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IPSO India Conference "Interconnected Future: India and Georgia" The IPSO India Conference, "Interconnected Future: India and Georgia," was designed to engage the university community with a population of new Georgians who have an economic, social and cultural impact on our state. The Conference was the launch of the IPSO India Initiative that consists of various structural components to engage students, faculty and community members with the Indian population residing in Georgia through symposia, workshops, travel opportunities, professional development, and cultural presentations.
This two-day event was held at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education in Athens. A special lecture sponsored by the College of Public Health on April 2 kicked off the conference at the Paul D. Coverdell Center. On April 3, the conference ran from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, including a keynote and luncheon speaker, followed by a cultural performance and a reception. The conference covered four areas: political, economic, educational, and cultural aspects of India and how they relate to Georgia. Specific objectives of the conference included a focus on foreign investment in Georgia from Indian firms, Indo-American business relations for economic development, and educational partnerships for UGA and Indian institutions of higher education. Featured Speakers
"India and Public Health" College of Public Health Thursday, April 2, 2009, 6:00 pm Dr. Meera Narasimhan joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in 1998. After attending medical school at the Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal, India, Dr. Narasimhan completed her residency training in psychiatry at Yale University Department of Psychiatry and went on to complete a fellowship in psychopharmacology at Yale. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She also serves as an examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Narasimhan serves as the Director of the Division of Biological Research in the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. She is also the Director for Research Initiatives for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna Professor of Business Administration and President of the University of West Georgia, Dr. Sethna heads a university with approximately 10,200 students, 360 faculty, 22 percent graduate enrollment, nationally-accredited programs, national championship debate team, nationally-recognized Honors College, a total budget of over $100 million, and approximately 100 programs of study, including fifty at the Bachelors level and fifty at the graduate level (Masters, Specialist, and Doctoral). Dr. Sethna received his doctorate in Business from Columbia University. He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.
According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were a total of 1,678,765 Asian Indians in the United States. Asian Indians comprise 16.4 percent of the Asian-American community. They are the third largest in the Asian American population. In Georgia they number over 79,169 with the majority residing within the Metro-Atlanta area (54,000). Bringing it to the University level, there are currently 299 Indian students enrolled at UGA (76 undergraduates and 223 graduates), according to the 2007 UGA Factbook. They make up the third largest foreign student body by country of origin, following only Korea and China.
Of course, the above statistics do not underscore the ranking of India in the global competitive economy. Rapidly catching up to China in terms of economic growth and development, India has become a center of commerce for technology and pharmaceuticals. India recorded a GDP growth rate of 9.0% for the fiscal year 2007-2008, which makes it the second fastest growing emerging economy after China in the world. At this rate of sustained growth many economists forecast that India would, over the coming decades, have a more pronounced economic effect on the world stage. Understanding the Indian economic story is essential for Georgian students and community leaders who want to keep abreast of globalization issues relative to India and Georgia. Presentations from the Conference
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