Saturday, August 28, 2010

France preferred over US/UK and Australia for higher studies

According to a report published in The Hindustan Times, France is a favoured destination for studies by the Indian students as compared to U.K, US or Australia.

20% of the annual budget in France is spent on education which is one third of of the U.K/U.S. The education cost there is subsidized by the French state. For example Nanoscale Engineering is offered by University de Lyon for Rs.30,000 i.e. 500 euros and M.Sc Bioinformatics is offered by University Joseph-Fourier -Grenoble for Rs.60,000 for the two-year programme. One year program in Masters in Economic, Economic Theory and Finance is offered by Toulouse Business School for Rs 18,000.

France thus is preferred by the Indian students. This is evident by the fact that 1945 student visa requests were processed in 2009-2010 for higher studies in various courses in France.

Moreover the education institutes in France provide research laboratories of national and international fame where there are excellent facilities and equipment. As compared to India the students there get a chance to work in research centres. Many research laboratories operate in association with national scientific institutions such as CNRS, CEA, or INRIA.

Another key factor in preferring French Universities is that European degrees are also offered along with French degrees. Courses in Advanced Robotics, Computational Mechanics, and Humanities are also available.

Students get attracted towards French institutes as some of the offer paid internships also. Since internship is compulsory for students to complete their degree.

Studying there provides an excellent platform to learn a foreign language. The student can even continue to study the programmes in English. Several courses in engineering, management, hospitality, fashion studies and economics etc are available in English.

There are many elite institutions for management studies like INSEAD, HEC, ESSEC, ESCP-EAP, and EM LYON.

For engineering and technology some of the institutes are INSA Lyon, Grenoble Institute of Technology, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, TELECOM Parsitech, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie.

There are engineering grande ecoles such as the Groupment Des Ecoles Des Mines, Ecoles Centrales, the INSAS, the ENPC, ENSAMs.

In humanities and research, there are some excellent institutions like the ENS, the Sciences Po as also many public universities such as the Sorbonne.

The tuition fees here, varies from 400 euros annually to as much as 40,000 euros. The living expenses are 500 euros per month anywhere in France, except for Paris which is a bit costlier. Students are allowed to work for up to 20 hours a week. Rooms and studio apartments at reduced rates to the students.

International students receive an offset equivalent to about 30 per cent of rent by the French government. Global mobility and excellent career options are provided after studying in France. After finishing the course there students are entitled to stay there for six months to find a job for themselves. Thus it is an employment friendly country for the international students.

Those who want to enrol in a French university can do it through Campus France, a section of French Embassy in India which has been set by the French Ministry and European Affairs in association with the French Ministry of National Education and Research

Visit Campus France Website at: http://www.campusfrance.org

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