The Hindu Education Plus hosted a webinar on studying abroad. “Let Your Dreams Take Flight” was presented by Santamonica Study Abroad Pvt. Ltd.
Moderated by Pankaja Srinivasan, Nicy Binu, director, Santamonica Study Abroad, the session focused on study avenues in key destinations including Canada, the U.K., the U.S., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Germany. “Even in the midst of the pandemic, study abroad continues to be popular. There has been a significant spike in the percentage of students aspiring to study abroad,” said Ms. Binu.
According to Ms. Binu, the U.K. and the U.S. offer a range of unique courses besides having many universities that feature in the global rankings. However, the U.S. has no open work permit, unlike Canada, Germany, Ireland and others. While there was a period when the U.K government took away the post-study work permit, the country is attracting more Indian graduates after exiting the EU.
Canada is famous for its immigration-friendly policies and is among one of the top three destinations preferred by Indians. Ms. Binu pointed out that, in Australia, part-time employment opportunities and earnings are high and the most welcoming regions, in terms of ease of obtaining PR, are Tasmania and South Australia. In New Zealand, engineers and healthcare professionals will be able to avail PR easily, she said.
Ms. Binu also pointed out that while education is not too expensive in Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and France, these countries prefer students who can speak their language. While UG courses in Germany are not too popular since 15 states in that country require 13 grades in school, whereas India has only 12. However, it offers great opportunities, especially for engineers. Mechatronics, renewable energy, automobile and chemical engineering are popular courses.
As for universities in Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Norway are the best with their welfare policies, she said. However, the cost of living is high.
The webinar ended with Ms. Binu and others from Santamonica fielding questions from the audience. The session can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3Csj4OK
