Chennai: Indian students who dream of pursuing their higher education in the US and UK are skeptical after Donald Trump’s new visa rules and Brexit.
New markets have opened up now and Australian universities have seen several Indian students joining them. One among them is University of New South Wales (UNSW).
UNSW was recently ranked 45th in the world by the prestigious QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Rankings® 2018.
Speaking about the reason why Indians are choosing Australia to pursue education, UNSW, India country director, Amit Dasgupta, said, “Brexit and several recent US policies regarding visas have created a series of uncertainties. Naturally, other destinations open up. Australia stands out because the quality of education and student life is great. UNSW is a perfect place to study as the quality is exceptional.”
He said the university has seen an influx of Indian students to pursue their postgraduation. “They are seeing a variety of options from engineering, business, art and design to law,” Amit said, and added that “Undergraduate programmes are also catching up.”
UNSW offers special scholarship earmarked for Indians. “We have seen many meritorious Indian students who are using this financial assistance,” he said.
UNSW has also seen Indian students opting to pursue their law degrees.
When asked how the students at UNSW law school are taught to maintain their integrity when they fight for justice, Associate Professor at UNSW School of Law and the Associate Dean (International & External Engagement), Gabrielle Appleby, said, “We seriously emphasise on our students to not just learn law but also to strive towards justice. We do this by exposing our students by making them work at places where they see the real impact of the law. We have something called ‘Clinics’ where our students get to practice and apply law in real life.”
She added, “They are involved with interviewing clients and giving them legal advice. Our students before they graduate need to work for a clinic.”
The students are also made to do internships and several competitions are organised that crafts them into job-ready graduates.
“We also have a special research centre that consistently updates our curriculum so they stay on a par with the current trends in technology that influences law,” says Gabrielle.
