New Delhi   

Britain offers `complete learning experience' to foreign students

Lakshmi B. Ghosh

NEW DELHI: Indian students pursuing higher education in Britain now have more than just a British degree to look forward to. A recently passed proposal of the British Government has paved the way for integrating work experience in undergraduate courses to help foreign students gain that extra "exposure".

Describing it as an ambitious attempt to provide foreign students a complete learning experience, the visiting British Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Lord David Triesman, said the idea was to give students a better education experience.

"The proposal has already been passed and details are being worked out. As of now students have to apply for a work permit after their graduation to be able to work in the United Kingdom. We are looking at a new system that will allow graduates to stay automatically to seek work after the completion of their course for a certain amount of time," he said.

Noting that the proposal would help students as well as the industry, Lord Triesman added that giving students an early exposure would only increase the number of skilled employees for the industry. "When you get a fresh graduate for work, you have to teach them techniques that are job-specific. Working in a group of people and learning from them can add enormously to their experience."

Speaking on the recently announced UK-India Educational Research Initiative (UKIERI) that will promote scientific research between the two countries, Lord Triesman said he was optimistic about the future of the initiative. He admitted that things were still in the planning stage and described nano-technology and biosciences and product engineering as some of the areas where significant work would be done between the two countries. "These are areas where you can see a lot of dynamic activity. There is significant work being done worldwide and we are going to see a lot of success in the project."

The number of British students coming to India for further studies is yet to see a significant increase, but Lord Triesman is confident of a change in the scenario. Noting that there had been a change in recent times, he said while two-thirds of the students want to go out and discover other places, one-third of the students still pursued their higher studies in their home town.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

New Year bashes or show of strength?
MCD to auction property of major tax defaulters
Now round the week medical care for senior citizens
Directive to decide cases ex-parte
94 engineers on penal action list
Britain offers `complete learning experience' to foreign students
Regional film-makers still in search of recognition
Some relief from intense cold
BJP writes to Chief Justice on power scam
Do not ignore low body temperature, say doctors
A tale of three sisters
MTNL ties up with Easy Bill
Alleged highway robbers arrested
A rather unusual film festival
DU teachers seek funds from UGC
JNU lights a controversy over cigarette ban move
Court asks Centre how much it will pay Ten Sports for feed
16 freeze to death in Uttar Pradesh
Briefly
In the Capital Today

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu