After signing an MoU with  University of Calcutta to facilitate student exchange and research, Webster University Rector (Cha-Am Campus, Thailand) Ratish Thakur said: "For an individual student to go and experience the US system of education in USA is difficult and expensive. We are offering the same closer home in Thailand."

"When they [students from India] go and come back they come back with a different world view," said Ratish Thakur speaking to IBNS.

"American system is different, there are students who have heated exchanges with teachers and lot of debates. It is more participatory and students in India can experience that on our campus," said Thakur as Webster engaged with Calcutta University to exchange students, faculty and collaborate on researches.

Webster offers among others courses in ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Studies and Business Administration.

Thakur said: "ASEAN integration is getting lot of impetus. India is coming closer to ASEAN now."

He said: "We chose Calcutta University because of the proximity. We are creating an umbrella, to agree on certain things. The students when they come to our campus and classrooms can feel empowered."

"American system is different, there are students who have heated exchanges with teachers and lot of debates. It is more participatory. We offer that experience to Indian students," said Thakur..

He said students will come to their campus because Webster is over 100 years old, and have students from 150 countries.  "The faculty itself is drawn from 27-odd countries. We offer great cultural diversity and learning environment," he said.

According to Thakur, the world today is globalized and so the exposure of Indian students to sit with students from other countries will be a very enriching experience.

"They will see the world differently, gain different perspectives. Webster has multi-cultural environment and they will benefit from it," he said.

According to him, for Indian students it is an easy step to American education system since the Thailand campus is just a few hours from Kolkata.

"It is an Asian country and will be cheaper. You have best of both worlds [in Thailand]," he said.

"At the same time the student will not experience the harshness, there is no crime, it is a safe place and yet you get the same education," he said.

"It can be a stepping stone for Indian students," he added.

Webster is focusing on ASEAN and NGOs and with its offering of liberal arts courses, it emphasizes on churning out well rounded individuals.

Webster offers both major and minor courses on International Relations, Political Science, English, Philosophy, European Studies, Women Studies, Media Communications, International Human Rights, Music, and studies of Asian religions like Buddhism. MBA degrees are also offered.
 
The officials said diversity is a core value at Webster University. "Our student body represents people from 50 states and 148 countries around the world," said the university.

 The St. Louis, Missouri  headquartered university offers study abroad programs in Austria, Belgium, China, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand and United Kingdom.

(Reporting by Sujoy Dhar)