Study Abroad News & Alerts

According to the latest research and documents, the leading universities of the USA still have gender gaps in the leadership areas. In around 130 famous universities only 22% of the women are in higher positions despite being equally qualified and talented. Six universities are said to have at least three women presidents through the time and around 60 universities had none. Only 26% of the board chairpersons were women. A gender index was also created to assess the conditions of women and was they in power or not. It was found that public universities had more female presidents than private universities. Through the years efforts have been made to improve this number, but it’s safe to say that the gap is still rampant.

Even though Germany is not an English-speaking country, it still has a big name in the education domain. This is because Germany offers free education to students. All of Germany’s 300 public universities offer around 1000 different courses which offer almost if not free education. Though students have to pay if they opt for a private university. Germany offers two types of Master’s degree programs- consecutive and non-consecutive. Consecutive are those who can be directly enrolled, just after completing graduation and non-consecutive are the ones where students need to have some work experience before enrolment. Non-consecutive degrees are not free and students have to pay the fees. Other than this, public universities in Baden-Wiirttemberg can charge tuition fees to students who don’t belong to the EU. You might also have to pay some extra fees if you wish to pursue an extra degree.

Canada has earned its reputation for being the top choice for many students across Asian, European and North American students. According to reports, 97.5% of the graduates who applied for permanent residency in Canada in the year 2021 were successful. For the other applicants who weren’t former students, the success rate was 91.5%. The data supports the fact that all those applicants who have previously worked or studied in Canada are more likely to obtain permanent residency. Indian students account for a major portion of Canada’s international students and the number is growing exponentially. The demand for Canadian courses has been shooting high due to their high visa granting rates.

Under a short summer program by the University of Wisconsin, students were given a 20 minutes food tour of a Japan’s pastry shop where participants from various universities were included. The short summer program introduced students to the agricultural and food system of Hokkaido which is the top agricultural producing region of Japan. The program was developed as a result of the pandemic of 2020 which hampered the physical movement of students. It was offered for the first time in 2021.

Ireland is gaining its reputation as one of the top choices for students to travel abroad. A lot of the top universities of Ireland have been active in India for the past few years. Recently Robert Troy who is the minister of state for trade promotions visited India and met with the local representative of Maynooth University and Technological University of the Shannon at the Irish ambassador’s house in New Delhi. Here Robert discussed Ireland and India’s growing relations and how it impacts students coming to Ireland for studies. He further emphasized the need for a local representative from Irish universities in India which makes the process of immigrating even easier.

Initially, a student hub was opened in 2020 for international students who could not return home during the pandemic. So, it helped by being the first point of contact for many students. Now as the new hub is opening, the government envisions providing more facilities to international students and enhancing their experience. The new hub will have services like kitchen, printing facilities, technology-enabled group stations. The new hub will also have contacts with free employment, mental health and student support. Career and counselling services will be provided in collaboration with Multicultural Services of WA. 

After the pandemic, students are rushing in bulk quantities towards countries like USA, UK and Canada. Due to the pandemic, there was a break of two years in the domain of global education. Now after the pandemic is over, students have resumed flying abroad for education purposes. China is the biggest market for the UK in terms of international students but this year surprisingly the number of students immigrating from China to the UK is comparatively less than that of India. It is believed that if the numbers continue to rise with the same proportion, then India will probably overtake China as the UK’s biggest market by the end of 2022. 

Private student lenders have been trying to make the Biden government restart federal student payments which were earlier put at pause due to the pandemic moratorium. But the pause has profoundly affected them. Due to the emergency relief fund, the interest and monthly payments of almost 40 million borrowers were suspended. Several money lending institutions have argued that this suspension is unfair as it is causing unnecessary inflation and people do not need it since things have gotten back on track after the pandemic. Because of this a lot of money lenders have reached out to the Democratic and the Republican offices to resume the interest payments.

Ever since the Ukraine and Russia war broke out, many countries have extended their support to Ukraine. A lot of European Union members like Germany, Poland, France, Italy, Sweden etc have been sheltering refugees. Universities of Germany have decided to let the students of Ukraine complete their studies in German universities. Other than this they are also offering financial support, counselling services, studies and easy applications. More than 1.5 million citizens from Ukraine have taken shelter in Poland. Poland is providing employment opportunities to these people and students will also be able to complete their education. Italy has allocated funds worth 500000 EUR to people from Ukraine who have taken shelter in Italy. Similarly, countries like Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia, Romania etc have been extending financial support as well.

As we know China has still not opened its borders for international students. In this case, students who are studying medicine in China and have to complete their physical training are facing a lot of problems. Recently some students from Kerala organized a staged protest under the banner of Foreign Medical Graduates Parents Associations which is an association of parents of medical students. Many students of the fourth year are practising in nearby hospitals and are now demanding official recognition from the government regarding their practice.

The education system and pattern undoubtedly play a crucial role in the development of one’s character. Indian education has always been under scrutiny for its excessive academic and rot learning-oriented way of teaching. Many students in India still lack basic education and those who are privileged often move to different countries as early as they can. The problem with the Indian education system is that it has been the same since independence and needs. Another shortcoming is the lack of interest of students themselves as they are only focused on getting good grades and not learning new skills. Also, the number of exams that students have to give annually is a lot and barely leaves any time for students to learn things on a larger level. The curriculum is also very monotonous and sinking. It doesn’t have any integrated fun activities that make learning more inclusive and amusing.

Students no longer have to worry about the unrealistic 100 per cent cut off of colleges. UGC has now announced that it will be conducting a Common University Entrance Test for students from now on. The test will be in the form of MCQs and CBT mode. This year it will be conducted in July for all those students who have given their 12th board exams recently. Admissions in the colleges will be based on the cut-offs of the entrance exam only. The test will be conducted by NTA and all the government universities will be accepting the test only. Private and deemed to be universities are also asked by NTA to accept this criterion for admissions.

Paying fees to study abroad is a huge headache for many applicants since the fee is considerably high. But taking loans can be a good option as they provide instant economical relief. Students can approach their university’s financial aid office and share their circumstances with them. This way they can get financial aid on their fees. Taking a private student loan is another great option since they are flexible in terms of amount. Students must also do the needful research regarding the grants offered by the government for the financial help of students. If the admission process gets delayed, then students can also ask for an extension on tuition fee payment. Other options like on-campus vouchers or free meals can also be considered for the reduction in tuition fees.

A 300% hike in the study permit to Indian students by IRCC was recorded in 2021. Canada has issued 120000 study permits to students in the first 11 months of 2021 to students as compared to 30000 in 2020. The hike was also witnessed in the case of the UK by 34% but the number fell in Australia’s study permit scenario. This is because the borders of Australia were closed for international students for a very long period of time which eventually led to students choosing other countries.

Are part-time jobs really helpful or do they just help multi-national companies or food chains in expanding their business? According to recent studies, part-time jobs are a great way of trapping young students into working on minimum wage rates and taking out the most work from them. Most international students who have a financial strain of bearing the expenses become a victim of this. The jobs include manual work which is very energy consuming and leaves little or no time for them to study. Other than this, they are under excessive pressure to schedule their things and reach for work time to avoid any salary deduction. In balancing this lifestyle, they barely get the time to study for their university which is the main purpose of moving out. Hence students must be very careful before choosing a workplace.

According to the British Council, the UK has issued lesser visas to East Asian students in 2021 as compared to the past few years. Although the UK has offered 40000 more student visas than its past year before the pandemic, there is a fall across East Asian countries. This is because these students are preferring nearby locations like Japan and Singapore after the pandemic. China accounts for 75% of the UK’s total international student business. Experts say that with time as things get normal and people start earning like before the pandemic, the pattern will again shift to normal.

The interest rate has been increased by 0.25% by the Federal Reserve which means that student loans will also get more expensive causing trouble for students. The increase or decrease in the rate of interest charged on the borrowing of mortgages is directly proportional to loans becoming more expensive. The Federal Reserve is likely to revise the interest rate six times over the course of this year. Students who have already taken loans on a fixed interest rate shall remain unbothered by this change but students with variable interest rates may witness changes. All those students who are planning to take the loans now will be hugely impacted.

The chief minister of Telangana Mr K Chandrasekhar has announced that the state government will be funding the education expenses of over 700 returned students from Ukraine. Since the conflict seems t stretch over a longer period of time, students’ education cannot be put at stake. The CM has requested the state universities to accommodate these students and to let them complete their education in India itself. The cost of their education will be funded by the state government. Political leaders are also asking assistance from the Prime Minister for help in the same issue on a larger domain.

Global Education Festival UK was launched in London where more than 100 stakeholders came and networked. Speeches by the president of UKCISA, president of the CBI and Chancellor of the University of Birmingham were given. People discussed their personal experiences and how the UK is the land of opportunities. The festival act as a platform for different universities and educational institutes to come together and discuss education-related problems. Delegates can meet fellow delegates from different languages, backgrounds, skills and experiences.

Ukraine-Russia crisis has not only affected the studies of the students but they are also under the pressure of education loans that they took to finance their education. Students who have returned to their home countries have to now repay their loans to the banks. Their education is not completed and there is no employment guarantee. In this case, students are asking banks for help by delaying deadlines for the repayment. Banks have not released any official statement as of yet. Even if they are offering help, then it’s on a one-on-one basis.