Hundreds of youths nurturing dreams of pursuing higher education abroad flocked to the 20th edition of The Hindu Education Plus International Education Fair held at Vivanta Ernakulam here on Wednesday.
The enthusiastic crowd that included parents of young aspirants lapped up the advice and guidance provided by experts on a wide variety of programmes available abroad.
Inaugurating the event. S. Syamsundar, Inspector General of Police, who is also the District Police Chief (Kochi City), said false narratives had been created by some against aspirants from Kerala who looked out for study options abroad.
“We should not forget the fact that several of our freedom fighters, including the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, had pursued education abroad. It is your personal freedom and choice to explore educational opportunities abroad. Nothing should stop you from realising your dream of pursuing education abroad and finding a job there,” he said.
Visitors at the 20th edition of The Hindu Education Plus International Education Fair Vivanta Ernakulam on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
He praised The Hindu for being the most sought-after reference for Union Public Service Commission exam aspirants. “Nobody can question the credibility of the newspaper,” he said.
Albert, who graduated from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, came with his mother to look for universities and colleges offering postgraduate programmes in contemporary art theory. “I could get an overall perspective of the possible options available abroad,” he said.
Shinoj, hailing from Muvattupuzha, came to the fair in search of study options in nursing for his daughter. “My daughter is currently at the Plus Two level, and she is interested in pursuing undergraduate programmes in nursing abroad,” he said.
There were interesting sessions on various aspects related to international education at the event. Shakthi Mohan, regional programme manager, FES Study Abroad (powered by Fragomen), spoke on ‘Strategise Your Study Abroad Journey with Us’, while Roshna Bhaskar, chief manager and head of credit processing, Ernakulam zonal office, Bank of Maharashtra, elaborated on ‘Education and Retail Loan’.
Winya Suzanna, education manager for India, British Council, spoke on ‘Studying and Living in the UK’. Sabari Kishor, manager, Kochi, Campus France, and Nitha Varghese, deputy to Campus France manager, Kochi, spoke on ‘Study in France’. S.S. Reddy, deputy general manager, retail assets, corporate office, Bank of Baroda, Mumbai, spoke on ‘Education Loan for Study Abroad’.
Kiran Joshi, Assistant Vice President (Advertisement Sales), The Hindu, welcomed the gathering.
The event was presented by FES Study Abroad (powered by Fragomen India) and powered by Bank of Maharashtra. The knowledge partners were British Council from the United Kingdom and Campus France, representing France.
The associate partners were HDFC Credila and State Bank of India. The global banking partner was Bank of Baroda. The forex and travel partner was Unimoni.
