VISA Episode #18 | A Report ❤️

 VISA Report

Episode # 18

Report by: Ms. Lekhaa, M. S

Intern, Office of International Programmes

Speaker: Ms. Jeslyn from Melbourne, Australia

On the 30th of July 2025, at 7 p.m., the office of the Dean of International Programs hosted episode 18 of the Virtual Interaction with Scholars Abroad (VISA) program.

The speaker for the day was Ms. Jeslyn Jayaseelan, a student at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, pursuing her masters in Marketing. She is an alumnus of the Department of Commerce, Madras Christian College. 

The EmCee for the day was Ms. Lekhaa, an intern with the office of International Programs. The program began with an opening prayer by Prof. Arun Kumar, Associate Dean of International Programs (Aided). Then, Dr. Samuel Rufus, Dean of International Programs, delivered a welcome address. 

Ms. Lekhaa introduced the chief guest, Ms. Jeslyn, and handed the floor over to her. 

Ms. Jeslyn started by introducing herself and quickly mentioned what she would be talking about. 

Her journey to Australia started with her talking to her parents about finances. She considered three countries for her higher studies - US, Australia, and Ireland.

She knew she wanted to study Marketing and chose her country accordingly. She checked various factors before choosing her university - climate, Indian community, finance, and safety. 

Ms. Jeslyn applied to five colleges, but ended up selecting RMIT, because it had a good curriculum and it was situated in a good place.

She then ran through her application process, highlighting the documents she needed to submit. She also talked about an ‘autogrant VISA,’ which is a type of VISA approval in Australia where the VISA is immediately approved if all the documents are in order. 

Further, she spoke about her first days in the country, the troubles she faced, and provided strategies for new students to avoid those problems. She focused specifically on housing troubles, adapting to the city, and rewiring academically. 

Then, Ms. Jeslyn spoke about part-time jobs, highlighting that Australia has one of the highest minimum wages in the world, which makes it easy for students to meet their expenses. She concluded her talk by mentioning her five-year plan and outlining her expenditures and the basic financial requirements. 

The session concluded with a list of announcements about the office of International Programs and a Vote of Thanks by Ms. Lekhaa. 

Cordially Inviting You ❤️ One-Day National Seminar @ Sadakathullah Appa College ❤️

 

One-Day National Seminar on

Representations of Crisis in Literature

20th August 2025

Sadakathullah Appa College (Autonomous)

Tirunelveli, TN

To Register - CLICK HERE

Think Tank @ MCC ❤️

29th July 2025

Dear All,

Think Tank - the Staff-Student Study Circle will be meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, 30th July 2025, at 3 pm, at the Writers’ Nook, MCC-MRF Innovation Park. 

The topic for discussion for tomorrow is –

“Are we evolving or stagnating? A Discussion on Progress and Adaptability in the Tertiary Education Space”

Ms. Harshini, III BA Pol. Science will be giving a talk on MUN Promoting World Peace

Mr. Kaviyarasu, III BA Economics, will be giving a talk on Importance of Industry Practice in Bridging the Skill Gap

Ms. Srija Dutta, II MA History, will be giving a talk on MUN Planning

Ms. Meenatchi, I MA English, will be giving a talk on Silambam: A Path of Inner Discipline and Peace through Martial Tradition

Ms. Sethu Parvathy, I MA Public Administration, will be giving a talk on The Role of Generative AI on the Future of Education and Employment

Ms. Aarthi KPB and Ms. Venkata Vishnupriya. D will be the Event Managers.

We welcome you all to participate in tomorrow’s edition of Think Tank.

Best regards,

Dr. Rufus

"An invaluable chance to become better versions of ourselves" ❤️

“You have to choose to engage in it!”

28th July 1994

HSC Days | MCC School, Chetpet, Chennai

[This day, 31 years ago, from my personal diary entry]

#memoriesfromdiaries

A home away from home offers us an invaluable chance to become better versions of ourselves.

We have the privilege of learning a host of life skills, all by ourselves, staying far away from the comforts of home! Right from budgeting our days and our weeks, to managing our finances, to acquiring new skills by the day, doing our own laundry and arranging our cubicles – again – all by ourselves.

This particular day, as part of my hostel life in MCC School, had helped me gain a host of such invaluable life skills.  

Firstly, running. It was customary for us to go around the ground once, to get clocked for our dawning attendance, you see! 😊

Secondly, had coffee in the dining hall, and also filled coffee in a flask, to last me and my friend Sunil, the whole morning.

Thirdly, after bath, got dressed up, and then sat for my morning study.

Fourthly, cleaning the dormitories, was yet another customary action, that we were taught to do first thing in the morning.

Guess what? Ever since, till date, before stepping out of my room / or at home, I always remember to ensure that my room / home is cleaned – and it is spic and span, before I leave the house! 😊

Fifthly, writing letters, was yet another customary action that we were taught in our hostel days. Today it’s akin to calling our friends and parents on our mobile phones.

We also had the habit of connecting with our school friends of the past through letter writing (snail mail), as they called it back then! 😊

Sixthly, we used to regularly go for our evening swimming in the lovely swimming pool, towards the back gate of our School, which also sported the MRF Pace Foundation.

[Well, on an aside, the MRF Pace Foundation is located within our MCC School. It was established in 1987 in collaboration with Dennis Lillee, Aussie cricketer - the outstanding fast bowler (154.8 km/h) of his generation, with the avowed aim of developing quality fast bowlers in India]

[The foundation aims at offering training facilities, coaching, and guidance to aspiring fast bowlers, including both Indian and international players].

And finally, it was also customary for hostelers to come together, sit under the shade of a lovely Gulmohar tree in our ever-green campus, and start strumming the guitar to our favourite B’s – Billy Joel, Beatles, Bon Jovi, Bee Gees, Boyzone (which was just beginning to storm the pop-scene across the world) 😊 Today it was my turn to strum to some of our favourite B’s. 

And the key takeaway for today -  😊 

Customs aren’t random acts but repeatable patterns of behaviour, that embody the actions, norms, values, and beliefs of and individual, and thereby the community.

Hence, customs, like discipline, requires conscious effort, and sustained practice.

You have to choose to engage in it!!!

At last! Her voice was heard! ❤️

The ‘Whispering’ Fear

A Red-Letter Day Today!

24th July 2025 | An Inspiring True Story that Happened Today!

Today is a real red-letter day for many of us in the Office of International Programmes.

That’s because two of our sweetest kids who are interning in our Office, had the courage and the mettle to trample their fears, beneath their feet, and come out as better versions of themselves.

For our blogpost today, let us discuss Amanda first!

Well, Amanda is such a brilliant student. Her voice, usually so clear and confident among close friends, would desert her the moment she is asked to speak out in front of a class. Her heart would pound, and a knot would tighten in her stomach, trapping her in the cage of her deepest fears.

Well, it wasn’t a fear of not knowing what to speak! Rather, it was a crippling fear of judgment, of saying something ‘wrong,’ and the laughs that might follow as a result.

Whenever her classmates spoke confidently, she’d watch them with such awe and wonder! Meanwhile, she would sink lower in her seat, hoping to become invisible – forever!

This fear, however, was starting to impact her academic experience in MCC, beyond just class participation.

She knew she was missing out lots on the vibrant academic experience that MCC is quite known for, by staying aloof from the brighter side of Campus life – and by not taking part in Extempore, Oratory, Elocutions, Quiz events, Group discussions, etc.

She’d contribute just for namesake, quite minimalistically at that, often letting others dominate, even when she had such valuable insights.

Her professors too, for their part, while acknowledging her written work, often left comments like, “Excellent understanding, Amanda, but I’d love to hear your voice more in class”.

That’s when the turning point happened.

One of her seniors, Mr. Sabari who was also an Office Intern in our office, took it upon himself to mentor and motivate his junior day after day.

Days rolled into weeks! And weeks into months!

One morning, when the Dean asked her, if she could give a talk for the final year students on Opportunities for Higher Studies Abroad, her initial reaction was, 

‘Opportunities like this rarely knock twice. So why not give it a try?’.

She was so tired of feeling invisible, of her own potential being stifled by a whisper.

So with a deep breath and a surge of uncharacteristic bravery, she said ‘Yes’ to her Professor.

Boldly.

The red-letter day came.

In the company of the Global Student Ambassador Ms. Goldina, she delivered her maiden speech to a class of 60 students.

And how!

With each word, her voice gained a fraction more of strength, and an iota more of confidence. She even managed to make firm eye-contact and good body language, to the students who were listening in rapt attention to her talk.

A turning point indeed it was, today for Amanda.

She had succeeded in her first brave attempt at public speaking.

She now knew first-hand, for herself, that it was this easy.

She soon started gaining confidence in her own unique ‘phenomenality’.

More importantly, Amanda felt a profound sense of empowerment.

She was no longer a ghost in front of the class! 

She was a contributing member, her voice was finally heard, and her ideas were finally being shared.

Amanda had not only overcome her fear but had also discovered the strength and power of her own voice – by speaking out her thoughts boldly and courageously!

At last…

Her voice was heard!

Or rather,

She made her voice to be heard!

Coming back -

Nelson Mandela once said that,

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Complementing this statement, J. Krishnamurti, a renowned educationist says that -

“The real function of a good education is to help each individual to be free of fear”.

Adding up to this axiomatic statement, with Roosevelt’s famous line -

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear”.

Which means, to be really educated, is to have overcome one’s fears!

More power to you Amanda and to all ye vibrant young minds who are trying your best to face your fears and trample them beneath your feet!

Goldina follows...

[names changed]

Workshop on Shortlisting U.S. Universities and Writing Your SOP | A Report

“Workshop on Shortlisting U.S. Universities and Writing Your SOP: Key Strategies and Common Mistakes to Avoid”

Wednesday, 23rd July 2025

Event Report

By Ms. Keerthana

[Intern, Office of International Programmes]

The Office of International Programmes organized a workshop titled “Shortlisting U.S. Universities and Writing Your SOP: Key Strategies and Common Mistakes to Avoid” on 24 July 2025 at the Chemistry Seminar Hall.

The event was conducted in collaboration with EducationUSA, a U.S. Department of State-supported advising network, and the American Center, Chennai.

The programme began with a welcome note and the introduction of the guest speakers by the master of ceremonies, Ms. Shrestha.

The speakers were Mr. Rishi Kumar, Programme Associate at the American Center, and EducationUSA advisers Ms. Elizabeth and Mr. Arvind Sivamani. This was followed by the presentation of mementos and a group photograph session.

The session continued with a college prayer led by Ms. Stephanie, an intern, setting a formal tone for the academic engagement ahead.

Dr. Samuel Rufus, Dean of International Programmes, delivered the inaugural address, emphasizing the value of well-crafted Statements of Purpose and the importance of informed university selection. He also acknowledged the support of the institution’s leadership, the efforts of the student intern team, and the contribution of Ms. Rishitha in initiating the collaboration.

Mr. Rishi Kumar opened the technical session by sharing an overview of the American Center and its educational resources. He introduced the audience to the wide range of academic tools and cultural programmes offered at the center, including eLibraryUSA, which provides access to research databases, online English learning platforms, and global newspapers. 

He encouraged students to make use of these free facilities and explained the process of membership registration. He also touched on various U.S. exchange and fellowship programmes available to Indian students.

Ms. Elizabeth followed with an in-depth session on SOP writing. Drawing from her own experience as a recent U.S. graduate, she provided a clear explanation of what universities look for in an SOP. 

Her talk covered the elements of structure, personalization, tone, and common writing errors. She distributed handouts with guided templates and urged students to begin early, revise multiple drafts, and reflect authentically on their academic and career goals. Her session received active engagement from the participants and was appreciated for its clarity and relevance.

The final speaker, Mr. Arvind Sivamani, presented a detailed framework for shortlisting universities. He advised students to evaluate institutions based on five factors: academic alignment, financial affordability, location suitability, campus culture, and career outcomes. Emphasizing the need for a balanced approach, he recommended creating a shortlist that includes reach, match, and safety options. 

He also cautioned against choosing universities solely based on rankings or peer preferences and encouraged a research-driven strategy grounded in EducationUSA’s "5 Steps to U.S. Study" methodology.

Following his session, a question-and-answer segment was conducted, where he addressed individual queries from students and provided detailed clarifications.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Arvind Sivamani thanked the audience for their patience and active participation. He also announced the upcoming EducationUSA Fair and encouraged all attendees to make use of the opportunity to meet representatives from U.S. universities.

The event concluded with a formal vote of thanks delivered by Prof. Arun Kumar Joseph, Associate Dean of International Programmes, who acknowledged the speakers, organizers, and participants.

VISA Meet | Episode # 17 | A Report

 VISA Meet – Episode No. #17

23rd July 2025

Event Report: by Ms. Aleena Johnson

[Intern, Office of International Programmes]

The seventeenth episode of the VISA Meet was successfully conducted on 23rd July 2025 via the Zoom platform.

The event featured two distinguished alumni: Mr. David Rhenius D from the Department of Physics and Mr. George John Elias from the Department of Economics.

The Master of Ceremony for the session was Ms. Rishitha, Intern at the Office of International Programmes. The session commenced with a heartfelt college prayer led by Ms. Rishitha herself, setting a warm and reflective tone for the gathering.

Dr. Samuel Rufus, Dean of International Programmes, delivered an inspiring welcome address, followed by an introduction of the guest speakers and coordination of the event by Dr. Nirmal Thyagu from the Department of Physics.

Mr. David Rhenius is currently working as a Physics teacher at Merryland International School, Abu Dhabi, while Mr. George John Elias serves as a Junior Analyst at Stratlinx Advisory, Abu Dhabi.

They spoke about the various opportunities and scopes for studying and working abroad, especially in the UAE, and shared insights on how to identify the right kind of placements. They emphasized that the UAE is emerging as one of the top destinations for both education and employment abroad, citing its demand for high-quality talent and government support for students and professionals.

They highlighted that the cost of education in the UAE is relatively lower than in many other countries and that scholarships are widely available. Moreover, they explained that the UAE's job market is highly diversified, not limited to the petroleum or oil industry.

A particular focus was given to the teaching profession in the UAE, noting that it offers excellent exposure to different cultures, attractive salaries, and good career prospects. They advised students to pursue regular degrees or a B.Ed. rather than correspondence courses, as the latter may reduce chances of securing good positions abroad.

They concluded their talk with a powerful reminder –

“Dreams are closer than we imagine — we just need to open our eyes and seek them out.”

The session ended with a lively and informative Q&A segment, moderated by Dr. Nirmal Thyagu, where participants had the opportunity to engage with the speakers and clarify their doubts. The Meet ended with the Vote of thanks by Ms. Shrestha, Intern, Office of International  Programmes. 

"No student is a lost cause" ❤️

Think Tank | The Staff Student Study Circle

23rd July 2025

[Report by Ms. Lekhaa M. S]

[Event Managers for the day: Ms. Aarthi and Ms. Vishnupriya]

[Official Blogger: Rakshaya G]

[Official Photographer: Samitha V]

Dr. Rufus started the session with a quick welcome address and an introduction to the topic of the day, “Bringing Back Academics to Academia.”

The debate began with Prof. Sujitha delivering a talk about dance as therapy. She is a classical dancer. She is not formally trained, but she reminisced fond memories of dance. She claimed that everyone who moves is a dancer. Dance happens when the mind and body are in harmony.

When everything is in harmony, it feels therapeutic. The discipline required for art and the techniques you learn distract you from the pain or cause of your depression. She also said that dance is a distraction, that the whole process or getting ready for the performance is a distraction. “One day we will dance in celebration. Until then, we will dance for a cure.”

Next, Prof. Angeline talked about how to bring academics back into academia. She touched upon the choice based credit system, stating that most departments don’t have any choices in their part 3 subjects (major and allied).

One problem that she pointed out was that students do not put too much thought into choosing their part 4 class (GC, ID, GE). She said that the student representatives in the Board of Studies should organize their thoughts formally and provide proper reasoning behind their suggestions. Further, she spoke of needs analysis, to cater to students’ needs better.

Through this analysis, her classes offer something skill-based and makes the content more relatable to students, she added.

Then, the Dean of Humanities propagated the idea of staff-student discussions so that the staff understand the students’ demands and needs. He also spoke of innovation within the University boundaries, relating to the number of credits allotted to each paper and the number of elective papers offered.

He reminisced about his days at MCC, where commitment came because of the fact that they chose their papers. He also said that if more elective papers are introduced, staff need to be willing to compromise and take on more responsibility to teach these papers.

Dr. Jojan quickly mentioned an idea of exchanging between teachers and smart classrooms, to take some load off the teachers.

Mr. Sivakesi said that smart classrooms are not used well, and that only Powerpoint presentations are shown, rather than websites or simulations.

Dr. Nirmal said that the overall affection to learning from students has reduced, stating that students only want to qualify and pass their papers rather than master the subject.

Dr. Samuel Rufus asked students what learning meant to them, and then talked about how the attention span has reduced, making five hours of class too hard for this generation of learners. He said that students should be taken out of the classroom and the learner should be taken back to learning.

Prof. Adarsh said that while there are no alternates for reading, new modes of teaching could be introduced.

Dr. Jojan suggested ideas like a reading club, film club, and a reading day. He also mentioned how students could learn easily, using sites like Coursera.

Ms. Srija then presented a talk about MUN. She stated the benefits of such an endeavor before moving onto the technical details of the proceedings of an MUN.

Mr. Sanjo presented a talk on ways to bring distracted pupils back to the benches. He started by talking about the Midday meals, which raised enrollment rates. This was because schools focused on the students’ demands.

He said that the system should find out what is stopping students from coming to class and tend to the root cause. He also stated that teachers should have some empathy and allow some grace time for students to reach class.

Further, he said that students should know the purpose of their classes, and that teachers should know what students expect from each course. He also said that technology should be treated as a tool rather than an enemy. The classroom should be transformed into an active learning space, with interaction and dialogue.

He also said that students should encourage their peers to come to class. “No student is a lost cause,” he concluded, saying that staff should listen to students and not judge.

Ms. Keren then spoke about whether this generation of students and teachers were really lost. Her main points of discussion were the generation gap, training for professors, clubs for professors and students for entertainment and informal chats, mutual respect and bonding, and interactive classes. She also said that students should make an effort to approach the teachers.

Dr. Jojan concluded the discussion by saying that teachers should know the background of the students, because how students are treated will stay with them far longer than what they have been taught.

The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms. Daphnie.

Think Tank @ MCC | Cordially Inviting You... ❤️

22nd July 2025

Dear All,

Sub: Invitation for Tomorrow’s Edition of Think Tank – The Staff-Student Study Circle – Reg. 

Cordially invite you for tomorrow’s [Wednesday, 23rd July 2025] edition of Think Tank – The Staff-Student Study Circle, at 3 pm, at Writers’ Nook, MMIP.

The theme for tomorrow’s discussions is –

“What ails academia? Bringing back academics to academia: Reassessing the Purpose and Pathways to Excellence”.

Prof. Sujitha, Assistant Professor of French, and a renowned Classical Dancer herself, will be giving a talk on ‘Classical Dance as Therapy’.

Prof. Angeline, Assistant Professor of English [SFS] will be giving a talk on ‘Bringing academics back to academia’.

Ms. Srija Dutta, II MA History, who’s been an active participant of Model United Nations, is presenting her ideations (continuing the ideations done by Ms. Tejaswini last year), in coordination with Prof. Vijay Adarsh.

Mr. Sanjo Thomas, III BA Economics, will be giving a talk on “Ways to bring back distracted pupils to the benches”.

Ms. Keren Susan Ebenezer, III BA Economics, will be giving a talk on “Do some wanderers really get lost? Is this generation of students and teachers lost?”

Ms. Aarthi KPB and Ms. Venkata Vishnupriya. D from I MA English, will be the Event Managers, coordinating tomorrow’s Edition of Think Tank.

Any of you interested in presenting your original, innovative ideations, may please get in touch with Ms. Lekhaa, on or before 9 pm today.

Looking forward to your participation.

Best wishes,

Dr. Rufus

Pitch Your Ideas, Get Marks @ MCC ❤️

MCC in Today’s Newspapers

21st July 2025

#newspaper 

Times of India & The Hindu

Two insightful news articles in today’s newspapers assume significance for the MCC community, for two unique reasons.

One is an article in today’s Times of India, that is highly appreciative of MCC’s move to make one internal assessment ‘ideation based’, with valuable inputs from our Principal Dr. Paul Wilson.

The other article is in today’s The Hindu, by our former Principal Dr. Alexander Jesudasan, that foregrounds a few salients on how Indian educational institutions can attract foreign students.

The article in Times of India –

To encourage arts and science students to come up with innovative ideas, Madras Christian College has decided to devote one of the internal assessments to assess the ability of students to ideate. Students can present their ideas at the open house conducted every semester at MCC-MRF Innovation Park in the presence of industry experts and domain specialists.

“Based on the evaluation of the experts, they can win an opportunity for receiving the seed fund to the tune of ₹1 lakh to validate their proof of concept. On the other hand, they can submit the evaluation in their department and get marks in place of one of the internal assessments,”

said Paul Wilson, principal of the college.

As part of the formative assessment, students have to give three internal assessments in a year.

“We are also thinking of giving an option for students to defer a semester to devote their time to the proof of concept or prototype towards venturing their startups while pursuing the degree programmes,” Wilson said.

It will not be considered as students having arrears. They will do internals and take semester exams one semester later.

Students can also take up innovation as one of the cocurricular activities during the programme. Students can devote up to 120 hours, like NCC and NSS, in a year.

The college is also conducting hackathons for students to shortlist potential ideas to incubate the innovation park.

“We are planning to conduct hackathons in medical tourism, functional foods, and waste recycling to select ideas to incubate at the innovation park,” said C Aarthi Ram, head, operations, MCC MRF Innovation Park.

Students can also directly walk into the innovation park with their ideas, and they will conduct crash courses for students to take their ideas to the next level.

MCC-MRF Innovation Park and TT Skills conducted a hackathon on logistics and supply chain.

Two student teams, Ruramed from MCC Boyd Tandon Business School and DROR Tech from MCC, were selected for incubation.

Three startups, FreshCon Agritech, Truckrr, and Ellan Tech, were also selected. These teams were awarded ₹1 lakh each,

says the article.

The second article in The Hindu goes thus –

 Welcome them here

 How Indian higher education institutions can attract foreign students

 R.W. Alexander Jesudasan

 For several decades, meritorious Indian students have migrated to pursue higher education overseas. The reverse — foreign students coming to India for education purposes — has largely been of short duration and to complete specific tasks.

In its 2022 notification, the University Grants Commission (UGC) encouraged the establishment of foreign universities in India and increased the number of seats in various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes by 25%.

The latter aims to enhance enrollment of foreign students in institutes of higher education in India. Further, the UGC has also asked institutions to adopt a smooth and simple admission process for international students based on the equivalence of entry qualifications.

In this situation, it is worth considering what can help attract foreign students to Indian varsities.

Strategies

The first involves strengthening our traditional arts and cultural studies with appropriate internships. Indian institutions should capitalise on the country’s history, culture and traditions by offering programmes and educational trips and exposure to the country’s diversity.

Another is the provision to appoint chair or research professors or professors of practice, especially with regard to indigenous technologies.

Foreign students can be offered internships in areas connected to local knowledge systems and the development of new products with the help of such specialists.

Thirdly, institutions need to upgrade the standard of hostels, as these vary depending on the institution. Attention must also be given to the creation of outdoor and indoor sports and recreation areas.

Fostering cultural exchange programmes is another way to attract foreign students to India. Apart from presenting various aspects of Indian regional cultures, institutions can also encourage foreign students to share details of the food, games, festivals from their own countries.

Finally, the most important part is scaling up the standard of higher education in our institutions, especially the course content and practical aspects of education. This will not only ensure that foreign students come to India but also encourage our students to stay back for higher education, research, and employment.

The writer is former Principal and Secretary, Madras Christian College, Chennai, and former Pro Vice-Chancellor, HITS, Chennai. Email alexjesu62@gmail.com