T.P. Sethumadhavan, an educational consultant, has said that the students aspiring for study abroad programmes must consider their interests, abilities, aptitude, goals, and probable expectations before pursuing overseas education programmes.
While delivering a talk on study abroad for students here on Monday, Dr. Sethumadhavan, Professor, Department of Ethno-Veterinary Science, The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, Bengaluru, said that recently more students from the State were interested to pursue undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programmes abroad. The number of students comes to around 40,000 annually.
There are a lot of apprehensions about the courses and processes on studying abroad. The right decision must be taken based on changing trends, he said. Post-COVID phase witnessed a lot of transformation toward overseas education. At least a year’s homework is required for study abroad programmes. Selecting the country, universities, administration of tests and visa processes are more important. Countries such as the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, France, The Netherlands and Ireland have a lot of opportunities, he added.
Decisions on funding options must be taken judiciously. Options for getting scholarships, assistantships and fellowships can be given more emphasis. It requires good academic merit and test scores. The initial task is to get good scores in English proficiency examinations like IELTS, and TOEFL. All the countries are providing post-study work visas for up to two years. Statement of purpose and motivation letters play a key role in facilitating admission process, he added.
Students can prepare for proficiency tests and can join undergraduate programmes immediately after Plus Two. Degree students can prepare during their final year term itself. Courses like quantum computing, climate tech, green technologies, health care technologies, life science courses, clean tech, manufacturing, psychology, data science, automation, energy, digital marketing, accounting, and management courses have lot of opportunities abroad, he added.
