Study Abroad News & Alerts

The Indira Gandhi National Open University which is one of the most prestigious open universities in India has officially launched the MA in Spanish degree. The degree has been launched by the school of foreign languages of the university. The degree will not only make the students learn the language but also provide a deep dive into the history of Hispanic culture and their literature. By the aid of all these things, more literary proficiency will be infused in the students. 

The programme will be taught by special teachers who have high proficiency in the Spanish language. To be eligible for the course interested students must have a bachelors degree in Spanish or an equal and certificate of a B1 level proficiency.

Queen’s Belfast University is inviting students for a summer program. The three week program will be organised from June 17 to July 5. Interested candidates can apply on the official website of Queen's Belfast University. The participants who decide to pursue the summer program will get accommodation 15 minutes away from the University. The programme will allow students to explore culture, history and people of Belfast. The first week of the program will be common for all students, irrespective of what specialisation they've chosen. Llectures will be delivered in the university by renowned personalities from different fields. Other than this students will also get to visit some of the most famous historical sites in Belfast. This is the perfect opportunity for students to explore Ireland and the prospects of studying in the country.

There has been a substantial decline of 86% of student visas that have been issued to Indian students in the last quarter of 2023 by Canada. The decline became significant after the political tensions between India and Canada were on the rise. Only 14,109 study permits have been allotted to Indian students in the last quarter of 2023, which is remarkably low as compared to the previous quarters.

International students are responsible for pouring C$22 billion in the economy of Canada every year. Indian students are one of the biggest contributors of the international student group in Canada. Lesser number of Indian students will obviously mean lesser economic contribution of international students in the economy.

The school of medicine of Saint George’s University is offering a scholarship to international students based on merit. This newly included scholarship will be offered to international students along with the already existing scholarships meant for international students. The selection criteria for this university is very simple. Students will be selected on the basis of their first academic performance. This scholarship gives importance to merit and academic achievement.

The university has invited deserving candidates from different parts of the world to apply for the scholarship. Students can simply visit the official website of the university and check out the necessary details for the scholarship

NTA has officially released the exam city slips for JEE Mains paper one. The city intimation slips are now available on the official website of JEE. All the login credentials will be required to download the exam city slip. The examination for BTech and BE courses will be conducted from 27th January and will go on till 1st February. The exam will be conducted in two shifts : 3 PM to 6 PM and 9 AM to 12 AM. All the necessary information related to the date of examination and time of the exam for a particular candidate will be available on the exam city slip.

To download your exam city slip you have to simply visit the official website of JEE and submit your details.

Canada has recently announced that it will put a cap on the number of international students that will be coming to the country every year. Indian students are one of the biggest groups of international students studying in Canada. Putting a limit on the intake of international students would mean that it would severely impact Indian students as well. The influence of this decision can already be seen as the rejection rate for Indian student visas has increased in the past few months. The student visas for Indian students are being rejected for unspecified reasons. On top of that the minimum financial requirement to study in Canada has been doubled up as well. This amount will be revised every year keeping in mind the requirements of the country. Also there is a huge competition among international students for part-time jobs. Keeping all factors in mind, it is safe to say that the future prospects to study in Canada, not as promising as they used to be a few years back.

IIM Udaipur has recently launched a summer management program for MBA aspirants. It is the first IIM and the only one to do the same till now. It is one of a kind program that will commence on the campus of the institute from 1 June 2024 and will go on till 14th June, 2024. The curriculum of this program is pretty diverse and will encompass different topics like business, communication, social environment, entrepreneurship, and many such important aspects of business. This program will give students an opportunity to develop their network and learn about the important aspects of business. Students above 18 years of age who have recently graduated from college and even graduates can apply for the program. interested candidates can visit the official website of IIM Udaipur to know more about the summer management program and apply for the same.

IIT Gandhinagar has started the admission process for the MA in Society and Culture degree. The deadline to apply for this program is 10th February, 2024. students having a bachelor's degree from a recognised institute in any discipline can apply for this degree. The curriculum of this course has been designed for students to study the cultures and societies existing in different parts of the world. With the aid of cultural understanding, students will learn the underlying interconnection between the various disciplines that we study. The programme will open different opportunities for students in the field of teaching, social work, research, journalism, and many more fields. Students will also be in courage to showcase their research and represent the institute on an international level. Travel scholarships upto Rs.60,000 will also be given to the selected students.

CBSE has released guidelines for schools to upload the practical exam marks for class 10th and 12th correctly. This is a very important step that needs to be done with a lot of precision. As the practical board exam marks play an important role in calculating the overall marks of a student in the board exams. A lot of times schools make mistakes while uploading these marks that further leads to complications and disruption in the calculation of the bonafide marks of students. 

While assigning marks to students, a particular examiner must assess the overall profile of the students. Predetermined values of the student must also be considered, including their projects, and internal assessment. It is the duty of the principal of a particular school to double check the marks of each and every student from the end of the internal and external examiner before getting the marks uploaded.

The online form filling process for H1B visa for the financial year 2025 is going to start in the month of February. The USCIS will be launching a number of help accounts and portals that will assist people in filling the form and submitting their information. People from a specific company and organisation will be able to fill the forms through organisational accounts. These accounts will allow multiple people from a common legal firm or technical organisation to apply for the renewal of the H1B visa together and it will make the whole process more effective. This way, the chances of making a mistake and getting rejected will also be minimised since a lot of people will be registering at the same time.

The whole criteria regarding the organisational accounts and the dates will be released soon by the USCIS.

As per the new education policy, to pursue an honours degree, students will now have to spend four years in the college. During the fourth year of the degree, students will be allowed to pursue internships in various fields to gain hands-on experience. The whole process of providing internships will be taken care of by the UGC. Students getting in Internship during their final year of graduation will also be getting stipends for their work.

All the higher education institutes in India will have to appoint proper nodal officers that will take care of the research and internship opportunities in the institute. The officer will take care of making collaborations with famous MNCs and companies to give students the needed opportunities.

In a recent survey, it has been found that 78% of Indian students give weightage to the international university rankings while selecting an institute for themselves to study abroad. The survey also put light on the fact that students definitely choose universities and colleges that have significantly higher ranking than the others. Despite the questionable relevancy of these ranking criteria, they are still a bonafide measure to check if an Institute is worth studying in or not. The second most important factor while deciding a university or an institute was the tuition fees. This is looked at by 71% of the students and plays a very important role in deciding whether a student will study in that university or not. Many other factors like after study, job prospects, scholarships and living options also play a very important role in helping students decide.

The chief minister of Meghalaya recently announced that the central government will be dispersing Rs.41,00,00,000 among the tribal students of the state for better education opportunities. The President of India has already sanctioned this amount and it will be delivered very soon. This scholarship is the second installment of the post-matric scholarship that was started in 2022-2023 for students of Meghalaya. As soon as the state government receives the scholarship money, it will be dispersed among the students by the state government.

The scholarship is specifically meant for tribal students of the state and to help them pursue their educational endeavours further.

This year 14 candidates have been able to score 100 percentile in the CAT 2023 exam. 29 candidates have been able to score 99.99 percentile and 28 candidates have been able to score 99.98 percentile. Four students scoring a perfect score are from Maharashtra and two are from Telangana. One student each is from Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, and Gujarat. 11 out of these 14 students are from engineering backgrounds whereas only three or from non-engineering backgrounds.

 Out of 29 students who scored a 99.99 percentile, 20 students are from engineering background and only nine students are from a non-engineering background. This goes on to say that the CAT 2023 has been heavily dominated by engineers. This is a common trend in the CAT and every year we see massive contributions of engineering students in the list of top rankers.

Northern Ireland is a less explored destination for higher education. Here are the reasons why you can choose to study in Northern Ireland in 2024.

1. Most of the programmes offered by the universities in Northern Ireland focus on change making in society. The courses are designed in a way that it makes students think about how they can bring new changes in the world that can impact everyone positively. The necessary knowledge is imparted in the students during the programme.
2. Most of the programs are skill-based and focus on hands-on training of the student so that they can gain all the necessary experience while studying only. 
3. The career opportunities in Northern Ireland are very vast for international students. One of the major reasons why students are easily able to secure great jobs is because of less competition.
4. The unemployment rate in Northern Ireland is just 2.1%. That  goes on to say about the job opportunities available in the country. Medicine, aerospace and cyber security are great fields for international students.

The changes made in the minimum financial requirement to study in Canada that have been implemented on 1st January, 2024 onwards is causing a problem among Indian students. Students are required to show C$20,635 in their bank account as the minimum financial requirement. Also, in case there is a family member accompanying the student, then the minimum financial requirement is increased accordingly.

Now that the minimum financial requirement has been increased, Indian students are doubtful about studying in Canada. Also, it is a fact known that international students in Canada are struggling to find part-time jobs. Due to excess immigration in Canada, there is a higher competition among students for part-time and unskilled jobs. All these factors are making Canada a less  promising destination for Indian students.

The University of Washington is offering scholarships for international students. The deadline for the same is 31st January, 2024. All students who will be taking admission in different programmes at the University of Washington in their September intake are eligible to apply for this scholarship. This is a centralised scholarship and is not solely focused on the grades of the student. The selection will be done on the basis of the overall profile of a student and not just their academic performance.

Lewis Clark State College in the United States of America is also offering a similar scholarship. The deadline for the same is first March, 2024. Both of these scholarships will provide financial assistance to students studying in different courses.

The University College, London is offering a global Master scholarship to international students who want to pursue a full-time degree from the UCL. This scholarship is specifically meant for students from lower income family backgrounds. There are a total 85 spots for the scholarship out of which five are reserved specifically for Indian students. This is a scholarship that will be offered only to the students who will pursue a Masters degree from the university. The scholarship has a duration of one year only. But in case the programme of a particular student is for two years then the given amount will be divided among the two years. The amount received by a student through the scholarship may also depend on any other kind of funding that the student might have received. The total value of the scholarship is £15,000

The CBSE board class 10th English exam will be conducted on 26th February, 2023. It is one of the initial papers for class 10th and is given a solid consideration while calculating the overall performance and percentage of the students. Let's have a look at how you can score really well in your English exam.

1. Understand the syllabus and the pattern of the exam really well. The reading section (section A) is of 20 marks and section B, which consists of topics from writing and grammar, is also of 20 marks. The highest weightage is given to section C that is 40 marks. 
2. Prepare separately for all the sections. For the reading section, try as many reading comprehensions as you can. For the writing section, write a letter, a notice and an article on a regular basis to improve your vocabulary and focus on sentence construction.
3. For the literature section you only have to focus on NCERT related sources. Do not refer to any extra guidebooks as they can hinder your preparation. there is no need to cram the answers. You can simply go through them again and again and make sure that you are conceptually strong.

NTA has revised the session two exam dates for the JEE mains exam because of a clash between CBSE board exams and the JEE mains exam. The first session of the examinations is scheduled from 24th January to 1st February. The session 2 dates that are scheduled between 1st April to 15th April are clashing with the CBSE board exams for class 12th. CBSE has already sent a request to NTA for revision of these dates so that students can give both the exams easily without any clashes.

Earlier, CBSE had also revised the dates of some examinations to avoid clashes with some other competitive exams. Now the latest date sheet will ensure that no two exam dates are clashing. The IIT JEE Mains session 1 and 2 dates were announced in September which is why there is an overlapping with exams that were announced later on