'Indian overseas students shifting towards different courses'

COIMBATORE: With trends changing across the world, preference of students was also shifting towards several new specialised courses in fine arts, science, health, hospitality and bioinformatics of late, Association of Accredited Advisors on Overseas Education (AAAOE) said today.

Apart from the regular choice of courses in computer sciences, engineering and management, Indian students are increasingly opting for courses like banking and finance, architecture, fashion design and pilot training in foreign universities, Dr C B Paul Chellakumar, Patron, AAAOE, told reporters here.

The association is organising its 9th International Education Fair in the city on January 31, in which about 20 universities from USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and China are expected to participate, Chellakumar said.

The participating universities will have on offer several UG and PG programmes in various fields such as IT, management, biotechnology, engineering, medicine and fine arts, he said.

The Consortium of Community Colleges from USA representing Colleges of Florida, Delaware, Washington, California, Pennsylvania and Illinois will be present at the fair, while representatives from top UK Universities such as Cardiff and Strathclyde will counsel and help engineering and management aspirants, he said.

AAAOE, which has many senior members, would assist the students and their parents to choose the country of their study and offers 10 scholarships of Rs one lakh each for those who gain admission during the fair on first come first basis in every city.

Of the nearly two lakh students going abroad for studies, 50 per cent were opting for USA, which has nearly 4,000 unviersities, Chellakumar said.