The Hindu : New Delhi News : Beckoning Indian students

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 30, 2006
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Beckoning Indian students

While big companies are trying to grab a piece of the consumer market in India, several countries are now trying to woo "desi'' students to their shores. With there being plenty of more choice for Indian students now than just traditional options of the United States and the United Kingdom, greener pastures are opening up for students abroad.

And to find the "right'' student, over a hundred Universities from 25 European countries came together at the European Higher Education Fair here in the Capital this past weekend. Offering a whole range of options for students wanting to pursue higher studies, it gave them the opportunity to find out more about European Universities under one roof.

"We used to concentrate on Chinese or Japanese students till now. Many courses are not taught in English and since English was anyway a foreign language for students from these countries, they could choose to learn Italian instead. But now that we are looking at targeting Indian students, we will be thinking of starting language courses for students,'' said Monica Sinibaldi of Universita Degli Studi Di Milano.

Apart from the bigger countries like Italy, Germany and France making a bid to get the attention of Indian students, smaller nations like Ireland and the Netherlands are also hoping to be able to enrol more students from India. From cheaper living conditions to scholarships and even the option of learning new languages, European countries are hoping to be able to get more Indian students.

Having the distinct advantage of being an English-speaking country, Ireland has recently opened Enterprise Ireland office in India to look after business interests as well as promote the country as an educational destination.

"We are very strong in finance, business and engineering. There are about 15,000 students who go to Britain to study from India, we get about 1,000 a year and want to increase this number to 2,000 to 3,000,'' said Gabriel McCarrick, of Enterprise Ireland.

The Netherlands, that is the first non-English country to offer English education, has over 1,000 courses in English for foreign students. It is also planning to start an educational office in India.

And the reason seems the quality of education.

"Indian students are well-known for their high educational standards. We have had a good experience with them and want more students to come to Germany,'' said Frank Beuster of TU Berlin.

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One of the older women colleges in the city, Indraprastha College For Women celebrated its 82nd College Day this Wednesday. The Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal was the chief guest on the occasion. Keeping up its tradition of inviting one alumnus achiever as their guest on College Day, the college invited Director General of Police Uttranchal Kanchan Choudhry Bhattacharya this time. The college magazine "Aaroh'' was also released on the occasion and this time in Braille.

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The Political Science Department of the Janki Devi Memorial College organised a two-day commemorative programme on Mahatma Gandhi earlier this week.

Taking the message of the Mahatma to the younger generation, an exhibition on the life and thought of Gandhi was organised.

There was a panel discussion and an inter-college street play competition was organised.

Mandira Nayar

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