INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

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CENTER AT IUPUI HELPS ENSURE FOREIGN RACING FANS ARE TREATED TO HOOSIER HOSPITALITY

INDIANAPOLIS - When an expected 25,000 visitors from other countries converge on Indianapolis for the U.S. Grand Prix this weekend, they'll experience Hoosier hospitality flavored with international savvy, thanks to the Indiana Center for Intercultural Communications (ICIC) at IUPUI.

ICIC, part of the School of Liberal Arts' English department, provided language and intercultural training for about 1,000 volunteers and hotel, restaurant and bank employees as part of the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association's preparations for the city's first Formula One race.

Officials expect the prestigious race will attract visitors who speak German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese to Indianapolis.

A mix of people, cultures and languages invariably can create misunderstandings and disappointments that hamper positive relationships in social or working situations. ICIC's mission at IUPUI is to facilitate local global connections such situations by developing and extending expertise in intercultural communication and language for specific purposes.

"Employers come to us and say, 'Here are the problems, challenges we are having in our corporation, our workplace,' then they ask us to design training to overcome those challenges," said Mary Theresa Seig, ICIC assistant director.

It is the center's ability to provide such tailor-made training programs that draws employers and clients to the center for assistance, Seig said.

"They aren't getting some generic training that comes off the shelf, they're getting specially designed training that targets their needs," Seig said. "I never design the same project twice."

ICIC staff designed and conducted the protocol training provided for the Formula One hospitality volunteers and the service workers. The training included a simulation game in which participants role-played situations involving residents of a fictionalized culture trying to give directions to tourists from a totally diverse background.

Indianapolis residents who participated in ICIC's Formula One training sessions aren't the only Hoosiers to benefit from IUPUI training related to the U.S. Grand Prix. Students enrolled in a four-hour course offered last month through IUPUI's Continuing Learning Network received an overview of what happens during a typical Grand Prix weekend, along with an introduction to the cars, drivers, and the folklore associated with the racing series.

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