Report heralds new chapter in Indo-Australia relations

“The growth of an Indian student presence in Australia has

been messy and tragic. But it heralds an important new chapter in Australia’s

place in its region.” (Robin Jeffrey)

Beyond the Lost Decade, released in Sydney on Tuesday by the Australia-India Institute, throws up some interesting facts about the student crisis and the India-Australia relations.

For instance, according to the report, the first violence against Indian students actually came from Lebanese taxi drivers, migrants from a similar background, who found the new Indian arrivals undercutting them. It was an economic battle between two migrant groups and certainly not a racist attack on Indians. The report also indicated how Indian media magnified it as official policy of racial discrimination.

However, the report stresses on the fact that the student crisis may have done India-Australia relations a good turn. “For Canberra, they have served to emphasise just how important the role and experience of the Indian diaspora can be for a host country in terms of forging ties with Indian government and society.Indian perceptions of other countries are often shaped by the conditions and achievements of the Indian community there.”

The report also ends with many valuable recommendations to improve Indo-Australia relations in higher education such as:

• Undertake as an act of goodwill to extend the visas of Indian students who were in Australia on February 8, 2010, and whose pathways towards permanent residency in Australia were affected by changes to immigration regulations in that year. Such extensions or issuance of alternative categories of visa should be granted for at least 12 months from December 31, 2012.

• Extend the post-study work entitlement currently enjoyed by international students at universities to all TAFE institutes and reputable private colleges offering vocational training.

• Expand the study of contemporary India at Australian universities by providing initial funding for twenty B-level university teaching/research positions for the next five years, after which the universities fund the positions.

India, China to lead with degrees, OECD report

China and India are fast becoming powers to reckon with in the global higher education arena.

According to the recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the two countries will produce about 40 per cent of post secondary degree-holders by 2020. The United States and some European Union countries will produce about 25 per cent.

The report, part of the organization’s series Education Indicators in Focus, takes into account higher education graduates between the ages of 25 and 34 in OECD and Group of Twenty member countries -- 42 countries in total.

The gap between China and the United States -- the two leading producers of graduates in 2010, with 18 and 14 per cent  -- will be significant by 2020. China is expected to produce 29 per cent of all higher education graduates studied in the report, and the United States is expected to produce 11 per cent of all those graduates. India, which produced 11 per cent of graduates in 2010, is expected to overtake the United States and produce 12 per cent of the share of graduates by the end of this decade.

S P Jain wins international TeamMBA award

After more than 21,000 votes were cast online in May, two business schools ― SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (India) and the College of William and Mary Mason School of Business (United States)―won TeamMBA awards for their community service and social responsibility programs. The winners were announced today by the Graduate Management Admission Council at its Annual Conference, the largest gathering of graduate business school professionals in the world.

A total of 78 service programs from schools around the world were considered for the TeamMBA award. These programs involved nearly 1,500 students who volunteered almost 50,000 hours and raised US$2.6 million.

“In honoring these two great institutions, we  also recognize the tremendous spirit and passion that business school students around the world have for giving back to their community and to their commitment to improving the lives of others,” said Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC. “These are challenging times for many people all over the world and to see the effort that these students are putting in to making a difference is truly remarkable. Today's MBAs and other graduate business students fiercely embrace their obligation to give back and make the world a better place.”

SP Jain won the All School Award, which recognizes a school for its commitment to promoting and supporting social engagement by its students through school-led programs, services, institutional culture and community outreach. Through more than a dozen individual, team and school-wide projects, students at SP Jain worked to improve the lives of women, milk and agricultural growers, disaster victims and rural villagers.

The College of William and Mary Mason School of Business won the All Service Award, which recognizes outstanding projects in categories such as community service, sustainability/greening and consulting, for engaging in a variety of projects, including a mustache auction to raise money to start a microlending account, two blood drives that collected 100 pints of blood, and raising tens of thousands of dollars for local and global charities.

Student route back door to Britain?

The debate over Britain’s immigration policy continues.

Migration Watch, a UK-based think tank, has challenged the call by 70 University Chancellors, in a recent letter to the Prime Minister, for overseas students to be taken out of the migration statistics. This would achieve nothing except to destroy public confidence in the government’s immigration policy while any significant expansion of foreign students could blow the government’s immigration policy seriously off course.

According to the study published by Migration Watch UK:

Britain’s main competitors – the US, Australia and Canada all include students in their net migration figures (while distinguishing them for internal administrative purposes). Unlike Britain, the same countries interview students before a visa is granted to test whether they are genuine and whether they really intend to return home after their course. A major Australian report found recently that these interviews did not deter genuine students. The UK should re-introduce them.

The US and Australia both have checks on the departure of individual students which are still not possible in the UK. Over the past ten years two million non EU and ½ million EU students have been admitted to Britain to study for more than a year but the government has not the slightest idea how many have actually left. Universities UK accept that about 20% of students stay on legally – that amounts to net migration of 50,000 a year.

Some of those from poorer countries are likely to stay on illegally. Migration Watch estimate that they could add a further 25,000 per year bringing the total to 75,000. If the number of foreign students was allowed to increase still further as the universities wish to see, students could eventually add 90 - 100,000 a year to net migration.

A 10% change in the number of foreign students would change the UK’s annual foreign exchange earnings by only about 0.2%.

Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman Migration Watch UK said “Foreign students are valuable but the present system is far too easily abused. Sadly, the student route has become the back door to Britain and it is wide open. Unlike our main competitors, we do not interview students before they come to confirm that they are genuine and there are no checks on their departure. We cannot have a massive inflow of a quarter of a million students a year without their contributing heavily to immigration. Taking them out of the statistics would achieve nothing. The government must thoroughly tighten up the student system or any attempt to reduce the current mass immigration will be blown seriously off course.

Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of Universities UK, said: "In many respects the Migration Watch UK report makes valid and important points. The letter from university Chancellors to the prime minister states that any abuse of the student visa route needs to be tackled. UK universities are fully signed up to that agenda.

"But the Migration Watch report is wrong in calling for international students to be counted within the UK's migration figures. The Chancellors were calling for the government to remove international students from net migration figures in order to make a clear distinction between temporary and permanent migrants for the UK's own internal policy purposes. This would actually increase public confidence in the immigration system. No one is suggesting that international students should not be counted in the immigration system.”

Dual degrees with world's top 500 varsities

In a move to regulate the country's higher education sector,  the University Grants Commission has approved new regulations governing foreign university partnerships, barring entry to all but the top 500 globally-ranked universities. In order to be eligible to offer joint degrees or other twinning programmes, foreign universities must be listed among the top 500 in the Times Higher Education or Shanghai Jiaotong University world rankings, while Indian universities must have received the highest grade from the National Assessmentand Accreditation Council or the National Board of Accreditation. Universities with existing partnerships will be allowed six months to comply with the new regulations, or face penalties.

While the government’s move to regulate partnerships by allowing access to elite institutions should be lauded, there are many non-elite institutions worldwide that offer a diverse range of high-quality programmes. The new regulations would deprive Indian students from accessing those programmes.

Asia is the new destination for MBA abroad

Traditionally, the United States and United Kingdom have always been popular overseas education destinations with Indian students. However, in recent years countries in Asia such as Singapore, Hong Kong and China have emerged as alternative locations for Indian students looking for an overseas education experience.

Take the case of Nishaan Malhotra, who graduated from one of Delhi’s top schools. Nishaan has enrolled in an undergraduate engineering program at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Malhotra zeroed in on Singapore after attending an education fair. “Singapore came across as a fun, vibrant city and the university is well reputed. Also, Singapore is not that far from India, just a short flight away so my family is also not too worried about sending me far away.”

There are many others like him who are applying to colleges and universities elsewhere in Asia. According to Kavita Singh, CEO, FutureWorks Consulting, a company that provides admissions guidance to Indian students, the high cutoffs and shortage of places at Indian colleges have forced many bright, talented students to look overseas. “While countries such as the United States and United Kingdom are still the top picks, many students are looking east as well.” Singh has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the UK’s Oxford University and an MBA from Columbia Business School in the US.

Asian colleges and universities score highly on the cost and competitiveness factor. While the quality of education offered by institutions in countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong is very high, the cost of education is often lower than universities in the West in terms of tuition and living expenses. Most of these countries are close to India and with their economies thriving, employment options are also plentiful.

Hong Kong, for instance, has made a name for itself in the education arena. Some of its institutions such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong and City University of Hong Kong are favourably positioned in the annual QS World University Rankings™, and QS Asian University Rankings. All eight of Hong Kong’s government-funded universities use English as the medium of instruction. Courses such as engineering, bio-sciences, art and design are popular with Indian students.

"China and India constitute two of the BRIC countries that are signaling a major shift in global economic power. Tomorrow's world will need leaders who can capitalize on this by understanding both countries and facilitate the rapidly increasing trade between them," says Professor John A Spinks, Senior Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor, at the University of Hong Kong.

"We are fortunate in having a number of factors come together at the same time - the priority accorded to education by students and their parents in Asia resulting in high academic standards, the continued support of Asian governments for universities and the investment they provide, and the ranking of HKU as the best university in Asia,” Spinks continued. “With the economic development in Asia and the availability of jobs after graduation, many students are choosing to stay in Asia for their undergraduate studies rather than going to the more traditional educational destinations of the US, UK and Australia. This is the new Spice Route of the 21st century - exchanging knowledge across Asia".

Singapore, on the other hand, offers global education against the backdrop of a vibrant, bustling, culturally diverse city. Three universities that are known for their high academic standards are the National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Nanyang Technological University. These institutions have partnerships with leading universities across the world, and their degrees are globally respected.

Popular courses here include those in the fields of science and technology, medicine, and arts and design. However, the cost of living and tuition fees in Singapore are considerably higher than that in China and Hong Kong.

Along with Singapore and Hong Kong, China is also fast becoming an important educational hotspot. Seven Chinese universities rank among the top 200 in the 2011/12 QS World University Rankings™, with Peking University and Tsinghua University both making the global top 50. Chinese universities are known for their programs in medicine and business among other courses.

Another city that has become popular with Indian students is Dubai. Nearly 20,000 students from over 100 countries are enrolled in courses at the some of the world’s leading universities through branch campuses in Dubai.

Dubai’s education sector has expanded phenomenally in recent years. Leading universities from across the globe have set up branch campuses offering both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The standard of living in Dubai is known to be high, and a comparatively low cost of living enables students to lead a comfortable life. A short flight away from India, Dubai has become a popular hotspot for Indian students looking for an international education experience at a reasonable cost.

With a range of attractive options closer to home now complementing the more traditional study destinations such as the US, UK and Australia, students from India are spoilt for choice when it comes to international education.

For those interested in the career benefits of an undergraduate education, QS’ series of global management education events comes to India from 12th-18th May. Register for free entry to the event by visiting www.topuniversities.com.

Source: Cool Avenues.com

Microsoft bags cloud order from AICTE

The governing body for technical education in India, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has adopted cloud computing to improve technical education and prepare Indian students for the workforce. Microsoft’s Live@edu service will be deployed in more than 10,000 technical colleges and institutes throughout India over the next three months.

Live@edu is a hosted communication and collaboration service that offers email, Microsoft Office Web Apps, instant messaging and storage to AICTE’s more than 7 million students and nearly 500,000 faculty members, for a total reach of 7.5 million users — roughly double the size of the Los Angeles population — making AICTE Microsoft’s largest cloud customer ever.

AICTE: Technical education in-the-cloud

“Microsoft’s cloud platform will make for a truly progressive ecosystem and contribute to the country’s technical education by providing a better communication and collaboration platform for institutes and students,” explains Dr S S Mantha, chairman of AICTE.

According to Anthony Salcito, vice president of Worldwide Education, the country is witnessing rapid economic activity and growth. Developing India’s youth and their skills is going to play an important role globally in the country’s inclusive growth. “The union budget also laid emphasis on skill development and so does the proposed 12th Five Year Plan with a National Policy on Skill development. The PPP model (public-private partnership) is most essential in running and managing training institutions that provide every opportunity to address the skill gap most efficiently,” adds Salcito.

Sums up Sanket Akerkar, managing director, Microsoft India: “Microsoft has always seen education as a priority area and believes that technology offers possibilities that can help empower not just teachers and students but collectively India as a nation.”