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Give your education some French dressing
Archana Chaudhary. PHOTO: K. ANANTHAN.
She could pass off for a student, but when you talk to her, you know she is a seasoned professional. Archana Chaudhary, the EduFrance India Coordinator, who was in the city recently, breaks many myths surrounding higher education in France. She tells Puja S Navin that France is more than just fashion and wine.
Myth: You need to know French to study in France. Fact: "No. There are a lot of courses taught in English. But knowledge of French gives you that extra multicultural experience which helps you integrate with the society and comes in handy during internships and jobs."
Myth: France is a just lifestyle country. Fact: It is a country that produces 25 per cent of the video multimedia games in the world; it is the inventor of the smart card; it has a presence in telecom, biotech, microbiology, and is the fourth largest spender on Research and Development according to a study.
Myth: Education in France is very expensive. Fact: "It is heavily subsidised by the State so your tuition fees would be in the range of Rs. 30,000 to 40,000 per annum. The living expenses however add up to an additional Rs. 2.5 lakhs per annum."
While most students generally prefer the United States, UK, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, France is not even considered by most. "Indians naturally gravitate towards English-speaking countries, where they think language will not be a barrier. But due to the increasing trade relations with European countries, Europe is offering so much to develop a long-term partnership with countries such as China, India, Brazil and Russia whose economies are booming. Students from these countries are being wooed with a view to creating brand ambassadors for the future." "There are courses and programmes funded through the European Commission scholarships - the Erasmus Mundus programmes which offer enormous scholarships. The cost ranges from 16,000 to 20,000 Euros a year, which works out Rs. 8 lakhs to Rs. 10 lakhs. These programmes are of high quality and are jointly administered by several countries of the European commission. A jointly administered programme may begin in France and one may go to UK for six months and then Germany." Hydroinformatics, seismography, earthquake and tsunami-related disaster management programmes, sustainable development and human development-aid courses are the new courses.
"Emerging areas include nanotechnology, mechatronics, biotechnology and molecular biology, agricultural engineering, food processing and food technology, telecom engineering and aerospace. These courses may be in English with a linguistic adaptation semester for foreign students."
In such semesters "while the course will be taught in English, it will have intensive in-built French courses". And there are opportunities back home too. "As many as 200 French companies are operating in India and looking for staff with technological training from France and the understanding of the ambience and business environment of India." Some of the visible names are L'Oreal, Saint Gobain, Alcatel, Biomerieux - a biotech company, and ST Microelectronics. Other small ones are joint ventures."
What do you look for in an applicant?
"A good first division, someone who has more than just education, who has been part of a social conciseness movement, has an experience which adds that extra dimension to his personality."
And should the student go for bachelors or masters courses?
"Masters and Ph.D would be ideal. We believe that after graduation the student knows what he wants to do, has developed a professional focus. Maximum funding is available for masters courses." There are a lot of scholarships, under the French Embassy, Ministry of External Affairs, France, Eiffel Scholarships. There are also a lot of individual institutional scholarships. And what about doctoral courses? "For Ph.D, there are sandwich courses, where you will be enrolled for a Ph.D in India and then go to France as part of the research. The purpose is to encourage institutional collaborations." For details, visit website: www.edufrance.fr; www.france-in-india.org.
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