The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : U.K. universities woo Coimbatore students

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

U.K. universities woo Coimbatore students

Anasuya Menon

FOR BRIGHTER PROSPECTS: Students enquiring about courses offered in the United Kingdom at the Education UK Exhibition in the city on Monday. - Photo: M. Periasamy

COIMBATORE: Fashion and media studies seem to emerge as the newfound areas of interest among candidates who thronged the Education UK Exhibition organised by the British Council at The Residency.

The interest for fashion designing and management was very high, especially with queries flowing in from students, said Colin Matheson, Director of Scholarships of the University of Westminster. A couple of the British Universities had also introduced a new course, Fashion Retail Management, Mr Matheson added.

The two-day fair, which is on till November 14, has 24 British Universities almost all of them offering a range of scholarships for international students. Around 600 students visited the fair on the first day.

The exhibition acts more as an information centre, where students can collect the prospectus of various universities for future references and interact with the people who handle their applications. A lot of students are now looking at the United Kingdom for continuing their studies in visual and mass communication, including print and broadcast journalism. Some of the British universities also have tied up with a few institutions in India offering courses in mass communication.

For the artistically inclined, there are courses such as BA in Acting, Creative Digital Music and Contemporary Media Practices. M.Sc in Trans Personal Psychology and Business Psychology are some other courses, which are very popular in the U.K. In engineering options abound with automotive and network engineering being the most wanted among Indian students.

According to David Gray, Postgraduate Manager of the University of Central England in Birmingham, Logistics in Supply Chain Management is going to be the favourite in the next few years.

Between October 2005 and September 2006, 19,200 Indian students went to the U.K. for studies, said L. Dhanasekaran, Head Education UK (South India). Around 6,000 of them were from South India, he added.

Students prefer to go to the U.K. for higher studies, as the course duration is shorter than in other countries. For instance, Master's programmes in the U.K. are of one-year duration as against Indian universities, which offer two-year programmes. The British universities also constantly update their courses depending on the demand in the International market, thus attracting a lot of Indian students.

The exhibition also includes seminars for students of engineering studies and postgraduate courses, seminar on IELTS and student visas, which are to be taken by experts in these areas.

While most of the universities offer partial and full scholarships based on the academic performance of the students, the financial background is also taken into consideration. Another important factor is that the student has to argue that the course he or she wishes to pursue will help in the development of their nation, for getting a full scholarship. Also, the students will have to return to their countries to work if they are taken on full scholarship. However, the terms of the scholarships vary according to the university.

The fair is open from 12 noon to 7 p.m.

Students can visit www.educationuk-in.org to know about education in the U.K.

They should have a clear idea of the course they want to pursue

Think about funding and bank loans.

Keep papers minimum. Examiners might not have the time to flip through piles of paper. Arrange papers that are absolutely relevant.

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