U.K. has a lot to offer in higher education

Updated on: Tuesday, August 04, 2009

The United Kingdom has a great tradition in higher education. The names Oxford and Cambridge bring into our mind an image of excellence in learning and research.

The latter celebrates its 800th anniversary in 2009; the former dates further back. In fact the U.K. offers much more than these two pillars of strength. No wonder, the UK has been one of the most popular destinations for international students for se veral decades. Further, the style and structure of educational organisations in the U.K. has been an inspiration for many countries including India.

There are a stunning variety of programmes with a wide range of courses to suit every taste and talent. Many programmes enjoy a world-class reputation for quality. From the point of view of Indian students, the medium of English language is a matter of great convenience.

The universities stress on student-centred work in contrast with what happens in most of our institutions, where teachers often function as the prime source of information and knowledge.

Self-study, academic discussions in the classroom, students’ presentations, and continuous assessment of students’ performance in the U.K. centres ensure fine quality of learning. There is scrutiny at every level. The analytical skills and problem-solving abilities of students come to full bloom as a result of directed learning. This enhances their professional capabilities and employability.

The number of Indian students in the U.K. is nearly 25,000 next only to those from China. The number of students moving to that country right from the colonial days is even now on the rise.
Identifying your institution

There are very efficient search systems for finding the institution and programme that suits any candidate. One option is to log on to the web site www.ucas.com (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). This has been designed to help candidates who desire higher education in the U.K. When you go to the “course search”, you will find the courses arranged alphabetically, say from accountancy to zoology.

You may then click on the subject of your choice, say Avionics. This will take you to a long list of related programmes arranged under the heading of each university. If you click on any one of the programmes under a university of your choice, you find comprehensive details of the programme displayed—what the programme offers, degree offered, duration of the programme, course content, teaching style, potential job positions for the graduates, entry qualification, application deadline, starting date, rates of fees, bursary and scholarship outline and contact particulars. You can continue the search until you arrive at a programme/institution that suits you. Thereafter you may get in touch with the concerned admitting authorities.

Through the institution guide link in the same site, you can find further details of your preferred institutions, and the mode of applying for admission to each of them.

Another useful site, www.educationuk.org, can be used for programme /institution search. Links such as the following are available for ease in the search process.

•Type of course: GCSE, A-levels, Career-based/ Vocational Access and foundation, undergraduate, pre-Masters, postgraduate, MBA

•Subject keyword

Type of attendance: Full Time / Part Time, Distance / Online

•Location

Institution search: Higher education institutions; further education institutions; independent colleges; Accredited English Language Organisations; Boarding schools and colleges

•Independent school search

•Career-based and pre-university

•Undergraduate search

•Postgraduate learning

•Scholarship search An important point to be borne in mind is that you should confirm the data collected from the web sites by directly contacting the admitting authorities of the concerned institutions, before proceeding further.

Every web site may not necessarily show the latest information. The search through the Internet is only a means to gather basic information for planning your overseas education. So also, it is desirable that you verify the claims of the institutions with regard to their merits and achievements furnished on their web sites, before your final decision. It is often said that identifying an institution and programme of study should be done with the same care and caution as in deciding one’s life partner.

If you are interested in the latest statistical data relating to the number of students in each stream of studies and employment potential in each stream, as a tool for deciding your programme/courses of study, you may visit the site www.hesa.ac.uk MBA in the U.K.

An MBA in the U.K. has the advantage that in many centres it can be completed in one year as against the usual two years in India. The duration may be a bit longer in some of the schools. Fresh graduates are not encouraged to join the programme. The business schools often expect professional experience of three or more years, though there may not be such a tough clause in the eligibility write-up. You may be around 25 -30 years as you enter the programme. Accreditation of the school/programme can be obtained from the web site of the Association of MBAs- www.mbaworld.com. The site gives you the details pertaining to accredited MBA, DBA, MBM programmes, indicating the type such as full-time, part-time, modular and specialist. You have to raise several questions before you jump into a business school/programme. Questions such as which location, school, programme, which specialisation is most desirable taking into account the current market value, how I should identify my best option, how I should proceed with the application procedure, how will I meet the expenses, and what career prospects awaits me after I secure the MBA.

Some of the good business schools in the U.K. are—London Business School; Said Business School, Oxford, Manchester Business School, Warwick Business School, Cranfield Business School, Edinburgh Business School, Edinburgh University, Imperial College Business School; Ashridge Business School; Nottingham Business School; Strathclyde Business School; Bradford Business School; Leeds School of Business; Lancaster University Management School.

U.K. has a lot to offer in higher education

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