June 30, 2014

Visiting Indian students farewelled at intimate graduation ceremony

Twenty undergraduate students from Gujarat, India, were farewelled by their newly-made friends at a small graduation ceremony at UOW College on Friday 27 June.

The students, from Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU), have spent the past four weeks at UOW gaining first-hand experience of academia in Australia.

While at UOW, the students attended introductory sessions for subjects within the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts, including sociology, political philosophy, international media and communications, social sciences and humanities.

“We consider ourselves quite fortunate to have met and interacted with [the lecturers] and really appreciate them taking the time out of their busy schedules for our group. These guest sessions have been extremely informative and inspiring,” PDPU student Anokhi Ghandi said during a presentation at the farewell ceremony.

Fellow student Avantika Sharan expressed similar sentiment.

“We were encouraged in all the sessions to ask questions. There was never a stupid question and there was never a judgement passed. All this made our journey extremely fulfilling.”

In addition to their academic pursuits, the group spent some time getting better acquainted with Australia’s lifestyle and culture, with trips to some key local tourist attractions such as Symbio National Park, Sea Cliff Bridge, Kiama, the Botanical Gardens, as well as parts of Sydney and Canberra.

As strategic partners in research and teaching, UOW and PDPU see the June 2014 Exposure Program as a precursor to many more study abroad opportunities for students at both institutions.