An Ambitious Initiative
He is doing a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry in a lab where research into carbohydrates might someday aid diabetics. Or where a treatment for influenza may be developed. He thinks Vancouver is the most beautiful city he has ever seen. He says he is both proud and happy to be here.

He is also exactly the kind of student Simon Fraser University is looking for as part of its strategy to establish more academic, cultural, and business links with South Asia and with local South Asian communities.

Sankar Mohan comes from a small city about four hours from Chennai in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state. After completing his undergraduate and master’s degrees, he worked for four-and-a-half years as an organic chemist with a pharmaceutical research and development company. When he decided to do his PhD he looked to Canada, specifically to SFU.

“I came to SFU because of the research that was being done,” explains the 29-year-old. “Also,” he says with a twinkle in his eye, “because my friends studying in Alberta said Vancouver was a much nicer place than Edmonton.”

The main academic draw is a program headed by Mario Pinto, chemistry professor and vice-president, research. He and his group are conducting research into synthesis and biological evaluation of carbohydrate-like molecules as potential inhibitors of glycosidase enzymes that play a critical role in the treatment of diabetes. Currently Pinto’s doctoral, post-doctoral, and visiting students include, in addition to Mohan, students from Mauritius, Fiji, Spain, Italy, China, Canada, Uruguay, Poland, and Iran, plus two others from India.

Mohan has high praise for SFU and says that he found his integration into campus life to be extremely easy. “The information they sent me before I came here was excellent so I knew exactly what to expect,” he explains. “I settled in very quickly because my lab colleagues made me so welcome. Mario arranged for accommodation, and even picked me up at the airport so I was ready to go to work on the first day.”

The multi-ethnic group works easily together both in the lab and in the small office that they all share. Mohan says learning about each other’s cultures is an important part of their international experience at SFU. They talk together at work and, with their spouses, socialize outside work – hiking is a favourite activity.

Mohan is married to Cynthia Gershome whom he met while working at the Indian pharmaceutical company. She completed her PhD in biochemistry in Germany and is living on the SFU campus with him while she waits to defend her thesis.

Mohan is impressed with the facilities at the university’s new Technology and Science Complex 2 building where the lab is located. Graduate students are taught right away how to use the powerful nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers so they can carry out their experiments on their own at any hour of the day or night. The chemistry department has two 600 MHz, one 500 MHz, and one 400 MHz NMR spectrometers. “In India we would have to give the samples to a technician and it might take a day or two to get the results back,” he says. “Using the spectrometers ourselves really speeds up our research and teaches us useful skills for the future.”

Three years into his program, Mohan looks ahead to doing postdoctoral work somewhere in Canada after he finishes his PhD, while the university looks ahead to attracting more students like Mohan to SFU.

The university also looks ahead to strengthening ties with one of the world’s fastest-growing economies through its India strategy. It will guide academic and community programming to support relevant research and education. The growing size and importance of Canada’s diverse South Asian populations, as well as India’s increasing influence, make engagement with the India diaspora key to SFU’s internationalization activities.

Student Mobility: Recruitment from India
The university provides student exchange agreements, field schools, internships, and co-operative work placements to encourage students from India to come to SFU and to encourage SFU students to go to India. Memoranda of understanding have been negotiated with eight Indian universities, technical schools, and companies, including Punjab University, the Omayal Achi College of Nursing, and the TATA Consultancy Services (TCS), the largest software consultant in the world.

Students at the annual Global Education Field School at Punjab University in Chandigarh completed a course based on service learning. The course allowed SFU students to teach at two schools in the poorest areas of Chandigarh. At one school, Sikhya, the Indian students were given disposable cameras and asked to take pictures of what they think Canadians would like to know about their life in India.

SFU is also looking to countries where there are large Indian expatriate communities, such as the United Arab Emirates. The university’s goal is to reflect local and global demographics in the number of Indian nationals on campus.

Curriculum and Academic Planning, Research, and Faculty Exchange
Punjabi and Hindi language courses are being introduced at SFU. The popular Punjabi 101 course at the Surrey Campus was a hit with students, including local politicians who enrolled so that they could better communicate with their constituents.

As well, SFU departments are being encouraged to host visiting scholars, researchers, and lecturers from India. There are also discussions leading toward an endowed chair in South Asian studies and possibly a chair in Punjabi language and culture.

Community Engagement
The establishment of the President’s Advisory Council on India is key to remaining responsive to local community needs. The council meets twice a year and comprises leading members of the South Asian community including businessman and former federal cabinet minister Herb Dhaliwal, MP Sukh Dhaliwal, MLAs Dave Hayer and John Nuraney, businessman John Halani, and Global National reporter Jas Johal.

This fall the university, in partnership with the City of Surrey, the Surrey Board of Trade, and other community organizations, held the first-ever South Asia Festival. Events included a celebration of South Asian culture, history, technology, sports, and dance; a business conference; and the SkyTrain South Asian Film Series that featured a community lecture with film professor Patricia Gruben, titled “Hollywood versus Bollywood: Contrasting North American and Indian Film.”

Business Engagement and Co-operative Work Placements
SFU is working with the provincial government to develop synergies so that provincial and institutional initiatives can mesh. This will lead to more co-operative education opportunities for SFU students in India and similar opportunities for students from India in Canada.

Looking Ahead
In 10 years it is envisaged that SFU will be involved in dual, concurrent, or joint degree programs with top Indian institutions; there will be a number of field schools each year; and exchanges will move a minimum of 20 students each way each year. In addition, it is expected that there will be active co-op work placements with key firms, Indian students will continue to be a vibrant visible presence at the university, the number of visa students will have quadrupled at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and undergraduates will have the opportunity to graduate from SFU with interdisciplinary certification in Indian or South Asian studies. Those students who don’t have the opportunity to go to India will still be taught at SFU by visiting Indian faculty. aq

Hoya crystal globe courtesy of Atkinson’s, Vancouver

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