Meeting with Mountbatten Institute Interns of Indian Origin

The Consulate General of India organized an interactive meeting with a group of Mountbatten Institute Interns of Indian origin at the Consulate on August 30, 2010.

Dr. A. M. Gondane, Deputy Consul General welcomed the Mountbatten Institute Officials and Interns. He mentioned the strong feelings of Mountbatten family for India. He spoke about the steady progress made since Independence and the strides made in the recent past in fields like IT, telecommunication, etc.  He spoke of the focus of the Government on different areas especially infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, etc. and the various steps taken to promote investments and growth in these sectors.  He encouraged the interns to share their expectations on India’s progress in the course of the next decade.

Sir Paul Beresford-Hill, MBE, Director General of the Mountbatten Institute thanked the Consulate and gave an overview of the origins of the Mountbatten Institute. He spoke about the interest in the professional development of young graduates focusing on careers in international business.  He said that the Mountbatten Institute provided opportunities for fresh graduated from India, UK and the Commonwealth countries to build cultural and professional bridges to develop their careers by providing them with international work placements combined with cross-cultural training and education.

Mr. Tim Schantz, Director Mountbatten Institute – North America gave an overview of the one year work placement opportunities available to the interns with sponsor companies from different fields ranging from Finance to Law.

The interns praised the Mountbatten Institute for providing them with an opportunity to work, study and live in New York. They said that they gained from the valuable exposure to corporate America, the understanding of international business and challenges to develop skills and talents. The Interns shared their thoughts on their aspirations for India such as higher quality of life, better infrastructure, poverty eradication, boost in educational opportunities, lower unemployment, transparency in government operations, etc.

The evening concluded with tea and informal networking.