European education fair to begin Nov 30

Offering Indian students keen on exploring higher education opportunities in Europe a platform to meet European universities and higher education institutions, a European Union delegation to India would be organising a fair, it announced Monday.

The European Higher Education Fair, scheduled to be inaugurated by Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, will be held here Nov 30-Dec 1. The fair will see participation from nearly 100 universities from 23 out of the 28 countries that comprise the European Union (EU).

Some of the participating countries include France, Germany, Britain, Bulgaria and Finland.

"We have some 4,000 higher education institutes with more than 19 million students; and in terms of quality, we have some highest quality universities, world class teaching infrastructure and some academics who are very committed," João Cravinho, Ambassador of the European Union said at a press conference here.

He said that as per the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, six European universities appear in the top 100, while some 23 universities are in the top 400.

Adding that European universities are less expensive, Cravinho shared that the fair aims to allow Indian students to explore the educational, scholarship and career opportunities in Europe.

On being asked the kind of courses Indian students generally opt for in European universities, Matthias Themel, programme manager, education, European Commission told IANS: "They usually opt for engineering, management and courses in life science. Hospitality is also sought after."

The fair would also have brainstorming sessions, informal talk and discussions on various topics.

Nearly 50,000 Indian students are studying in Europe, Cravinho said.

After Delhi, the fair will travel to Bengaluru (Dec 3) and Kolkata (Dec 5).