Cabinet member from India tours Shoreline Community College

S. Ramadorai, Chairman of the National Skill Development Agency in India (left),
listens to Shoreline Community College Science Dean Susan Hoyne in the
college's CNC machining program room during a visit to campus on July 3, 2013.
Also listening are Mala Ramadorai (above, right and Diana Sampson,
Executive Director of International Education at Shoreline

By Jim Hills, Special Assistant to the President

Shoreline Community College

Mr. S. Ramadorai, Chairman of the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) with the government of India, met on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 with Interim President Daryl Campbell and other college officials and toured the campus and several programs. A member of the India Cabinet, Ramadorai advises Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on workforce related issues.

Shoreline Community College officials have visited India three times in the past year and now India has come to Shoreline.

Mr. S. Ramadorai, Chairman of the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) with the government of India, met on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 with Interim President Daryl Campbell and other college officials and toured the campus and several programs. A member of the India Cabinet, Ramadorai advises Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on workforce related issues.

“We are launching 200 community colleges in the next few years,” said Ramadorai, who is Chairman of Tata XLXSI and was appointed chairman of the AirAsia India airline on June 17. “It is an enormous job and we are looking for help and advice.”

With 600 million people under age 25, India is making it a priority to provide education and training for meaningful jobs. Indian officials have recognized the success of the U.S. community college model and the relationship between education and industry.

Shoreline Community College Interim President Daryl Campbell (left) and
Science Dean Susan Hoyne listen to S. Ramadorai, Chairman of the National Skill Development
Agency of India, during a visit to the Shoreline campus on July 3, 2013.

In November, 2012, Shoreline’s Samira Pardanani, director of admissions and immigration for international education, joined then-Gov. Chris Gregoire on a state trade mission to India. This past February, former Shoreline President Lee Lambert and Ann Garnsey-Harter, executive director of the virtual college and resources, went on a trip sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the government of India. Just this past week, Pardanani returned from another trip to India, this time as part of a delegation from the American Association of Community Colleges that also featured U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

On Wednesday, Campbell welcomed Ramadorai to Shoreline: “We’re happy to show you three of our programs that are highly successful for students and industry.

Science Dean Susan Hoyne led the group on a tour of the biotechnology, manufacturing and automotive programs. All three programs have job-placement rates of near 100 percent, she said. 

“The key is staying close to industry, listening to their needs and educating and training students to those needs,” she said.

Also participating in the visit were Pardanani, Executive Director of International Education Diana Sampson, Special Assistant to the President for Communications and Marketing Jim Hills and Ramadorai’s wife, Mala, who is a teacher and Managing Committee Chair of Citi Academy for Special Education in Mumbai, India.