Huge response to education fair

Some colleges conducted an aptitude test and started the application process at the venue

Students visit stalls at The Hindu Education Plus International Education Fair 2015, in Bengaluru on Tuesday.— Photo K Murali Kumar

Students eager to pursue education abroad made good use of the Bengaluru edition of The Hindu EducationPlus International Education Fair on Tuesday to clear all their doubts and queries.

From university and government representatives of various countries offering face-to-face counselling to prospective students to education consultants showing the wider picture, and from clarifications on visa and related processes, to qualifying exams and travel logistics, stalls at the venue covered most aspects of education abroad.

Looking beyond US, UK

While the United States of America, Australia and United Kingdom continued as the preferred destinations for higher studies, smaller countries, such as Latvia, Spain, Bulgaria and Ireland, were not lagging in wooing students with attractive offers.

Vidya Neel, a parent, said, “Despite being small countries, they have so much to offer to students.

"UK, USA, Australia are usually the names that you think of, but I am quite impressed by Latvia.”

Along with attractive fee structures, interesting courses and beneficial tie-ups with popular colleges, institutions such as the Czech College tried to stand out by offering special services, such as shortening the process of obtaining visas.

Scholarships and permission to work part time while studying were other major factors that students were keen on.

Sriram Turaga, who is from a consultancy firm, said, “Usually, students choose countries according to their scores; now students are already clear about their destinations. Enquiries are also pouring in for specialised courses.”

Attraction of SE Asia

Institutions in South East Asia continued to hold their own, with some, like the International Medical University (IMU), Malaysia, offering transfer programmes to over 25 acclaimed universities in Australia, UK, USA, Canada and Ireland. The Institute of Systems Science (National University of Singapore) went a step further by conducting an aptitude test and starting the application process at the venue.

Thomas Cook was the official forex and travel partner. Silk Air/Singapore Airlines was the airline partner. British Council IELTS was the official examination partner.