How does an Indian student find his way to Eindhoven? And what is it about the university that attracts students from the world’s second most populous country? Some students learn about TU/e through word-of-mouth, following in the footsteps of Indian students who’ve come before them. And for others, TU/e’s programs offer a perfect fit with their personal ambitions. “I had been looking to do a master’s in the US”, explains Hrishikesh Salunkhe, a Pune native and doctoral researcher in the Mathematics and Computer Science Department. “And, in fact, I was finalizing my application for the University of Texas at Austin when an Indian student here convinced me to look at the Embedded Systems program. I immediately decided to come to Eindhoven. It was exactly what I had been looking for.”

According to Nuffic, a Dutch organization for professionals in international education, approximately 900 Indian students are currently studying in the Netherlands and that number is expected to increase sharply during the coming years. Internationally, Indian student enrollment is expected to rise from 88,000 in 2012 to 209,000 by 2024 and a portion of that student population will undoubtedly find its way to the Netherlands and to our campus. The number of Indian students enrolled at Dutch institutions has been increasing by 10-15% per year over the last 5 years.

India boasts a massive and young population - over 1.2 billion people or 17% of the Earth’s population are Indian and more than 50% of those people are below the age of 25. Many of those young people will look outside India’s borders to further their education. One reason many Indians are interested in studying abroad is that none of the country's 950 universities are listed in the recently published Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. In contrast, the Netherlands has eight universities in the top 100. (TU/e was ranked 106.) “When I came here, there were four of us in my program and we were all from the same area of India. As the years have gone by, I’ve noticed more and more individual Indian students coming to TU/e instead of groups coming from one particular university, for example.”

Sindhuja Ajith, 24, from Chennai is a first year master’s student in the Mathematics and Computer Science Department and was pleasantly surprised when she began her program: “I had spoken to people who had done their masters here and they said I would probably be lonely. But I immediately saw so many Indians! We even have three Indian girls in Embedded Systems.”

A quick guide to strike up a conversation

Who is your fellow Indian student on campus? What’s his or her background, values and personal life like? Of course, Indian students are in many ways similar to their Dutch counterparts -they’re worried about deadlines, miss their families and wonder what their futures will be like- but there are also some significant cultural differences between the average Dutch and Indian student. So, in the spirit of community building, here’s a quick guide to just a few of those differences. Think of it as a good way to strike up a conversation the next time you meet an Indian student.

Like many Asian cultures, Indian culture values the collective above the individual, which is precisely the opposite from our way of thinking in Western Europe. Family, social ties and contributing to society are placed above individual ambitions in India so the independence of Dutch culture is one of the first things Indian students notice. “Dutch women are very independent”, says Sindhuja Ajith, explaining her own situation: “My parents have to pay the interest on a daily basis on a loan that they took for my education. If your parents are paying for everything, you have to study really well. I have a little more pressure than other students. As soon as I’m done with my studies, I have to go get a job so that I can help my parents.”

Bhaskar Patil has also noticed a difference: “From Day 1, you’re expected to be independent. We Indians are always asking for approval. For us, it’s out of respect. But in the Dutch way of working, the Indian way seems like you’re not taking initiative or you’re denying your responsibilities.”

Dating and arranged marriages

Though it may sound incredibly old-fashioned and even bizarre to many Westerners, the tradition of arranging a marriage is still very much the norm in India, where dating and even talking to a girl – like in Patil’s small home village- are almost completely forbidden And for many Indians, finding a spouse through an arrangement made by family (and sometimes with the help of a matchmaker) works incredibly well. India’s divorce rate is just 1.1% and the majority of Indians strongly believe that marriage is for life.

“My marriage is a love match but I had a bit of difficulty arranging it”, explains Hrishikesh Salunkhe. “I have many family members from the countryside and they were worried that if I married someone from a different caste, it would affect the matches they could make for their children.”

Unlike Hrishi, Bhaskar and Sindhuja’s spouses were picked for them (but with their ultimate approval), “I was always looking for an arranged marriage because it’s more comfortable for me and my family”, explains Bhaskar about his contentment with a spouse chosen by his parents. “In India, a marriage is always more than just two people getting married; it’s two families getting married. My family knows the people from my area much better than I do so they could make a good choice for me. With an arranged marriage, you know that you’ll get a person with a good education and a good family.”

“We wear this when we’re married in India”, explains Sindhuja as she points to a smudge of red turmeric powder in her hairline. “My Chinese friends asked me ‘Did you get hurt. Did you fall down?’ I said no, it’s religious. It just means I’m married and that I hope my husband lives a long life.” When asked about her marriage, she replies “It’s going so well - even better than either one of us expected! Now, when we see a couple with children, we get a longing feeling to have a baby of our own.”

Indian festival life

To be an Indian means to be a person who celebrates - a lot. Festivals are an integral part of Indian cultural life and, indeed, each calendar month includes multiple festivals with various social and religious significances. And for TU/e’s Indian students, like Sindhuja, missing out on these celebrations is a main cause of homesickness: “Of course, I miss my family and friends. But we also have a lot of occasions and I miss being a part of those. In India, it might be a festival but here I just have an exam.”

One of the most important, Diwali, will be celebrated on 23 October and represents the start of the Hindu New Year. It’s commonly known as the ‘Festival of Lights’ for the fireworks, small clay lamps, and candles that are lit during the celebrations. These lights are said to represent the victory of good over evil, and light over darkness.

Though the university’s Indian student population is making its mark on campus, the reverse is also true - each Indian student will take a bit of TU/e with them to their next destination, whether it’s here in the Netherlands or back to India. “My dream is to go back to do research and teach so I can help people the way I’ve been helped”, says Bhaskar Patil of his plans after his PhD program. Sindhuja Ajith wants to take away something more practical from her years in Eindhoven: “I’m going to take riding a bike back to India. Before I came here, I hadn’t been on a bike since I was in 7^th grade. Now, I ride a bike all the time.”