Young aspirants wishing to study abroad got an opportunity to make an informed choice on careers and courses at The Hindu-EducationPlus International Education Fair 2015 held here on Thursday.
Experts from various foreign universities interacted with the students and gave them tips to pursue their dreams. Many youngsters, who came with their parents, left the Gateway Hotel at Marine Drive, the venue of the event, satisfied with the advice given by educational providers.
“I wanted to pursue a graduate diploma programme specialising in highway engineering in New Zealand. It has lots of job potential considering the developments happening in the country and also the skill shortage in the area,” said Vijay, who completed his B.Tech in civil engineering.
Ralit Zine, a B.Com student in a city college, said that he wanted to take up a management programmme abroad. “An MBA programme gives you a lot of exposure while moving ahead in your career. Studying in a foreign university or a college will give me that extra edge,” he said.
Explaining that Canadian education offers value for money to the aspirants, Maher Dolsh, Consul and Trade Commissioner at the Consulate General of Canada in Bangalore, said that medicine and engineering programmes offered by Canadian higher educational institutions were in much demand among Indian students. “We also permit them to work off-campus for 20 hours a week,” he said.
Commenting on the credentials of students from Kerala, especially in Kochi who wish to study abroad, Ram Balachandar, Vice-Provost, International Professor at the Faculty of Engineeirng in University of Windsor, pointed out that the English speaking skills of aspirants here have gone up.
Zane Purlaura, Deputy Director of Riga Technical University in Latvia, said that students from India have been keen on a variety of programmes offered by varsities in her country that include engineering (mechanical in particular), medicine and aviation. “Latvia offers moderate living costs and attractive tuition fee to the students,” she said.
Universities and colleges from countries such as the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Australia, Singapore, Dubai, New Zealand, Malaysia, Philippines, Malta, Cyprus, Italy, Latvia, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, France, and other European countries were featured at the fair.
Seminars related to Canada Education, Australia Education, Singapore Education, Latvia Education, and British Council IELTS were also held at the venue. Thomas Cook was the official forex and travel partner for the event, Silk Air/Singapore Airlines the official airline partners, and British Council IELTS the official examination partner.
