Bhubaneswar: The mayor of Cupertino in California, who is on a visit to the city, on Monday opened the doors to academic cooperation between the two cities through a student exchange programme.
Savita Vaidhyanathan, the first Indian-origin mayor the US city, is in the state capital to promote cultural ties with Bhubaneswar.
Students of middle school, or secondary sections, will benefit from the exchange programme, which is a part of a sister city initiative. Vaidhyanathan, who interacted with civic officials at its headquarters here on Monday, mooted the proposal. According to the proposal, students from Bhubaneswar will travel to Cupertino and vice versa, creating and strengthening the bond between the two cities. Cupertino and its other sister city, Toyokawa, Japan, already have a student exchange programme. As part of the programme, middle school students from Toyokawa travel to Cupertino with their guardians each autumn. They visit various schools, tourist places and interact with local residents. Sources said a similar programme would be replicated with Bhubaneswar.
Cupertino, home to the Apple headquarters, is known for its technology-driven applications across the globe.
Apart from that, civic commissioner Krishan Kumar also proposed three other areas of cooperation between Cupertino and Bhubaneswar. These areas are technology, heritage and cultural exchange.
He said the two sister cities could have better cooperation in the information and technology sector in the coming days. Dancers Sujata Mohapatra and Rahul Acharya, have already made a visit to the city to demonstrate Odissi techniques and performed at a show there. Students from an orphanage had also visited the city in the past.
"Information technology tools play a vital role today. It is necessary for better services to citizen, heritage conservation and tourism promotion. Bhubaneswar has got a number of historic monuments out of which 24 are of national importance. The tie-up in this sector with Cupertino will play a great role," Kumar said.
The municipal commissioner also spoke about the exploration of business and investment opportunities in the second Info Valley Project that has been planned on about 700 acres on the outskirts of the city. This is expected to open a floodgate of opportunities after Infocity at Patia.
"The sister city link that began in 2012 will go a long way in strengthening collaboration between the two cities, one of which has a rich knowledge and technology-based economy, while another has a golden treasure of ancient art, culture, heritage and unique architecture," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, defining Bhubaneswar's transformation as a smart city in the recent past.
