Education Paradiso
From France
and Germany to Poland and Scandinavia, the options for higher education for
Indian students have exploded in the EU
Ten thousand Indian students by 2020. That's the target France
has set, and ambassador Alexandre Ziegler reckons that it “looks very
possible“.
“In the first six months of this year, there has been an
increase of 40% in the number of Indian students going to study in France over
the previous year's corresponding year, in which 4,500 students made the trip,“
Ziegler told ET Magazine.
According to estimates from the European Union, there are around
45,000 Indian students in the continent at present.
While the US is still a favourite, with some 1,65,918 Indian
students in 2015-16, European countries are fast playing catch-up. The UK -now
out of the Union -has been a perennial favourite within Europe for some time
now -in 2016, some 11,300 UK tierIV student visas (for those over 16) were
issued to Indian students, a 2% increase over the previous year. The total
number of Indian students in the UK is estimated at around 20,000. Of late,
though, the options extend beyond Blighty.
Consider, for instance, Germany, which in 2015-16 had over
14,000 Indian students enrolled. The number of Indian students choosing Germany
has been consistently growing by 15-20% per year, and the trend is likely to
sustain this year as well.
According to Ziegler, more and more Indian students are choosing
a non-traditional destination like France as it has some top higher education
institutions in engineering and business. What is more, foreign students, like
their local counterparts, are entitled to education subsidies.
“We offer over 1,000 courses, in English, at among the lowest
costs internationally. Besides, there are 400 French companies that have
operations in India which means access to jobs. And we have eased our visa
regulations, allowing students to work part-time for 20 hours a week and for
graduates and masters' students to stay back in France for two years after they
finish to look for jobs,“ Ziegler added. Indian alumni from French universities
who return to France can get up to five years' resident permits.
Vignesh Narasimhan Janakiraman calls himself an entrepreneur
researcher who work as the chief technology officer of a young startup called
Algobio tech, near Paris. “Holding a doctoral degree from France made a huge
difference in the progression of my career,“ says Janakiraman who finished a
PhD from the Universite de Bordeaux before getting a job. Though he first
thought of the US for higher education during his undergraduate studies, a
semester project in France made him change his mind.
“Being my first experience abroad, I came to like their culture
and the high-level scientific expertise; and this was reciprocated by the
professor responsible for my internship who was impressed with my aptitude and
potential.“ In addition to the quality of education, the quality of life in
France too attracted him.
Other European Union countries that are attracting Indian
students include Spain, Italy, Poland and Denmark. “The Erasmus scholarship
programme for higher education in the EU is attractive for Indian students
with around 650 on these scholarships at any given time,“ says Thibault Devanlay,
counsellor, political affairs at the delegation of EU in India.
Diverse Options
According to Devanlay, Indian families are looking at different
options for education rather than only the traditional UK and US models.
“There are diverse higher
education institutions and costs are competitive across Europe.“
The Erasmus scholarships provide the option of fully-funded
joint masters' degrees across multiple countries in EU and partner nations.
Besides the
English-speaking countries such as Ireland and Malta, others too offer courses
in English. An example is Bulgaria, which offers various specialised courses in
medicine in English.
“Poland too is putting in a lot of effort to attract Indian
students and recently a country as small as Lithuania has a club of Indian
students studying there. Many European companies are expanding in India and
globally, thus providing employment opportunities from Indians graduating from
EU,“ says Devanlay.
Scandinavian countries too are reaching out to Indian students
in a big way.
“Sweden is attracting many Indian students looking for niche
specialisations in technology and medical fields. The methodology too is
non-hierarchical and encourages students to think differently,“ says Sanjoo Malhotra,
who went to Stockholm 20 years ago for a masters in international business at
Stockholm University.
There are lessons even for entrepreneurs from India, explains
Malhotra, who now runs a consultancy to create platforms for Indian businesses
and cultural organisations in Sweden. “Here there are no language problems
since everyone communicates in English. This is also becoming the Silicon
Valley of Europe and technology companies are looking to attract Indian IT
talent in a big way.“
With Germany already the second most popular destination for
Indian and other international students in Europe, some forecast that the
country may well overtake the UK as the leading international study destination
in Europe in the years to come.
“Germany's attractiveness as a study destination has had a boost
in recent years from its low tuition rates, ready availability of
English-taught masters programmes, generous scholarships and funding support
and improved post-study work rights for Indian students,“ a spokesperson for
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), said.
Rounak Changediya, a student of mechatronics engineering at the
University of Applied Sciences, Kaiserslautern, Germany, was attracted to
German technology when looking for a course to study textile machines, which
would help him in his family business. “Besides the technological advantage;
the lifestyle in Germany is stress free, disciplined and helps students develop
themselves,“ says Changed diya, who is currently working as an intern d at the
Medical Textile Company, Karl Otto a Braun GmbH.
Ishani Duttagupta
Aug 20 2017 : The Economic Times (Mumbai)
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