Our first full day in Bangalore started and ended in the confines of our hotel restaurant. The first order of business, on this fine Wednesday morning, was a visit to Bosch, a world leader in fuel injection pumps. Bosch is a 125 year old company that is located in 37 countries, and currently has 3 lakh (300,000) employees throughout the world. Bosch has a very customer driven business model, and follow the mantra “I would rather lose money than the trust of our customer”. Once we arrived at Bosch we were treated to coffee, and three riveting presentations about the history of Bosch, their extensive product line and an overview of their factory setup. We were then taken around the plant floor. The organization, efficiency and cleanliness of their factory, as well as the visible pride in their work, were a testament to Bosch’s 125 years of continued success. The Bosch visit was a very educational experience for all of the fellows, however there was an ever present feeling of emptiness that lingered in the air. The feeling was removed once we headed back to the bus and Alkh was there awaiting our arrival to head on to our next destination.

 

Our second scheduled visit of the day was to inStem, which is the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, which works in conjunction with C­Camp (Center for Cellular and Molecular Platforms). This insitute contained some of the most academically gifted individuals that we have met our our trip thus far. This federally funded institute is not only equipped with the best biological minds in Bangalore, but is completely outfitted with state of the art analytical test equipment to facilitate a very wide range of research interests. While at inStem, four current phd students explained their research to our fellows, and to say they were all working on cutting edge research would not do them justice. They each took turns explaining the various elements of stem cell research that they conduct on a schmidtea mediterranea, which is a planarian used in their regeneration models. Their goal is to find out why stem cells are stem cells, and why other cells do not contain the same characteristics as stem cells. Also, they believe if they can fully understand the properties of stem cells then they may be able to draw links between their capabilities and their applications. The one unique aspect of this particular research facility is their desire to not only possess new innovative solutions, and publish papers, but to also see their students discoveries enter the commercial market. They have an entire department setup to patent their intellectual property and assist their students and faculty in the transition from the lab to the marketplace. After a our very worthwhile visit to inStem, the next docket on the agenda was a rendezvous with our old friend McDonalds.

 

The most popular item that the fellows consumed was the Maharaja Mac, India’s version of the Big Mac. Of course this was equipped with two all beef patties, but instead two very seasoned chicken patties. It had a very different flavor than a Big Mac, but still contained that McDonalds feel to it. I thought it was delicious. The fries and McFlurry were very similar to what you’ll find in the States, however I was not brave enough to try the Crispy Veggie Poppers, and as I type this they sound decent enough, however the the picture provided on their “Happy Price Menu” did not appear appetizing.

 

The night was wrapped up with the fellows meeting to discuss the direction of our study abroad aspect of our capstone project. I’m happy to say that even with 14 different minds analyzing the varying aspects that India offers our possible program, we all seem very inline and on the same track as to what we would like to see out of the program. It was a very civil and productive meeting. One more day in the books, and I’m McLovin it here in Bangalore.

 

Chris