Are International Schools Fooling Themselves With Industrial Visits?
International Schools and Their Industrial Visits – Are We Really Preparing Students for Reality?
Recently, with one of our collaboration partners, we took over 100 students (grades 6 to 9) from an international school on a series of industrial visits to more than 10 organizations. On the surface, everything looked impressive. Principals joined, retired scientists gave motivational speeches, entertainment industry figures shared emotional stories, certificates were handed out, and parents felt proud that their children were learning something “different” during the holidays.
But here’s the uncomfortable question: Did the students truly learn anything meaningful? Or was it just another polished, feel-good exercise designed to make schools look innovative and parents feel satisfied?
Industrial Visits or Just Excursions?
Most industrial visits today are not much different from school excursions. Students walk through workplaces, listen to well-rehearsed presentations, and take home certificates. We can “cook up” impact stories — but does that actually prepare them for the realities of life and business?
True learning doesn’t come from watching. It comes from doing.
What True Exposure Should Look Like
If we are serious about preparing students for the real world, we must go beyond the surface and give them hands-on challenges, such as:
-
Making cold calls to experience rejection and persistence.
-
Fixing meetings, pitching ideas, and facing real negotiations.
-
Thinking on paper and solving actual business problems.
-
Understanding the sweat, politics, and biases (including caste and favoritism) that influence promotions and funding.
They should be exposed to the backstage truths that shape industries and society, such as:
-
How real estate companies earn money, how banks provide loans, and how some loans are quietly written off.
-
How politicians trap the public in endless cycles, changing styles but never the core narrative.
-
What tax havens are and why they exist.
-
Why inflation silently eats away wealth, yet most people ignore it.
-
Why divorce laws and alimony exist, and how these systems can be made fairer.
-
How insurance firms and green companies truly survive, and the tough challenges behind them.
This is the kind of unfiltered reality that truly builds resilience, awareness, and real-world intelligence in students.
Are We Just Polishing the Surface?
International schools often promote industrial visits as innovative initiatives, but let’s be honest — in most cases, they are designed for optics. Yes, it’s better than kids spending holidays glued to screens. Yes, parents feel good about it. But if we are serious about shaping the next generation, we need to go much deeper than photo ops and certificates.
India is not in a position to say, “This is a good start, and it’s enough.” We need structured mentoring and experiential learning models that integrate AI, design thinking, and real-world problem-solving.
The Problem with Who We Bring In
-
Are actively solving real problems in today’s fast-changing environment.
-
Understand when to step in and when to let students figure things out.
-
Are challenging the norms rather than repeating outdated playbooks.
Without this, we are simply recycling hollow experiences under the label of “industry exposure.”
The Future of Learning
Imagine a different kind of industrial visit — one where students are not passive observers but active participants:
-
Designing business models and solving live problems.
-
Simulating real-world tasks like pitching, negotiating, or even strategizing for a company.
-
Learning the uncomfortable truths of how economies, politics, and industries work — raw and unfiltered.
This is what true education would look like: preparing students not just for exams, but for the complex, messy, and dynamic realities of life.
Final Thought
Industrial visits sound good on brochures, but until we turn them into real, experiential learning programs, we’re just fooling ourselves. It’s time to stop polishing the surface and start building real exposure, real mentorship, and real learning.
Comments
Post a Comment