The United States of America (USA) was a land of opportunities and universities there allowed students to pursue courses of their choice, said Indo-American Student Council CEO Kumar Annavarapu.
He was speaking at a workshop on “Skills required for higher education in USA” organised by the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce( IACC)and the Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (NRT) at the Siddhartha Engineering College (Kanuru) here on Friday.
Explaining why visa applications of 16 students who changed fields were rejected, Mr. Kumar said American universities encouraged change of disciplines, but students faced hurdles during the visa application process.
Booklet released
Minister for Law and Justice and Skill Development Kollu Ravindra released a booklet on the skills.
Mr Kumar warned the students against working part-time outside college to meet expenses. He said it was better to work on campus as that would get students a social security number and an instate status, making them eligible for a 40% tuition fee waiver.
Workshop in three districts
IACC chairman (A.P. and Telangana Chapter) Srikanth Badiga said such workshops would be conducted in 30 colleges in Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts.
The workshop was the first in the country and was organised in the State because of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s initiative. The Chamber of Commerce planned to conduct workshops all over the country. Its objective was to help students take admission at a recognised institution without spending much. This would reduce the drain of foreign exchange, Mr. Badiga said.
Skill Development Corporation M D Sree Sambasiva Rao said in the past students who went to the US had little idea about good colleges. Several students who studied at American universities were also invited for the workshop to share their experiences and give tips, he said.
IACC vice-chariman M Vijaya Sai and EC member Surapaneni Purnachandra Rao, Genetic professor Puduri Jagadeshwaran, students Rekha Puduri, Anirudh Koushik, Mani Aaree and Vidya Annavarapu interacted with the students of the engineering college.
