami

The BII interns volunteered at the Red Crescent Foundation and aided them in their tsunami relief aid program that sent food, water, and clothes to the disaster areas of Indonesia.

 

Olympia College SIFE Motivation

The BII interns conducted a Training of Trainers and motivational seminar for the Olympia Kolej students interested in initiating a SIFE team at their school.

 

Phillip Morris (Serembam)/ History and Operations Tour

The BII interns was shown around the Phillip Morris plant where the finished cigarettes were produced. The director presented the history of cigarettes, the different types and flavors, and the economy generated by it. Afterwards, we were given a tour to see the steps of making a cigarette.

 

Phillip Morris (Sabah- Keningau)/ Agricultural Tour

The BII interns and SIFE UiTM visited the countryside peninsula of Sabah to see where and how the agricultural process of tobacco was conducted.

 

UMS (Koto Kinabalu) SIFE Motivation

The BII interns conducted a TOT training session with the University of Malaysia Sabah. We then went on a tour of Koto Kinabalu and visited the Philipino Art market.

 

UiTM Sabah SIFE Motivation

The BII interns conducted a TOT training session with UiTM Sabah.

 

Rhythm Corp- Corporate and Regional Store Visit

The BII interns and SIFE UiTM visited the Rhythm corporate office to learn how the company was established and how it operates. We then went to visit several of its franchise stores in Shah Alam and Kuala Lumpur.

 

Kedah Village Stay and Tour of Langkawi

The BII interns and SIFE UiTM visited the paddy-field state of Kedah and stayed with the villagers. We explored the city of Alo Star, took a riverboat tour of the town Alostar, and visited several museums. Some The BII interns students also aided SIFE UiTM students in their project of establishing contacts with small business owners in the shopping plaza and finding ways to help them improve their business.

 

AMCHAM and Corporate Affiliates Visit

The BII interns visited the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Kuala Lumpur and learned about the history and the mission of AMCHAM. The director then organized visits for us to BOEING, Malaysian Industrial Development Agency (MIDA), Western Digital, SSIC (Selangor State Investment Center), and the FORD motor company.

 

PAHANG (ROMPIN)

The BII interns, SIFE UiTM, and SIFE UNITEN joined together to go visit the city of Muadzam Sham. We visited the aborigines, trekked though the jungle, and learned survival tips in case we were ever stranded in the wilderness. The BII interns and SIFE UiTM then conducted segmented projects with the secondary school of Muadzam Sham to teach the 16-17 year-olds how to start their own business, how to write a business plan, and the principles of business ethics and social responsibility. Lastly we visited the beautiful beach in resort city of Kuantan.