As the first Indian Indian IT firm to actively recruit British graduates, technology giant Infosys this week started its second recruitment round.
Kings College London, University College London and Warwick University are just some of the places the firm is looking to find potential staff.
Although Indian firms have been growing very quickly, companies are struggling to find skilled professionals at home to keep their businesses growing so now they are turning their focus overseas.
Marco Cullen is one of 25 British students that Infosys has recruited, as part of its hunt for global talent.
He had applied to a number of companies - and was even given an offer at British Telecom - but went with Infosys because of the company's international exposure.
"You get that kind of global experience that you wouldn't really get even if you worked for a global company back home," he says.
"All of your colleagues would be from your hometown and your area. It's a completely different job market here - and you get to see how things work in a new environment."
Gruelling schedule
For Marco and his English friends, that new environment means a four-month paid course where they will learn the basics of software programming.
"We want to hire young people who graduate from all parts of the world"
On graduation, they will be paid about £26,000 a year - a British salary that Infosys is giving to its recruits from the UK. Newly hired employees in India are paid in accordance with an Indian salary scale.
Learning alongside new Indian staff is a novel experience for these British students. Most had never heard of Infosys before they applied for this job, and for many it is their first visit to India.
But it is not just about travelling to exotic locations. The students face a gruelling training schedule of a nine-to-five working day, plus an exam at the end of each week - which means many an evening will be spent studying hard.
Their lecturers have studied all over the world - but are mainly from the Indian sub-continent.
Cultural divide
Meenakshi, head of programming and testing courses at Infosys, says that while there are few differences between Indian and British students, there are some hurdles.
"In terms of content there's not much of a difference. But in terms of clarity - yes, there is, " she says.
"I have to speak a lot more slowly for the British students so they can understand my accent - and there are a few terms that an Indian student would understand because he's gone through our education system. I need to explain these terms to British students.
"But on the whole - there is no difference in teaching these graduates. And every one is eager to learn so there is a healthy sense of competition in the class."
The students are expected to pass the test they take at the end of each week, and get only one shot at a retake.
But no one is complaining. For both Indian and British recruits it is an opportunity to work in one of the world's fastest growing economies.
Wider market
For Infosys, it is a chance to build a truly global workforce at a time when talent at home is drying up.
"We want to hire young people who graduate from all parts of the world," says Mohandas Pai, director of human resources and global recruitment.
"We have businesses in the UK and US and we want to expand there, so it makes sense for us to hire there to keep our global businesses running," he says.
"We bring these foreign students to India so they can learn the way we work and work alongside the rest of us and learn our culture.
"Its good for our business to hire from the local markets."
New horizons
At the end of the long working day, the British batch of students head to the campus club house to unwind. A friendly table tennis match gives the students a chance to mingle.
David Mort, 22, from Nottingham, says his friends and family were surprised he chose to work in India, but the change is "fascinating".
"It's a mix here at this campus between work and college, but I had never expected the campus here to be quite so impressive. Working out here is fascinating - it is a completely different culture from the UK," he says.
" It says something about India, doesn't it, that foreigners are coming here to work?"
Meanwhile, for British Asian Guarav Dhir, 22, from London, the move marks his first visit to Asia.
"I had heard of Infosys - and heard that it was a company that's growing rapidly," he says.
"The way I found out about it was quite funny. I was doing some research on IBM and Accenture - and read that Infosys was this new company that was creating competition for the big guys - so I thought, 'Why not work for the upstart?'
"Also it was a chance to come out to India - and I've always wanted to do that."
Global talent
But while British and Asian students study together it could take some work to get them to mingle.
"I've never met any of the new foreign recruits," says 21-year-old Alpa Shah from Pune University.
"But I think it's great. It's really very exciting if Indian companies like Infosys can attract global talent. It says something about India, doesn't it, that foreigners are coming here to work? We must really be going places."
British and Indian students will have to work together in the future and training is being provided for them to work in mixed classes so they can be part of Infosys' global operations.
Indian technology firms were the first to take advantage of low cost labour at home to do work for companies overseas.
Now, in an effort to stay in the game, they are heading out of India's shores to stay competitive.
India Business Report is broadcast repeatedly every Sunday on BBC World.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~31~RS~)