On a recent trip to Invercargill, the High Commissioner of India to New Zealand, Ms Neeta Bhushan, visited the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) and connected with management as well as Indian students currently studying.
The May 14th visit gave Ms Bhushan the opportunity to meet with local stakeholders to explore strengthening economic ties between regional New Zealand and India. This included meeting with the Southland Business Chamber and other business stakeholders. She also visited SIT Invercargill campus and met with SIT Management, joined by her husband, Mr Anurag Bhushan, who is the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs of India.
SIT International arranged for a small group of Indian students – from Nursing, Applied Management, Cookery and Hotel Management programmes - and staff to meet with Ms Bhushan, where she spoke with the students regarding their studies, goals and aspirations, and identified potential support that could be available from her office for Indian students. Ms Bhushan encouraged the students to start a SIT Indian student’s association.
Bachelor of Nursing Student, Arshdeep Kaur said meeting the high commissioner “… was very special for me”. Miss Kaur liked the idea of starting an Indian student group. “…we can celebrate [Indian] festivals together, give advice to each other, we can share problems – the older students can support the younger students.”
Similarly, Master of Applied Management student, Chanchal Saini, enjoyed meeting Ms Bhushan. “She asked me about my course and gave me some suggestions… she suggested that we could create an Indian association, so all Indians can meet and have refreshments [every fortnight] and celebrate Indian festivals at SIT. She will support us in this,” Mrs Saini said.
NZ Diploma in Cookery student, Tarun Das, met Ms Bhushan at SIT and was fortunate to be working on the chef’s team at the Langlands Hotel the night Ms Bhushan stayed and came to dine in the restaurant. “I think she liked the meal,” he said, adding it was a good experience meeting her. “It was a good idea... she asked us lots of questions and gave us some recommendations.”
In the evening, Ms Bhushan participated in a panel discussion at SIT’s Hansen Hall, organised by the Indian Community in Southland. Alongside Deputy Mayor, Tom Campbell, Invercargill Licensing Trust CFO, Bharat Guha, Southland District Councillor, Jaspreet Boparai and SIT Operations Lead, Daryl Haggerty, they discussed the topic: ‘Opportunities, Challenges and Integration for Indians in Southland’.
Acting International Manager, Dr Teri McClelland said the students were all extremely good representatives of both SIT and India. “It was great seeing them connect with their high commissioner and to hear about their goals and how their study at SIT is enabling them for their future careers.”