Bengaluru, Mumbai, Goa, New Delhi, and Agra

September 3 - 15, 2023

“It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in the self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in history, the only way of salvation for humankind is the Indian Way.”

- Dr. Arnold Toynbee, British Historian (1889-1975)

"There are some parts of the world that, once visited, get into your heart and won't go. For me, India is such a place... I had been seeing the world in black & white and, when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything re-rendered in brilliant technicolor."

- Keith Bellows, Former Editor-in-Chief, National Geographic Society

India’s extraordinary rate of growth and its more than one billion consumers make it a dominant force in the global economy that demands the attention of businesses across the globe. India is, in fact, the second most preferred country for foreign direct investment after China. Indeed, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry is predicting that “Indian-made products can fill much of the gap in the Chinese markets” as the trade war between China and the US escalates. Yet, India is fascinatingly unique in that it must balance its ambitions of global power and growth against the enormous development challenges the country faces with nearly 70% of its population living in villages.

Information Sessions

Date Time Room
Thursday, February 9 12 - 1 p.m. Pigott 202
Thursday, February 9
5 - 6 p.m. Pigott 103
Wednesday, February 21 12 - 1 p.m. Pigott 103
Wednesday, February 21
5 - 6 p.m. Pigott 304

Watercolor Indian Flag Map of India

Why India?

  • With one of the youngest populations in the world and an increasingly wealthy middle class, India is a part of the world that every business student must understand. There is no better way to do that than visit the country with expert faculty, interact with Indian business executives and students, and experience the culture and diversity firsthand.
  • Every large company in the Greater Puget Sound region has deep ties with India, either through subsidiaries or partnerships. Microsoft, Boeing, Google, Starbucks, Amazon, PACCAR, Expeditors… all have significant operations on the subcontinent. Spending time in India will help you in your job and job interviews with these kinds of companies.
  • India gives the opportunity to see how nearly 20% of the world actually lives and to understand the challenges facing a nation that is both technologically developed, but also deeply traditional and tied to a culture that spans 10,000 years.
  • Compared to other countries or locations that have a similar Western culture as the United States, India offers the opportunity to experience a part of the world that is very different. Traveling with a group of your peers and two highly knowledgeable and experienced faculty members is a great way to experience and learn about a stunning part of the world. You will forever be changed.

Indians are the Italians of Asia and vice versa. Every man in both countries is a singer when he is happy, and every woman is a dancer when she walks to the shop on the corner. For them, food is the music inside the body and music is the food inside the heart. ‘Amore’ or ‘Pyar’ makes every man a poet, a princess of peasant girl if only for second eyes of man and woman meets.

Gregory David Roberts Author of "Shantaram"
Students visiting the Taj Mahal

Students visiting the Taj Mahal

Video created by India Study Tour 2009 students

Company Visit to Hero Honda

Visit to Hero Honda

Religious Procession in Mysore

Religious Procession in Mysore

Joint Class at Christ University

Joint Class at Christ University

To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Strolling on the beach at Goa

Strolling on the beach at Goa

Yoga Class in Bangalore

Yoga Class in Bangalore

India 2009 Study Tour in front of Taj Mahal

India 2009 Study Tour in front of Taj Mahal

India
September 3 - 15, 2023

Bengaluru, Mumbai, Goa, New Delhi, Agra

Apply Now

Company Visit to Hewitt

Company Visit to Hewitt

Spice Plantation in Goa

Spice Plantation in Goa

Why the India Study Tour 2023?

Nearly 60 Albers students have visited India as part of the Study Tour program (2009 and 2011). There is deep experience and we work with professional local logistics experts to make this a five-star tour. We stay at luxury hotels to ensure hygiene and safety. All domestic transportation is in air-conditioned buses. We use domestic flights rather than rail or road transportation to ensure the best use of time.

The two faculty accompanying you are experts in their field, have traveled in India, and one of whom was born and raised in India.

You will have the unique opportunity to interact with fellow business students in India. We have already organized joint classes with undergraduate and MBA students at St. Joseph’s Colleges in Bengaluru and Jindal Global University outside Delhi, two of India’s top schools! Because all the students speak fluent English, you get to have direct conversations and one-on-one discussion about India. Very often, these students become your personal guides on the free days and take you around to all the best spots in town for food and shopping! And they become part of your global network.

Visit and speak with executives at influential companies across India. In the past, we have visited Boeing, Microsoft, Monsanto, Infosys, Aon Hewitt, Accenture, GE Healthcare, and a number of local organizations. In 2011, we even had a private 2 hour lunch in a small restaurant with child-rights activist, Kailash Satyarthi, who three years later was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Visit and speak with workers at local NGOs and understand the impact of modern technology on development and social justice projects.

Immerse yourself in a culture very different from your own. Visit a spice plantation, see ancient monuments, forts and temples, ride an elephant, experience amazing cuisine, see a Bollywood filming, and marvel at the wonder that is the Taj Mahal.

Pre-departure classes that not only prepare you for the visit, but provide meals, teach a bit of the local language, Hindi, and instruct you on the essentials of playing cricket!

Because the future is not in the West, but in the East.

Courses

As part of India 2023, we offer two credit-bearing classes.

MGMT 4940/5940 Technology, Business, and Society: The Unlikely and Miraculous Rise of India

(counts toward UCOR 3600 and GBUS 3200)

Dr. Madhu T. Rao, Department of Management

This class will examine the extraordinary rise of India, against all odds, as an economic superpower. No business major should graduate without a deep understanding of how to work with and within India.

This course has the following specific course objectives:

  1. Experience the conflict and promise of modernity meeting the richness of a 5000 year-old culture
  2. Develop an understanding of issues affecting the alignment of business objectives, and technology investments, and societal needs in a developing country.
  3. Assess the approaches American and local companies in India have used to access its human capital.
  4. Reflect on the ethical corporate and personal responsibilities of anyone working in and with India.
  5. Evaluate the role of business technology in meeting country development needs.

MGMT 4940/5940 Cross-Cultural Negotiation Skills: The Case of India

Prof. Tanner Humiston, Department of Management

Using India as the stage to explore, this course will develop our cross-cultural negotiation skills with a focus on understanding the impacts that history and tradition have on the partnerships that drive economic, technological, and social development. Overall, the course is designed to help you become more effective in the role of negotiator, advisor, team member, and leader in a globalizing world and international settings.

The course will provide the opportunity for you to:

  1. increase understanding of the principles, strategies and techniques of negotiation;
  2. develop the attributes and practice the skills of effective negotiators;
  3. understand the cultural impacts of negotiations;
  4. improve outcomes in negotiations;
  5. enhance problem-solving/critical thinking; and
  6. enhance cross-cultural communication skills

Registration and Cost

Program Fee: $2850

Fees Include:

  • Pre-departure class lunches
  • Accommodations throughout in luxury 5-star hotels
  • Meals
    • All breakfasts
    • Albers-hosted banquets for St. Joseph’s students and faculty
    • Some lunches and group dinners
  • Travel
    • All domestic flights (Bengaluru-Goa; Goa-Mumbai; Mumbai-Delhi)
    • All domestic road transportation by air-conditioned buses
    • Day trip to Agra
  • Tickets to various cultural sites, including Taj Mahal
  • Amazing fun, laughter, learning, and memories for a lifetime

Not included

  • International airfare
  • Books and reading materials
  • Meals other than those listed above
  • Tuition fees for graduate courses; no additional tuition for most undergraduates

Talk to your advisers about financial aid and scholarships.