University of Houston Reaches out to India House

By Vanshika Vipin

HOUSTON: India House, a comprehensive community center dedicated to providing the large Indo-American community in Houston a plethora of services including cultural, educational, healthcare, vocational and legal advisory, co-hosted an introductory evening with the University of Houston on January 29, at its O.P Jindal building. The bridge-building event was aimed at providing insights on the courses offered at the University of Houston, its fee structure, the faculties and the campus life to an audience of about 250 prospective students seeking admissions.

The welcome address was delivered by Jugal Malani, India House President, wherein he encouraged students not only to dream, but to do so with a conviction to achieve despite the real world obstacles. Dr. Richard Walker, the emcee for the programme, invited Dr. Renu Khator, Chancellor UH System, University of Houston to share her experiences as the chancellor of one of the finest universities of Houston.

‘The rich history of University of Houston dates back to its foundation in 1927. Through the years, it achieved excellence in education through the wide range of courses that it kept offering, ranging from conventional subjects like business, law, architecture and pharmacy to artistic subjects like  liberal studies, art, music to pure sciences like Mathematics and Natural Science. With more than 300 undergraduate and graduate programmes budding under their 12 academic colleges, University of Houston is a major public research and a teaching institution catering to more than 40000 students annually’ said Dr. Khator while elaborating on the legacy of the university in her keynote address.

The UH team took over the programme later by familiarising the prospective students on various courses available, their USP, financial structure and availability of various scholarships and grants.  Anushah Ahmed from UH, guided the students on the financial structures and aids while Jeff Fuller, team UH, gave a quick heads up on the admission procedure. The representatives from the division of students’ affairs shared the details on the vibrant campus life at University of Houston that included its sporting tradition, a diverse art and cultural scene and social life beyond the curriculum. Widely known for its multiple cougar traditions, University of Houston is a thriving hub of sporting activities.

In an exclusive conversation with Dr. Renu Khator, she shared “We came to India House with a team of 40 staff members to impart information on the courses available at University of Houston. Community engagement has been at the forefront of the value system of our university. We believe in providing quality education that not only makes our students exceptionally skilled in the domains of their choice but also makes them ready to face the real world situations. Houston is the 4th largest city in the USA and has a robust economy. It is only natural for the city students to select a reputed university like UH in the same city”.

The prospective students not only received a thorough orientation of the academic programmes at the various information booths but were also pleasantly surprised to receive four door prizes that were sponsored jointly by Jugal Malani and the University of Houston. The dinner was provided by Dawat Catering, a division of Madras Pavilion. At the end of the successful evening, India House President, Jugal Malani said, “Students indeed gained significant information on the admissions, courses, fee structure, aids and the robust campus life at the University of Houston.”