Capacity building through cross cultural skills among engineering graduates of India: A case study of cross cultural skills course at BITS Pilani

Abstract

Multiculturalism being a global reality of the present world, it has become imperative to develop Cross-Cultural Competence (CCC) to become successful as a professional and function effectively as an individual in personal and social interactions. Considering the fact that India with 60 percent of its population being under 25 years of age, it must educate its young generation to succeed in a globalized world. Another vital fact that endorses the need for change is revealed in a study, which states that about 20–33% of the 1.5 million engineers who pass out every year in India, run the risk of not getting a job at all. Among the multiple reasons for their being unemployable, one of the strongest is their lack of exposure to “other” cultures and their nuances that makes it hard for the leading MNCs to hire them. Keeping these facts in mind the present study argues the need for capacity building of engineering graduates through cross cultural skills. This paper recommends a course on Cross Cultural Skills to be offered to engineering students in order to inculcate in them the desired global competency among them. Besides this, the paper also discusses the different types of activities and tasks that are done in Cross Cultural Skills (CCS) classroom at BITS Pilani with a view to grooming students as effective University ambassadors. It also shares the feedback given by students to highlight the need for developing cross cultural skills and the success of the training during the course.