Foreign focus

Updated on: Thursday, May 13, 2010

Kolkata: Engineering and business remained favourites, but there was an increase in queries for international relations and fashion design at a study abroad fair organised by Edwise Overseas Education Consultants on May 10.

Twenty universities and institutes took part from the US, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Canada took part. The event was well attended with seminars on issues such as courses, visa procedures and education loans being held every 30 minutes.

According to the delegates, MBA and engineering are the most popular courses among the Indian students. But they also added that this was changing with more students are opting for courses such as forensic science, fashion designing and international relations.

Some institutes had courses for the average student. “We have courses for average students from India such as Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, which have introduced this year,” said said Annabelle Gibson, Admissions Assistant, De Montfort University, UK, adding that they expect a good response from the city.

Most of the universities asked for a minimum of 55% in the HSC exams and at the undergraduate level. But this requirement varied depending on the boards the students have appeared from. Students from Calcutta University had lower cut-off marks than other institutes.

“I really liked Birmingham University and Northumbria University. This fair was of great help and I am planning to apply to these universities,” said Navraj Nandi, a student from St Peters College, Chennai, who plans to study mechanical engineering in the UK.

Ajay Sukhwani, Director, Edwise, said, “This was one of the biggest education fairs held till date in Kolkata. We had good response from students here and most of them got what they were looking for. The delegates were also happy as they found the students really knowledgeable.”

The admissions criteria depended on the university. Most, however, asked for a IELTS score above 6.0. The universities had a requirement of two to five years of working experience for MBAs. “I really liked the MBA course module offered by Bangor University. I am currently doing my BCA and have decided to go abroad for my masters. I think coming to Edwise was of great help,” said Sohini De, student, IEM.

The fee structure for the undergraduate courses and postgraduate courses ranged from £9000 to £12,000 each year. For the Australian universities, it ranged from AUD 17000 to AUD 54000 a year. In Singapore the fee structure amounted to Rs 10 lakh per annum (approx).

Foreign focus

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