Studying Abroad Facilitates Exposure and Opens Up Lucrative Career Avenues, Say Leading Education Experts

According to UNESCO, the number of international students across the globe in 2018 was around 5 million. Out of those, 7,50,000 students happened to be from India. Despite the pandemic, 91% of the student population in India still dreams to study overseas.

ASMA, a facilitator in the education sector, organized an event on ‘Opportunities to Study Overseas’ on 16th April along with leading education industry experts all across the globe. The virtual event was an eye-opener for many attendees and helped in facilitating course choice and opting for countries while choosing to study abroad.

The moderator for the event was Pauline Laravoire, Director – Sustainability, Techno India University and the rest of the panel comprised of Dr Christopher Abraham, CEO & Head – Dubai Campus, Sr. Vice President- Institutional Development, S P Jain School of Global Management, Dr R.N. Saha, Director & Chair Professor BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus, Pranav Pradhan, Director – International Admission, University of San Francisco, Racquel Shroff, CEO, Global Education Solutions, Melbourne and Sunit Survase, Founder & CEO, Grad-Dreams Education Consulting Pvt. Ltd, India & USA.

The discussion opened with a wonderful introduction from the moderator of the session and went ahead with different kinds of questions asked to all the speakers. Dr Christopher Abraham, CEO & Head – Dubai Campus, Sr. Vice President- Institutional Development, S P Jain School of Global Management shared his insights on the topic and said, “Today the globe is interconnected. People with multi-country exposure have a better understanding of all challenges. Harvard University calls this phenomenon Global intelligence.”

Pranav Pradhan, Director – International Admission, University of San Francisco opined, “The desire to study abroad may come from a supply and demand situation. There is a right place for everyone in every part of the world. Double city exposure is the most valuable part of foreign education.”

Sunit Survase, Founder & CEO, Grad-Dreams Education Consulting Pvt. Ltd, India & USA, enlightened the panel about the recent trends and most opted fields of education chosen by Indian students. He said, “Majority students from India go for STEM programs abroad. More and more students are opting for emerging fields like geophysics and marine engineering.”

Racquel Shroff, CEO, Global Education Solutions, Melbourne discussed the education scenario in Australia. She said, “We focus on empowering students to help them decide what’s right for them. We want them to contribute to society. We want students to find the best fit for themselves. We have a thriving Indian population in Melbourne.”

Talking about online courses and distance education, Dr R.N. Saha, Director & Chair Professor BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus said, “BITS has a virtual campus running various courses and we have 20,000 plus students. Most of the leading industry experts have studied abroad which indicates that studying abroad provides students with exceptional abilities and changes their perspectives.”

The virtual event ended with the moderator, Pauline Laravoire, Director – Sustainability, Techno India University throwing light on the current scenario of education and ways in which students should feel connected with the courses and Institutions they are choosing. She said, “There’s no detour in searching about potential colleges students want to join. All institutions have the best to offer. There has to be a personal connection between the students and the institution. They must reach out to the alumina of the institutions.”