More employers hiring students who can work in a disruptive environment

Hyderabad: University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney promotes a strong culture of preparing its students to be sensitive and adaptable to constantly evolving tech advances, as well as workplace & client demands.

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) hosted its India Open Day in the Capital on Sunday. It is the biggest function of its kind that brings about 40 of its teaching faculty members, as well as representatives from admissions, visa and employment departments, from UNSW, Sydney, to meet directly with prospective students and their parents.

"We understand that studying abroad is a big step, and that you can't go around visiting universities abroad easily. So, we bring a slice of UNSW here to India for prospective students, and their parents, to interact with, understand and experience," said Fiona Docherty, Vice President, External Relations, who was here to inaugurate the UNSW Open Day at Bengaluru.

In four metros across the country, for four hours through respective afternoons, booths for subject streams, like Science, Medicine, Engineering, Social Sciences, Law, Art & Design, etc. along with Admissions, Scholarships, Employment Opportunities, as well as a Virtual Reality kiosk are set-up to seek information first hand from UNSW professors and senior staff on the opportunities and courses available, finally culminating in the Capital.

"I came to learn more about the PPE (Politics, Philosophy & Economics) programme that UNSW has recently launched, and I've got a really good idea about the areas they are focusing on and how it is different from PPE being offered in other universities," says Avi Dayani, a school student, who came with his dad.

Indian students seeking higher education in Australia recorded a 50 per cent jump in 2018-19 from the previous year, "And I think this pattern will continue," says Laurie Pearcey, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, International, UNSW, "We are also seeing a widening of interest areas from the traditional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine) to Public Health, Law, Art & Design, etc. among students from India and south Asia," he adds.

"We have 1200 Indian students currently at UNSW, and their numbers have tripled in the last two years. Sydney is a melting pot of cultures and identities, and most students thrive in this diverse community," says Docherty, originally from the UK herself.

Another attraction for many foreign students in Australia is that now they get to work part-time 20 hours a week, while studying, as well as spend two years after their course to gain work experience.

"UNSW also offers some excellent scholarships, some especially only for Indian students, that are not need-based but what they consider as an investment in the future," says Osama Khursheed, Delhi-based boy who secured an all expenses covered Future of Change scholarship for his Masters in Environmental Engineering, "UNSW wants its graduates to engage actively in the world they live in and make it a better place," he says. "Yes, we want to prepare students for tomorrow, to link their studies to the real world; and we help them become the best employable in whatever sector they want to join,"says Pearcey.