The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Australian varsities gear up for July intake

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 25, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Australian varsities gear up for July intake

India, along with China, are the big hunting grounds for universities from Down Under India and China are the hunting grounds for universities from Down Under

BRIEFING ASPIRANTS: Students planning to study in Australia at a road show organised by Planet Education in Chennai on Friday. — Photo: S. Thanthoni

CHENNAI: Australian Universities have set the ball rolling for the July intake, with envoys trotting the globe to attract foreign students.

In Chennai, representatives of 25 top Australian Universities were at the helpdesks for a road show organised by Planet Education to promote Australian education on Friday.

Students got to know on a one-on-one basis from faculty and marketing staff about attractive courses, student visa modalities, prospects of permanent residency and a host of other FAQs (frequently asked questions).

The University representatives granted on-the-spot admissions and even waived off the application fee (around 100 Australian dollars or Rs. 3,200).

`Indian perspective'

"We provide information with an Indian perspective," said Sanket Shah, founder-director of Planet Group.

For instance, Indian students are very cost sensitive and seek to know if part-time work would take care of their tuition/living expenses.

"Finance plays an important role in the decision-making," Mr. Shah said.

They also want to know about their employability at the end of the course and expected salary at the entry-level across industries.

Significantly, 95 per cent of emigrating Indian students do not want to return to India for a career.

Planet sends around 1,400 Indian students to Australia every year. Management, accounting, IT and engineering are the most sought after disciplines among students migrating from India.

The road show attracted universities such as Swinburne, Wollongong, University of Technology, Sydney, La Trobe, Billy Blue School of Graphic Design, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, University of Queensland, University of Western Australia, University of Adelaide, Melbourne Institute of Technology, Edith Cowan, Griffith, Melbourne Institute of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Western Sydeny, University of Southern Queensland and Macquaire University.

The nine-day-long road show will touch seven Indian cities and the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. Besides Chennai, the show will visit Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Baroda and Chandigarh.

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