ACE conference in Pune

From 23. to 26. November, I was on ACE annual conference in Pune. This conference is a part of our internship program, and it’s a place where all our interns from India meet. Goal of the conference is education about the program, cultural sensitivity and creation of network among ACErs. Educational part was great, from my side I can say extremely beneficial. To say, I was quite lucky. In period of 7 days in India, I got the best business and cultural induction (some interns got it after few months), cause on the one place I got TCS executives (business perspective of the company), interns (their experiences in TCS and living in India) and Mrs. Shree (trainer in field of intercultural cooperation, great sessions about cultural differences and integration in Indian society).

After this, I got the exact framework for the next year! I know now where to go, what is expected from me, and know how to work with Indian people. Before that I was lost, didn’t knew what, where, how, why. It’s a different story now

This week, we evaluated the conference, and I got my first tasks. I’m starting with communication strategy creation and planning, so we can achieve our internship goals for the fiscal year. It just starts being more and more exciting

During the conference we had study tour. We visited Parvati temple, Osho meditation resort and TATA Central Archives.

The temples on Parvati hill are the oldest heritage structures in Pune. To get up you need to climb on the 103 steps (each step is about 2+ meters long). Here are some of the pictures I took with my Nokia :-).

Osho is one of the world famous meditation resorts and spiritual movements. It is established by Osho, guru that passed away in 80ies. It looks extremely nice, all buildings are in black color, all visitors had to wear maroon robes (during night it’s white). These rules were set by Osho. Also, if you are HIV positive, it is forbidden to join this resort. They even have tests on each 3 months (little discriminating, but that’s the rule). Almost all buildings are in the pyramidal shape, as you can see on the pictures. This is a place where you can simply relax and enjoy active meditations, to clear your body out of stress.

Here are some pictures.

I said to myself, I need to visit this place one day, only I need to save about 80 EUR per day:-).

One of the study tour highlights is for sure Tata Archives visit. During this tour we found out more about Tata history, how it all started with Jamsetji Tata, great visionary and entrepreneur, person that redefined industrialization in India. One striking fact is that company Tata&Sons (owner of all Tata companies, about 100 of them) is established as some kind of a charity fund, where about 60% of the profits from all Tata companies goes back in to the society! Huge amount of money is being invested back. That is a rarity in this profit making world, where each corporation seeks higher profits and wealth to its owners.

Jamsetji Tata believed that much of India’s poverty lies in lack of opportunities. In 1892 he established endowment for higher education, for talented young Indians. He saw future of India in three “ingredients”. Steel, mother of heavy industry, hydro-electric power as a cheapest energy source, and technical education coupled with research essential for industrial advance. Also, he gave half of his fortune to the Indian Institute of Science (14 buildings and 4 landed properties). This institute was established 4 years after his death, in Bangalore. One interesting fact is that Tata family didn’t wanted to give its name to the institute. They wanted other industrials to invest in it (cause it couldn’t be sustained only with Tata donations), and if it has Tata name, they will see it as a private property (and not invest), not as a common national good.

If you want to know more about the history of the Tata family, visit the official website.

At the end, after all of this events, might say I had a great time! Met a lot of people from TCS and learned essentials needed for my work!

You can see here picture from the official dinner.