On October 7, the Global Programs Office held a welcome reception for five exchange students from India whose visit was a part of a cooperative agreement between Alcorn and the SVVR Educational Society, Food and Agribusiness School (FABS) in Hyderabad, India.

Also recognized at the reception, were Fulbright foreign language teachers Jane (Zhufen) Chen from Beijing, China, and Hassnaa Salama from El-Arish, Egypt. The Fulbright scholars are at Alcorn for the 2011-2012 academic year, teaching Chinese and Arabic languages at Global Programs. They have also done some presentations on their respective countries and are forming Chinese and Arabic Clubs, with activities related to their cultures.

“We are glad to host this group of post-graduate students majoring in food and agribusiness, and the Fulbright scholars,” said Dr. Dovi Alipoe, Global Programs director.This was a mutually beneficial visit, as Indian guests had a chance to learn more about American agricultural system, compare what they have in India to what we have in the USA, and share their observations with us.”

During their 23-day visit, Indian students took part in many enriching activities: they attended classes at the Department of Agriculture, went on several field trips related to agriculture, took part in the University events, held presentations for Alcorn students majoring in agriculture and toured Natchez and Jackson.

‘Our guests said they enjoyed their full and exciting agenda,’ said Dr. Dovi Alipoe, director of the Global Programs. “They especially liked their visits to the Natural Products Association in Hebron, Mississippi, dairy facility in Tylertown, and the State Fair in Jackson”.

Dr. Alipoe added, ‘The student visitors also conducted research and prepared reports on various topics related to agribusiness, like Agricultural Input Marketing in the United States and Agricultural Procurement in the United States.”

At the end of their visit, exchange students shared their impressions with the School of AREAS students, faculty and staff.

It is my first time in the USA and at Alcorn, and I am enjoying it so much!”. Shared the only female student in the group Ritu Lather.

Navjot Singh Sandhu said, It is excellent, the people, the campus, everybody is great. It is almost like I expected before coming here. I definitely know now that I want to come back in the future”

Sharadchandra Rajaram Jadhav stated, The trip has educated us both culturally and professionally. We learned more about agribusiness in the U.S. and enjoyed the hospitality of Alcorn State, School of AREAS staff and Global Programs staff in particular.”