Spotlight: Multiculturalism and Relocating

Jasmin Ali and Pratik Kate

29th September 2023

Relocating for a new job is a decision fraught with anticipation and trepidation, a pivotal moment in a person’s career journey that often entails leaving behind the familiar and embracing the unknown. Beyond its professional implications, this significant life transition carries a huge cultural importance that resonates on both personal and societal levels. It represents a fusion of ambition and adaptability, a narrative that transcends borders and captures the essence of human aspiration. Whether it involves crossing state lines, international boundaries, or even continents, embarking on a journey to a new place for the sake of your career is no small challenge.

This month’s article, I spoke with Pratik Kate and we delved into the multifaceted cultural significance of relocating for a new job, exploring past experiences and challenges that accompany this transformative decision.

Question 1: Tell me about your background.

Answer: So, my family background, well I'm the first graduate in my family and was pursuing engineering, but I decided to drop out and build my own startup at the age of 19. It was harder than I expected, and I tried to scale it up, could not. I was pretty young and my support system back in India at that point was not supportive enough for a startup to flourish. So, I did struggle for a couple of years. I eventually decided that I needed to gain more experience. Which is how my passion of building mobile labs started. This was also my first job in mobile app development as a career. I was very keen on solving challenges and liked more technical challenges, I had good grasping skills to learn things on Internet with minimum support or external support. So, I pretty much picked up mobile development and other technical stuff easily, and that's how I grew in my career. Through time I did have basic programming knowledge but during this time I self-taught from blogs and whatever material I had on Internet. For a long period of time while technology and things were evolving, I also worked in movie making and filmmaking. In regard to my family, my parents were government employees in India. My dad is retired now, but my mom is still working, so having them as parents has helped me understand the rule of gender diversity, because my mom was also earning so my dad had to support her in terms of household as well. So, I grew in that atmosphere, which is very rare in India. I also have a sister. She just completed her graduation too and she's going to be a lawyer. My parents made sure that we get a very good foundation of education, so they made sure that we were going to the best schools. They even compromised on their own living lifestyle, and my mom insisted on this. My parents never asked me to take engineering, medical or they never forced me into anything. My dad always said that it's your life. You have to figure out. But I know some Indian parents force their kids to live their dreams which they could not fulfil, right? My parents were always going to support me whatever I picked up.

Question 2: When did you decide to relocate and what was the thought process behind it?

Answer: Well, my daughter was one and half year olds, and at the time I never wanted to move outside India. I never looked for opportunities outside India either because I knew that I never wanted to leave my parents. But once I got married, and once we had a daughter, that's when things changed for me. Especially when covid started and I saw that India, like everyone around the globe was struggling even governments were facing major challenges everywhere. It was chaotic. So that's when I started asking questions to myself, that is this the country, or is this the environment? Where I would want my, a daughter to be raised? I started thinking from her point of view now, rather than being more selfish. One thing, which I was always sure was never leaving Mumbai because for me there's no better city in India. There's so much diversity, quite similar to London. You get to meet not only a local people from Mumbai, but diversity around India. So, I love that culture. But eventually I started thinking where I would want my daughter to grow up and I began list out different countries. The plan was for me to pursue my masters. The financial balance of my salary and my wife's salary, it just made more sense for my wife to continue studying. She’s also very good while studying. She's been the top of city and top of college. Whereas I'm very bad because I don't like the classroom learning. We decided that she'll move first, and I join her later. Then once I’d found a job we'll move as a family. Luckily, I found another job before King, where I worked for six months. But it was a very bad experience in terms of missing a daughter especially when she used to fall sick are we were here. We could not go back. There was no one to help. We have cried as mother and father, like we are helpless. We can't do anything and that's why we decided that we are going to do everything in our power to get her as soon as possible. I'm so glad that King is supportive in that manner. King has a very good inclusion policy also; they have a very good policy in terms of sponsoring visas and everything. They made sure that not only me, but my family also get sponsored.

Question 3: What would you say are the main three differences between India and the UK?

Answer: Well firstly we have a lot of tube connections. In London, we have so many I don't even remember how many of them there are. In India we have three or four so that that's one major difference. Second difference is food for sure. Mumbai has better street food or better local food options, which is not the case in London. It’s also very expensive in London in terms of what we earn, and the cost of food outside compared to Mumbai. In Mumbai you would ever sleep on an empty stomach. You will always have an option, regardless of which part of society you are. The third difference to me is I think that India is way more developed than people who have never been. It's not full of poor people. Poverty looks different in London and people will walk on by with no regard for them. In Mumbai its like a reality check to remain humble and help where you can.

Question 4: What made you want to join ABK?

I was looking for opportunities in the market and one of the recruiters reached out to me. I was not familiar with the name King, but I did play Candy Crush a lot. But in general, I’ve always been a gamer and played since I was 14. Then one day in our engineering session while studying I was playing a game after I finished a particular assignment. The invigilator came to me and asked, “why are you playing games when you should be creating games? Like you have that capability. You are a good student in terms of you understand how to write programs and everything. So don't waste your time in playing games see if you can create one.” So that's where my interest about creating things started. After that, I picked up a lot of simple game development languages and I built a game which I played with friends. It was a mobile game and grew into a part time hobby. I played action games, racing games mostly. But the game which I created got a chance to presented in the National Conference of Games, which happens in Hyderabad. I even went from Mumbai to Hyde Park to showcase that game.

Question 5: How did you hear about Kaleidoscope (Multicultural Network at King) and what made you want to get involved?

From the first day during my orientation, they spoke about it. Kaleidoscope’s name resonated with me. So, I figured out what the group is about, who was involved. Since it was about culture, diversity, and I saw a lot of Indian people are there, I thought it would be a good entry point for me to get to know people at King. That's the reason I joined it at first, so I could meet other Indians. But then I heard about the leadership and how I could participate more beyond just being a member of Kaleidoscope and I thought it's a good opportunity to connect with other people as well and not only Indian community. Fundamentally I believe work is a very huge part of anyone's life especially when you spend so much time there. So, if I am given an opportunity to influence the culture of the organization where not only I am happy in that organization, but I can play a role to improve the culture for anyone else in that organization, I would jump on the opportunity.

Question 6: What do you think can be done to improve diversity within the gaming industry?

Answer: So, to start with my perspective might be different in terms of how lot of people in the industry are approaching issues to fix this gap. I feel a lot of industry are having bottom to top approach, where they are trying to build a diversity at bottom level and slowly, slowly, it's going to eventually reach the top. But I think we can also work top to bottom too. We need more women leaders in those positions to understand and influence working policies because male leader cannot understand those challenges in the same way. So, I think once the industry sees that happening at the top level, things will change faster.

My Thoughts

As we navigate geographical and cultural boundaries in pursuit of our professional dreams, we don’t just enrich our own lives but also contribute to the dynamic mosaic of global diversity. Relocating for a new job is more than just a career move; it is a celebration of our collective resilience, adaptability, and the unyielding spirit that drives us to seek out new opportunities. Although relocating to a new country can be an exciting it’s also extremely challenging. Supporting a friend who has made such a significant life change is both compassionate and meaningful. As always here are three tips to help your friend when they have relocated countries:

· Stay in Regular Contact: Make an effort to maintain regular communication with your friend through phone calls, video chats, emails, or social media. Consistent contact will help them feel connected to their home country and provide a support system during moments of homesickness or loneliness. Be a good listener, allowing them to share their experiences, both positive and negative, without judgment.

· Offer Practical Assistance: Moving to a new country involves a multitude of logistical challenges, from finding housing and understanding local transportation to dealing with visa or immigration issues. Offer your assistance in researching these matters. You can help them find resources, connect with local expat groups or communities, or even accompany them to appointments or errands when possible.

· Plan Social Outings and Cultural Experiences: Encourage your friend to explore their new surroundings and immerse themselves in the local culture. Plan outings together to introduce them to the local cuisine, landmarks, and traditions. This will help them acclimate to their new environment and make the relocation experience more enjoyable.