Foreign students heading back to Australia says government report

Australia may soon be reclaiming its title as a popular education destination for foreign students, according to an article published in the The Australian newspaper. The article refers to a report released by the Australian government’s new International Education Advisory Council which says the country will host 520,000 international students by 2020, an increase from the current 402,000 in the country.

AUSTRALIA: BACK IN FAVOUR

About 80 per cent will be from Asia and they will bring in $19.1 billion into the economy.

Despite the upbeat projections, the numbers still won’t reach the ones the country achieved in 2009, when 630,700 foreign students reached campuses across Australia.

Tertiary Minister Chris Bowen said interest in studying here was already up, with an increase in higher education visas applicants in the last six months of 2012. Actual student numbers are predicted to rise next year.

Released by Bowen at a Universities Australia conference in Canberra, the report foresees a "new era of sustainable international education growth'' after the "unsustainable increases'' in the VET sector between 2006 and 2009.

University College Dublin scholarships for Indian students

The University announces €250,000 Scholarship Fund to attract top Indian students

A leading European research-intensive university, University College Dublin (UCD), has announced a range of scholarships to attract top Indian students to its university. Valued at €250,000 the scholarship fund will be used to attract top applicants to postgraduate and undergraduate programmes commencing in September 2013. Amongst the scholarships (available only to Indian applicants) announced were 2 full tuition scholarships at graduate level, five 50% tuition scholarships for taught masters programmes and over 50 scholarships of €2,000.

At undergraduate level, UCD have also shown a commitment to Indian students by offering scholarships valued between 50% of the full tuition fee and €2,500. Speaking on behalf of UCD, Ms. Una Condron, the International Recruitment Manager for India said: “We remain extremely committed to India and have a very attractive range of postgraduate programmes in engineering, finance, biotechnology and computer science (to name just a few) in response to the demand we have identified by industry employers.  These scholarships, which are specific to Indian applicants, seek to attract top Indian applicants by making their studies at UCD as affordable as possible."

UCD is ranked in the top 1% of World Universities per 2012 QS Rankings (ranking 130). Established in 1854, UCD is one of the oldest universities in Ireland and is Ireland's largest and most international university (with over 25,000 students of which over 5,500 are international from over 122 countries around the world). This combined with its status as Ireland's leader in postgraduate education (over a quarter of all graduate students in Ireland study in UCD) has proven it to be the most popular university for Indian students looking to study at university level in Ireland.

Located in Dublin city, Ireland's capital, UCD has Indians studying at undergraduate and graduate level. In addition to high quality programmes in the humanities, social sciences and the natural, physical and performance sciences, UCD offers courses in most professional disciplines including architecture, business, education, engineering, law, medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, and diagnostic imaging.  Indeed, UCD is the only university on the island of Ireland to offer programmes across the spectrum of agriculture, food science, food safety and veterinary medicine. UCD Quinn School of Business is highly internationally networked and a major feeder to UCD Smurfit School, one of the world's great graduate business schools (top 100 in the world).

Research and Innovation

Indian students are also attracted west to Europe, and to Ireland, by the commitment of universities towards research and development. Europe’s universities have a strong reputation for research, development and technology transfer. UCD as the national leader in fourth level education again attracts students because of its commitment to research (with the highest number of graduate research students of any university in Ireland with over 1,684 PhD students). UCD has secured over €480m in externally funded research contracts in the last five years alone.

For further information on the scholarships in UCD, see www.ucd.ie/international

LSE scholarships for India

The London School of Economics (LSE) is offering 50 scholarships to students from India studying a Master’s programme at the School starting in 2013. Scholarships will range in value from £3,000 to £32,000 depending on financial need. Students must be holding an offer of a place on an LSE Master’s programme by 30 April 2013 to be eligible for an award and scholarships will be made on the basis of financial need.

LSE Director Professor Craig Calhoun said “LSE has enjoyed a strong relationship with India for over a century. This has included welcoming thousands of Indian students to study at the School during this time. We want to ensure that LSE’s doors are open to all talented students, regardless of financial circumstances, and are delighted to cement this relationship further by offering 50 scholarships, for graduate study, for students from India.”

To apply for one of these awards students should first of all apply for a place on one of the school's graduate programmes. The list of available Master’s programmes can be found on the graduate admissions website. 

Once you have applied for a place at the School you should complete the LSE Graduate  Financial Support application form. A link to this will be sent to you when the application is received by the school. Please follow the instructions provided and complete all sections of the form. This form is used by the Financial Support Office to assess candidates’ eligibility for all awards available at LSE, including the new Indian graduate scholarships. If you have already received an offer of a place for 2013, but have not previously applied for financial support then you can do so at any point until 26 April 2013.

For more information on the scholarships for Indian students please email financial-support@lse.ac.uk

Number of Indian students in UK drops

Britain's strict student visa regulations has resulted in a dip in the numbers of Indian students in higher education by nearly a quarter last year.

Students from India coming to study at UK schools and universities fell by 23.5% overall, including a 28% drop at the postgraduate level.

Figures released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on Friday show fewer than 30,000 students from India were studying at UK higher education institutions in 2011-12 , compared with around 40,000 in the previous year.

India, however, remains the second most common country of origin for foreign students in Britain after China, which sent 79,000 students last year.

Universities have been warning the UK government that recent changes to student visa rules mean they face losing bright foreign students to rival institutions in the United States, Canada and Australia.

School of Communication set up by Shiv Nadar University and US university

The Shiv Nadar University (SNU) today announced the launch of the School of Communication (SoC) offering undergraduate, graduate and research level programs in communication. The University also announced a new collaboration with the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania (ASC) through which ASC will assist SNU in designing the curriculum for its programs along with assisting SNU in identification and training of faculty. The partnership also established both faculty and student exchange programs. Students and faculty from both institutions will have the option of spending up to two semesters at Pennsylvania campus or at the SNU campus at Greater Noida.

Annenberg School for Communication

Nikhil Sinha, Vice Chancellor, Shiv Nadar University said, ‘The growth of communication and media in India has been exponential and India increasingly requires globally relevant research-led programs in communication. Annenberg is a globally renowned institution and stands at the forefront of education, research, and policy studies on the processes, nature, and consequences of existing and emerging media. We believe that this collaboration would help us leverage ASC’s proven track record of five decades in Communication Education and Research to create a world class communication program at the SNU School of Communication.”

Michael Delli Carpini, Dean, Annenberg School for Communication said, "The Annenberg School for Communication has been committed to responding to changes in both the nature of Communication as a social process and in Communication as a discipline. We see our partnership with the Shiv Nadar University as an opportunity help all aspiring communication professionals become better consumers and producers of public information, strengthen their understanding of the role of communication in their personal, professional and civic lives, and prepare them for private and public-sector leadership positions in communication-related and other fields. We look forward to an exciting partnership.”

Academic programs will commence in August 2013. Students completing the programs successfully will obtain a degree issued by Shiv Nadar University.

Shiv Nadar University launches dual degree in engineering with Carnegie Mellon University

The Shiv Nadar University today announced the launch of the  Carnegie Mellon Shiv Nadar Program in Electrical & Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

These four-year undergraduate engineering degree programs will award students dual degrees – a Bachelor of Technology from Shiv Nadar University and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. 

Launched as part of the program offerings of  SNU’s School of Engineering and CMU’s College of Engineering, the Shiv Nadar Carnegie Mellon Program will commence in August 2013. Students will spend the first and third year of the Program at the SNU campus in Greater Noida and the second and fourth year at CMU’s Pittsburgh Pennsylvania campus, with opportunities to undertake summer internships in  both the US and India.

The program’s integrated curriculum and the periods in India and the US will expose students to a unique bi-national experience that will prepare them to succeed in an  increasingly globalized working environment.

Shiv Nadar University

Announcing the partnership, Nikhil Sinha, Vice Chancellor of Shiv Nadar University said, “Each year, more than 40,000 Indian students go overseas in search of global exposure and world class educational opportunities. Global education has always been a big dream for Indian students, particularly over the last two decades. This uniquely designed Program, which merges the best of SNU and CMU, is truly global in nature and will provide students an opportunity to acquire a world class education while also gaining unprecedented global experience. We believe that  the Program and our partnership with CMU will be transformational for undergraduate engineering education in India.”

Mark Kamlet, Provost & Executive Vice President, Carnegie Mellon University said, “After a decade long successful partnership with the Shiv Nadar Foundation, we are now pleased to take this relationship to the next level with the undergraduate engineering programs at SNU. Indian students are  among the brightest in the world and this program through its dual campus structure will provide them a great opportunity to learn from some of the best educators at both CMU and SNU. We believe that the Shiv Nadar University and Carnegie Mellon University share the same educational philosophies and objectives and this partnership will offer students the best of the both worlds through global curricula and pedagogy.”

    

Admissions to the program will commence in Spring 2013 (February 2013) and applicants will need to meet both SNU and CMU’s admissions criteria, including taking the SAT and TOEFL. 

Demand for Management Education Up From 2011: GMAC survey

Demand for graduate business and management education around the world shows signs of renewed growth, as 51 percent of programs surveyed by the Graduate Management Admission Council report more applications than last year.

Overall demand — as revealed in the 2012 Application Trends Survey — is spread among a greater variety of program types, including part-time self-paced, flexible, and online distance MBAs, as well as specialized master’s degrees in business, including information technology management. 

“As the global business space continues to become more complex, there is a greater demand that business schools today offer specialized and flexible programs to meet corporate and student needs,” said David Wilson, GMAC president and CEO. “Worldwide, these diverse graduate management programs are drawing different kinds of students.  Technology is a part of the solution to this challenge, but it is not the entire solution.  Flexibility in delivery mode, cadence of the program and the characteristics of the class cohort are now all variables in the graduate education solutions being offered.  The message students and companies are sending is clear; one size does not necessarily fit all.”

The annual survey, which charts year-to-year application changes at the program level, shows that specialized master’s programs in management, finance, and accounting continue to show robust growth, and applications to full-time two-year MBA programs appear to be stabilizing globally, with about half of all full-time two-year MBA programs showing increases or holding steady from last year.  

In open-ended comments, admissions professionals responding to the survey noted that economic conditions continued to play a role in student demand for programs. “[A student’s] reluctance to leave full-time position,” cited one admissions professional from a US full-time two-year MBA program. “The economy is picking up and students are finding full-time jobs or have received promotions and do not want to leave to go back to school for two years,” said another. 

A record 744 programs from 359 business schools in 46 countries participated in the survey this year. They include 527 MBA programs, 24 business doctoral programs (PhD/DBA) and 193 specialized masters programs. This year’s survey report includes, for the first time, results for masters in information technology management and masters of marketing/communications.