BANGALORE: Heads turned when 14 broom-wielding students from the University of Minnesota hit the streets of Bangalore on Tuesday. And they had members of The Ugly Indians (TUI) for company. The group got down to cleaning heaps of garbage mounds from the footpaths of SBI Bank Road junction on Lavelle Road.

The students have been in the city since May 19 as part of a learning programme through Acara - an institute on environment, in collaboration with the College of Science and Engineering and Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.

Impact entrepreneurship program of the University of Minnesota.

An unusual sight that took Bangaloreans by surprise as 14 students from University of Minnesota and The Ugly Indian (TUI) took up brooms to clean up heaps of waste dumped on the footpaths of SBI Bank Road junction of Lavelle Road on Tuesday morning. It is an Institute on the Environment in collaboration with the College of Science and Engineering and Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

"What is most amazing is that The Ugly Indians don't seek recognition. Their idea is to put society into action, and this resonates with our idea of learning and putting knowledge to use for people," said Brian Bell , assistant programme director from the US varsity. Brian connected with the group through their work that has got some popularity off late.

The students from Minnesota are here to interact with government officials, entrepreneurs and agencies working in urban development, understand challenges in the Indian context, and find solutions. The varsity has its annual summer programme with the Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS).

"We have a mission of education plus impact. And to achieve this, we provide university students learning opportunities to design, pilot, and launch social ventures in the US, India, and East Africa. We have collaborated with TUI to engage in and solve civic problems of the city," he added.

In town till June 9, the students will focus on agriculture, slum development, environment and urban design and infrastructure. Bell said the cleanliness drive was an altogether different experience for the Minnesota students coming from different backgrounds like engineering, urban design, public administration and arts.

