Shiru cafe inaugurated its 6th store in India (and 25th worldwide) on the 15th of October for the IITR junta. The inauguration started at 11 a.m. with the ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by an introduction to what Shiru cafe is, and how the whole concept works by our Director Dr. Ajit K Chaturvedi and Mr. Kazuki Hakamori, the manager of Shiru Cafe, India.

Shiru Cafe is a Japanese cafe chain, the brainchild of Enrission Inc., based in Kyoto, Japan that provides free drinks to university students in exchange for personal data such as name, university, ID number, and year. Shiru’s form also asks for students’ IT skills and previous internships. It is run completely on funds by sponsor companies, meaning that students don’t have to shell out a dime to enjoy their cuppa. The underlying philosophy of Shiru cafe is to help students make their transition from academic life to the workplace easier and provide them exposure to global corporate culture. The business model is such that it relies on targeted advertising of sponsors to students based on their profiles and interests that they fill at the time of registration.

Open to all students and faculty members of IITR, Shiru cafe serves up to three drinks a day per person. In order to order anything at the cafe, one has to sign up with the cafe’s website. The place does not have a cash counter, so if you want a fourth drink, come tomorrow! Open from 10:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m, the cafe has 6 drinks to choose from Coffee, Tea, Lemon Tea, Lassi, Litchi and Mango juice.

The Director, Dr. Ajit Chaturvedi is pretty excited about the concept of the cafe, how it opens new avenues for interactions between Indian and Japanese students, providing international exposure. He is especially pleased with the location of the cafe, which is between the two lecture hall complexes, which is well suited to make the cafe a hub for academic discussions between students, tutors, and faculty. He wishes that whatever is unresolved after the classes and tutorials, can be discussed over a cup of coffee.

The Manager, Kazuki Hakamori expressed his gratitude for the joyful reception of the cafe by the campus. He mentioned that the cafe would serve as a bridge between students and Japanese companies, where students can gather to work, while also receiving information about future opportunities. “Students also have a great chance to get acquainted with the Japanese culture and incorporate these in their lifestyle,’’ he added.

When asked about the staff working in the cafe he told us that the staff consisted of University students enrolled here in an exchange program, who have their classes along with a quarterly shift in which they work at the cafe.

We also interacted with Mr. Adityaojas Sharma, a student here at IITR, who played a key role in bringing the Shiru Cafe to Roorkee. When asked about how did he get to know about the cafe and how did he manage to interact with the people of the enterprise, he told us, “ I heard about the Shiru cafe in IIT Bombay and thought that something like this could be opened in IITR as well. Soon I came to know about an email mentioning the proposal of opening Shiru cafe in IITR, some two years ago to the Institute Central Administration, which somehow didn’t pass at that time. So, I contacted the Dean Of Resources and Alumni Affairs and proposed the pros of having Shiru cafe here who agreed to this and thus, ended being the point of contact between the two parties.”

According to him, the whole vision of Shiru Cafe is to enhance the cultural exchange between the Japanese students and Indian students. It exposes the students to the very extensive technological corporate life of Japan. He also visions that this initiative could help further improve the placement and internship scenario of the campus by providing a tremendous platform to over 150 Japanese companies that are sponsoring Shiru Cafe. We asked him about his experience working on this, to which he mentioned, “It’s been great knowing these people and their culture. We have so much to learn from them. For me, it was a very special experience and I just wish that this initiative turns out to be a major success.”

To get drinks from the Shiru Cafe, one needs to register on the Shiru Cafe app, which is available on both android and IOS platforms. After registering you are all set to order for whichever drink you wish.

Talking about the first day of the cafe on IITR, there were huge crowds and delicious drinks all over. So, after an overwhelming response on day 1, Shiru Cafe has truly set its feet in IITR. By providing a platform like no other to the IITR junta, it is now time for the students to make the most out of this opportunity. We hope that each one of us benefits from this initiative.

Arigatou gozaimasu!

Image Credits: Shreya Agarwal, Shruti Gour