Harvard College in Asia Program
What did I do on my cultural exchange project on redefining leadership with Harvard University?
HCAP is Harvard's premier organization for US-Asia academic, cultural, and social exchange.
I was a delegate in a 7 person-team chosen from my college to represent India in the US leg of the conference for the theme of 'Redefining Leadership'. I was also the Head of Public Relations & Creatives to organize the Asian leg of the conference in India.
Who did I cover and where?
7
countries participated in the conference
2
cultural exchanges
1
anchoring theme of 'Redefining Leadership'
Harvard College in Asia Program (HCAP) was my first exchange program and it was the start to a keen interest in the cross-cultural aspects of human behavior. I was selected for the same as part of 7-person delegation from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, India to participate in this program. The theme for the year 2018 was 'Redefining Leadership'. We were to attend as delegates at the US leg to kick off the program, along with delegates from 8 universities across Asia. We were immersed in 2 weeks of seminars, guest speeches, and cultural exchanges. I was part of the organizing team for the Mumbai-leg of the conference, where we hosted a team of delegates from Harvard for 2 weeks with speakers from India who redefined the meaning of leadership.
*now called Harvard Undergraduates in Asia (HUAP)
What did I do?
What did I find?
This experience was monumental not only from a knowledge perspective, but also from one of sharing and learning about cultural nuances and nitty-gritties. We learned a lot from the speakers at Harvard, and also from speakers at St. Xavier's. The speakers ranged from army personnel, authors, actors, to social sector and non-profit leaders. The conference was enriched by also opening it out other schools and colleges, inviting all to attend. We also engaged the American delegation in Indian culture as well, by celebrating Holi, visiting Elephanta caves, taking long walks on Chowpatty beach, and Marine Drive, and enjoying great food near Bandstand.
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