"Sciences Po prepared me for challenges"

Anjuli Pandit is a 2013 graduate from the Master in International Public Management at Sciences Po, Paris School of International Affairs. A few months after graduating, she became the Manager of Public Affairs at Tata Sons in India, a company and a country to which she already had a special attachment.
While visiting Paris, she dropped by to say hello. We seized the opportunity to learn a little more about this vibrant and promising alumni.

Before we investigate your professional path, can you tell us about your personal history?
I had a kind of gipsylike childhood. I was born in America, but I left at the age of one. My father worked for an oil company, so I had the chance to travel a lot, to go to international schools, to see the world…After I graduated from the University of Miami in 2007, I went to study in Prague to become a teacher. I wanted to be a teacher because it is a profession in which you can work anywhere.So I was in Prague, my parents were in Kazakhstan, my friends were everywhere on the planet and I felt I didn’t belong anywhere... I never felt American, I used to go to India every year, but I didn’t know a lot about the country… So at 22, I decided to find my roots and I moved to India.

So you moved to India in 2008. Does your history with Tata start at the same time?
The same year I moved to India, Al Gore launched his Climate project there. I had worked with Al Gore in Miami, and I really wanted to work with him again. I called his office and he hired me onto his Indian team!
 
Working for this project, I learned a lot about social and environmental issues, and I met many people including the CEO of Tata Consulting Services, Mr. Ramadorai. I interviewed him on the role of their industry on Climate change, and I really liked his ideas. A few months later, he hired me and we created a new business unit called “Eco Sustainability Services”. It was a new unit, I looked after marketing, communication, policy advocacy, etc. I travelled around the world, meeting CEOs of big companies, stakeholders, NGO’s… 

I did this for 2 years, but  wanted to understand policy, negotiations, governments… I wanted to learn from scratch because you can’t work with governements if you don’t know how they  work.

So I did a Master in International Public Management at Sciences Po, at the Paris School of International Affairs. After I graduated from Sciences Po, I called Tata again. I had loved my first experience at Tata, I really appreciated their ethics and the culture of this company.  So I talked to everyone telling them “I want to work with you!”. And it worked!

Can you tell us about the reality of your mission at Tata?
I work in the chairman's office of Tata Sons at the group center of the Tata Group. I support public affairs from the chairman's office in Europe, Middle East and Africa. I coordinate with our local offices there and our group companies based in India to find ways for us to develop our brand presence in important international markets.

I am in France at the moment because Tata considers France to be an important country
where it can develop relations with partner institutions, French companies. Economics is important to developing diplomacy so I would love to participate in bringing the two countries closer together.

Why did you choose Sciences Po to “learn from scratch”?
Education in America is too structured and too expensive. I didn’t get good feedback from US universities. Their educational framework was too structured  for me, and I was not structured enough for them! So I thought Europe was more open. 
When I entered the courtyard of Sciences Po, I heard so many languages, I saw cheerful students... I was impressed and I loved the atmosphere. I decided to apply for a Master in International Public Management and I passed the exam.

What did you take away from your time at Sciences Po?
If I had to sum up my studies at Sciences Po, I would focus on four points:
First, I learned to work very hard, to multitask and to manage multiple responsabilities in a short time frame.
Then I took advantage of its immense network. I did two internships, one at the International Energy Agency, and another at the White House in Washington DC. Sciences Po gave me the opportunity to meet so many professors, experts and practitioners, in so many sectors, so that I could see which sectors need people and where I would best fit. 

Eventually, I found exceptional multicultural people at Sciences Po. It is not something you find in other universities.

How is it to be a young 28 year old woman in India? What kind of relationship does India foster with its youth? 
It means something different to be a woman in India than it does in the US or Europe. It doesn't necessarily mean more or less discrimination or road blocks, but it takes some adjustments to adapt to the local culture and expectations while also keeping your spirit and value system.

I think India is the only country where I can have such a carreer at my age. Moreover Tata gives me a lot of training, because they know I’m young.
India is like New York, it is full of energy. Everytime friends visit me in India, they are impressed by the dynamism in the air. My Indian friends do what they want, India is a place where everything is possible, especially Bombay. 


Watch Anjuli's TedX (in French)