foreign students – Canada India Education Council

Canada Requires Pearson PTE Academic for non-SDS Study Permits

November 23, 2020November 30, 2020Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada accepts Pearson PTE Academic test results from Indian international students applying for study permits through the regular application process – also known as non-SDS (Student Direct Stream).

PTE Academic scores, along with TOEFL iBT and IELTS Academic are the only results that will be considered for applications outside of the Student Direct Stream. While this process is not the fast-tracked SDS that was recently introduced, approximately 46% of Indian students who chose to study in Canada in 2019 applied using this method.

Managing Director for Pearson Canada, Marlene Olsavsky, believes the PTE Academic test will be beneficial for Indian students hoping to further their education in Canada. “Test takers have a choice of more than 30 PTE centers currently open in India, including in Punjab, Gujarat and Hyderabad, all with required health and safety measures in place.”

Through PTE Academic, students receive the benefits of being able to schedule the time of their test online and typically have to wait just two days for their results.

Olsavsky states, “Once they get their PTE score, students are then able to send it to any number of universities they are interested in, unlike other English tests which limit the amount of institutions where a score can be sent.”

“We believe PTE Academic offers a huge advantage to test takers,” explains Olsavsky. “Our use of leading AI technology means colleges can trust that students’ English proficiency levels are scored accurately and with no bias. We also know students like the flexibility of booking and fast results we offer – making PTE Academic the increasingly popular English language test worldwide.”

PTE Academic is accepted by 194 education establishments in Canada and 90% of Canadian public universities. For more information, please visit their website: PearsonPTE.com

Will Canada’s Streamlined Visa Process Benefit Asian Students?

July 30, 2018Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

You didn’t think Canada could get any better – until now.

Over Half of Canada’s International Students Want to Stay After Graduation

June 2, 2018June 1, 2018Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Study International

The results of a recent survey suggest that more than 60% of students who come to Canada to complete their post-secondary education hope to become permanent residents of ‘The Great White North’ after they graduate.

While pathways to citizenship currently exist for international students, both the government and various institutions feel more can be done. In the coming years, an increased number of employment opportunities, international programs and scholarships will be made available to help make these students feel more at home while they study abroad in Canada.

For further details on the study, visit Study International.

India’s Aggressive Push to Regain its Glory as the World’s Top Education Hub

May 1, 2018Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Indian students make up the bulk of international students worldwide but the same can’t be said about the number of foreigners enrolling in India.

India Set on Becoming a Major Regional Study Destination

April 28, 2018May 1, 2018Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

India has set a goal to quadruple its foreign student numbers by 2023.

Canada’s International Student Enrolment Surged in 2016

November 22, 2017November 24, 2017Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: ICEF

The number of foreign students in Canada increased by 17.5% and India was among the fastest-growing source markets.

Canada Increasingly Attractive to Mobile Students

October 20, 2017October 23, 2017Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The PIE

New research shows Canada as an increasingly attractive option for international students.

Avoid This Study Abroad Application Mistakes

August 29, 2017Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Hindustan Times

Right from picking the right course to visa procedures, it is best to research well and prepare a strong application.

Canada An Increasingly Desired Destination for International Business Students

June 13, 2017June 15, 2017Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Globe & Mail

GMAC indicated Canada now among the top five countries while friendly postgraduate work policies are seen as a reason.

Canadian Unis See Surge of International Students

May 16, 2017Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Globe & Mail

Canada sees surge in international student admissions for fall.

To read to report, visit the Globe & Mail website.

Many Immigrant Students Lack English skills, but Achieve Comparable GPAs

January 11, 2017January 16, 2017Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Seneca College via Academica

What role does an immigrant’s region of origin and English language proficiency have on their academic and employment outcomes? This is the question that researchers at Seneca College’s Centre for Research in Student Mobility explore in a new report. The study followed the pathways of 18,466 students (non-international) who entered Seneca College between 2010 and 2014 within five years of leaving an Ontario high school. The study found that Seneca students who were born outside of Canada were more likely than their Canadian-born peers to have highly educated parents, live in lower-income neighbourhoods, and to aspire to university. Despite having attended an ON high school, many immigrants come to Seneca with weak English-language skills requiring support in language proficiency, with 59% being placed below college level English, compared to 36% of Canadian born students. Despite this, however, these students achieve similar overall GPAs and graduation rates.

Indian States Support Opening Up to Foreign HE Providers

April 8, 2016April 8, 2016Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The PIE News

Ten of India’s states have so far come out in favour of enabling foreign higher education institutions to operate in the country, but any new policy must ensure that foreign providers have something to offer domestic students, they have said.

There is currently no legislative framework in place to allow foreign universities to operate in India. The 2013 Foreign Education Providers Bill has been blocked from passing on several occasions, but last year Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government intends to let foreign providers operate campuses in the country.

For the full article, please visit The PIE News.

Osmania University gets its own international students hostel

April 2, 2013April 2, 2013Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The Hindu

After a wait of more than 10 years, Osmania University’s dream of a hostel for foreign students has finally taken shape. The modern hostel was inaugurated recently by chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Ved Prakash.

For the moment, the plush two-storeyed building, which can house 172 students, will only be available for male students pursuing their Masters or PhD courses. The reasons being cited are multiple, including security.

The hostel has 16 two-bed rooms and 18 three-bed rooms on each of the two floors.

“Each two-bed room also has a small kitchenette while a common spacious dining hall and kitchen on each floor is available for cooking. A sports lounge and a reading room with television are other attractions,” says C. Venugopal Rao, Director, University Foreign Relations Office (UFRO).

With a built-up area of nearly 50,000 sq.ft., the hostel was constructed at a cost of about Rs. 6.75 crore. Though there are just two floors now there is a provision for adding two more stories.

In fact, The idea of an International Students Hostel was mooted way back in 2002 and a proposal was submitted to the UGC seeking a financial assistance of Rs. 3.63 crores.

The authorities then planned to accommodate 200 students and an International Transit House with a provision of accommodating 50 girl students. However, the idea fructified only in February 2010 when the foundation stone was laid by the then Vice Chancellor, T. Tirupati Rao.

Canada to spend $10M to woo foreign students

April 2, 2013May 3, 2013Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Ottawa Citizen

Tenfold increase in recent budget wins plaudits from cash-poor universities

The Canadian government is hoping to corner the market on foreign students by making a significant investment into Canada’s education brand.

The recently tabled federal budget directs $10 million over the next two years to the effort – a large increase from the funding it set aside for marketing education from 2007 to 2012, when it budgeted $1 million each year.

Efforts will focus on strengthening the “Imagine Education au/in Canada” brand, a program that aims to promote the high quality of a Canadian education to international students.

Foreign Affairs spokesman John Babcock said the extra funding is a “very positive signal,” and that the federal government will continue cooperating with the provinces to strengthen the international education strategy.

Canada is already a top destination for foreign students. According to the budget, some 239,000 students in 2010 contributed $8 billion to the economy, making them a rich vein for colleges and universities to tap.

The University of British Columbia, for instance, has almost 4,000 students from 120 different countries. Foreign students’ tuition is, on average, five times higher than what Canadian students pay.

“It’s a lot more than about economics,” said UBC president Stephen Toope. “They really bring a richness to the educational experience that all Canadian students benefit from.”

Jennifer Humphries, vice-president of membership, public policy and communications for the Canadian Bureau for International Education, said the Canadian education strategy to attract these students has several facets.

“The brand is all the things Canada does,” said Humphries, adding that immigration regulations, tourism campaigns, the schools themselves and even the Vancouver Winter Olympics are all a part of the marketing effort.

“I still think, and the government seems to agree with us, there needs to be more investment and more work on establishing a brand, because we aren’t where we need to be,” she said.

The budget also included $13 million for Mitacs Globalink, a Vancouver-based program that matches international research students with schools.

“We’re unique in being able to make sure that students are being put into labs that will be really interesting to them,” said Arvind Gupta, CEO of Mitacs Globalink. “They know that when they come to us that we will have a good project for them.”

The Imagine Education campaign has only been around a short time, so it remains to be seen how it affects recruitment.

Surge in foreign students who come to Britain then disappear

April 1, 2013April 2, 2013Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The Telegraph

Fears over the number of immigrants exploiting the student visa system to enter Britain illegally have been raised by a Telegraph investigation.

More than 100,000 foreign students were suspected of abusing the system to get into the country last year, 20 times the figure of two years ago.

The disclosure raises concerns that tough new rules brought in to clamp down on abuse of the system are being routinely flouted.

Under the regulations introduced in 2009, anyone from outside the European Union coming to study full-time in Britain must be sponsored by a college or university licensed by the UK Border Agency (UKBA). Institutions must also report any concerns to immigration officials.

The new figures, obtained by The Telegraph using freedom of information laws, reveal that the UKBA received 106,698 warnings about foreign students in the academic year 2011/12. This compares with 77,757 the previous year and just 4,795 in the 12 months before that. Over the same period, the total number of foreign students has risen only slightly, from 405,805 in 2009/10 to 435,235 in 2011/12.

This newspaper has also established that some colleges have been able to get around the licensing rules by registering multiple colleges at the same site so they can transfer students between them.

David Davies, the Conservative MP for Monmouth and a former member of the home affairs select committee, said the figures suggested the scale of student visa abuse for the first time. “Colleges are under new obligations to make these reports and they indicate how it is highly likely that large numbers of foreign students have abused the system over many years,” he said.

“Ministers were right to require colleges to report on missing students, despite all the criticism they received for doing so, and colleges were wrong to complain about it. The Government must continue to work hard to stamp out such abuse of British hospitality.”

The UKBA was not able to say what happened to all of the students about whom it was alerted. Last year, the organisation was criticised in an official report for ignoring tens of thousands of such warnings from universities and colleges about foreign students, suggesting that many of them could have remained in the country.

Under the system, colleges, universities and language schools that do not report concerns to the authorities face losing their licence to sponsor students, known as “highly trusted status”.

Since 2009, more than 800 such institutions have lost their licence, according to comparethecourse.com, the only organisation that keeps an updated register.

The Telegraph has established that some of these colleges are able to sidestep this punishment by transferring students to “partner colleges” — often run on the same site, by the same staff — that still have a licence.

Forbes Graduate School (FGS) in Slough, Berkshire, had its licence suspended this February.

The college’s director also runs three other colleges from the same building, with the same staff and courses.

One of the colleges, the London College of Finance and Accounting, is a highly trusted sponsor – the highest level of sponsorship.

Ravinder Kumar, the director and principal of the four colleges, said he operates them in this way so that if one college has its licence suspended or revoked he can move the students to another of his colleges, without them having to apply for a new visa.

He said: “Since FGS had its licence suspended last month we haven’t been able to take any more foreign students. The students that are already enrolled feel insecure because they don’t know what is happening. So we move them to another college to reassure them.

“The UKBA rules are ridiculous. They took the licence because we hadn’t reported to them when our students weren’t attending classes.

“But we follow strictly the guidelines they give us. I agree the UKBA should take action against dummy colleges but genuine colleges should not be given such treatment.”

After the college threatened the UKBA with court action its licence was restored earlier this month.

He said: “When another of our colleges had its licence suspended in 2011 we took it to the High Court, which ordered the UKBA to restore the licence. We don’t believe the rules are fair or practical.”

Aldgate College in Whitechapel, east London, had its licence suspended in August last year.

Haemin Abdul Aziz, its director, is also the director of London Corporate College (LCC), which is a highly trusted sponsor. The colleges occupy the same floor in a building. Mr Aziz said he was seeking legal advice to challenge in court the UKBA’s decision to take its licence.

He said: “At the moment, the students are still formally registered with Aldgate College. But if we lose the court case and our licence is revoked then we will have to transfer the students to LCC.”

The 189,250 warnings about foreign students over three years covered a range of circumstances about which colleges are required to update the UKBA. They included: 70,815 reports of a significant change to a student’s circumstances; 52,309 reports of a university or college having stopped sponsoring a student and 16,839 reports that a student had discontinued their studies. The figure also included 32,423 reports of students failing to enrol on the course within the correct time frame; as well as 1,786 reports that students may have breached the conditions of their leave to remain in the UK. Almost 200,000 student visas were issued in 2011/12 and about 1,800 universities, colleges and language schools are registered as student sponsors.

The student visa system has been hit by a series of controversies in recent months. In August last year, border officials stripped London Metropolitan University of its right to sponsor overseas students. The following month, it emerged that the UKBA had ignored tens of thousands of warnings from universities and colleges about foreign students.

It meant that 23,000 bogus students were allowed to remain in Britain when they should have been sent home. Many have still not been traced. In November last year, it emerged that foreign students were responsible for a backlog of more than 300,000 asylum claims.

Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of MigrationWatch UK, said: “This is astonishing evidence of the sheer scale of abuse of the British education system by foreign students.

“The Home Office must follow up on these warnings and, if necessary, close down institutions that are failing to live up to their responsibilities.

“It’s remarkable that directors whose companies have been stripped of trusted status should be able to dodge checks so easily.

“There must be more focus on those who are behind potential abuse.”

Changes to 485 visa make it easier for students to stay

April 1, 2013May 13, 2015Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: World News Australia

Under new rules, foreign students who graduate with an Australian bachelor’s degree, masters or doctorate can work for up to four years in Australia upon completion.

International students have greater chances to find employment under the federal government’s changes to the 485 Temporary Graduate visa.

Under the changes to visa subclass 485, which took effect on March 28, foreign students who graduated with an Australian bachelor’s degree, masters or doctorate, can obtain a visa to remain and work in Australia for between two and four years, depending on their degree — a significant increase on the previous limit of 18 months.

In an already competitive job market, the incentive is to lure high quality overseas students to study in Australia.

“Technically, it’s now much easier for international students to stay in Australia,” said Danny Ong, Multicultural Employment Consultant at Monash University. “But the main concern is that there is now a bigger group of international students competing for work opportunities”.

Remaining in Australia can be a gamble.

“This is a question that international students need to ask: it’s whether I can get a job,” Mr Ong said.

For international students, tuition fees could cost up to $30,000 per year, paid up-front, and application fees can cost almost $2,000.

“A lot of students find it very difficult to deal with parental expectations,” said Mr Ong. And this is affecting the quality of the international student experience.

“They tend to make an association between money and the quality of education. And that influences their interaction with the university,” he said.

Lyndal Partington, careers consultant at the University of NSW, says it is important to learn skills away from the classroom for a holistic education.

“It’s important to help them [international students] develop communication skills, team work skills — soft skills employers look for in graduates,” she said.

“One of the challenges is that they don’t have local work-experience and it’s hard to get their foot in the door. And another challenge is the difference in workplace culture between Australia and their home country,” said Ms Partington.

Under the 485 Temporary Graduate Visa, students can obtain a two-year work visa if they studied in Australia for at least 16 months and have completed either a bachelor’s degree or a masters by course work. Students who completed a masters by research can qualify for a three-year visa, while those who completed a doctorate get four years.

Attract the best students? Canada won’t even buy a glass of water

March 27, 2013April 22, 2015Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

The Harper government boasts that foreign students brought $8-billion into the Canadian economy in 2010. When you consider what’s at stake, and the federal government’s goal to double the international student intake by 2022, it borders on the absurd to think that in promoting Canadian education abroad, the Canadian government is short of funds to serve a glass of water.

Such is the way Canada frequently presents itself as an international student recruiter.

This was on display recently when the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade held a major Canadian education promotion event in Lagos, Nigeria, in January.

In a venue where the air conditioning is hit and miss, it not only wouldn’t provide any food for the university and college representatives who paid thousands of dollars and came all the way from Canada – it said it couldn’t even provide water. It was deemed to be “not in the budget” by DFAIT officials in Nigeria to offer to the parched representatives.

“Put it in the feedback form,” was the best advice and the closest thing offered as relief by junior staffers in Lagos, according to one of my colleagues who attended.

Is a glass of water really a big deal?

It is a canary-in the-coal-mine example of how far Canada has to go to achieve the kind of brand consistency and recognition that befits the magnitude of the opportunity Canada has before it.

When the British Council blows through town promoting Education UK, you know it – advertisements, aggressive school outreach programs, and first-class event venues proclaiming ‘brand Britannia.’

The U.S. State Department regularly sponsors significant cultural and other outreach programs to raise the profile of American culture and education in countries around the globe – often bringing in top artistic and academic talent to work with local high school students.

Juxtapose the February 2013 DFAIT press release trumpeting the success of International Trade Minister Edward Fast’s trade mission to Africa. The minister crossed paths with the Canadian education events on at least one occasion in Nigeria, yet made absolutely no mention of the education outreach events at all. This is the norm for how poorly Canada coordinates its efforts. When we consider that Canada spends a tiny fraction of what its competitors do on promotions, making the most out of a little is critical.

Canada has an excellent global brand, but fails to take advantage of this by attracting enough quality students to its world-class public universities (most of Canada’s recent self-proclaimed foreign-student recruitment success is a result of mediocre students filling classrooms in colleges or in foundation pre-university programs).

Canada’s international student recruitment is akin to Apple computers circa 1990 – a superior product but inferior marketing and hence a miniscule market share (if only Canada had a Steve Jobs to market the Maple Leaf abroad!)

Some relief could be in sight: Last week’s federal budget did pledge additional funds to recruiting international students. Yet the 2011 budget made a similar pledge – of $10-million spread over two years – and there was little evidence of this spending visible abroad. And these funds are miniscule compared to those being spent by our competitors, especially Britain and the United States.

If the doubling of international student numbers is achieved in Canada by 2022, it means an estimated $18-billion contribution to the Canadian economy in that year alone. That’s a big-picture, big-ideas scenario, not one allowing room for the sort of execution that does not provide a glass of water to its participants.

Yet that moment was not an exception. One weekend this winter, when Canada was holding another such no-frills education fair in Nairobi, Kenya, the U.S. State Department flew in top Broadway performers hold a glamorous concert, featuring Academy and Grammy award winners spending the better part of a week working with local high-school musical talents and spreading word about their EducationUSA brand.

Americans have been hugely successful in international student recruitment for generations – and, no doubt, they had plenty of water available during their performance.

Mel Broitman is managing director of the Canadian University Application Centre and the editor of Overseas, Overwhelmed, where this article first appeared

EU courts foreign students with new visa rules

March 27, 2013May 13, 2015Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Deutsche Welle

EU countries make it too difficult for foreign students and scientists to come to European universities. The EU Commission wants to change visa processes and entry requirements – yet deeper problems remain.

José Manuel Barroso, President of the EU Commission, had just informed journalists about a Cyprus bailout plan when a young student from Benin, a small country in western Africa, walked up to the microphone.

Bellarminus Kakpovi is currently studying political communications in Belgium’s capital. His path to a European university was not an easy one.

“I had to wait for my Belgian visa for more than three months,” he said. “Students who wanted to go to France had their visas after two weeks. I don’t understand [why] there are such different rules in the EU.”

The student is in fact the invited guest of Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs. Befor Malmström spoke, she allowed the student from Africa to take the floor and talk about his experience with European bureaucracy. Malmström is now introducing a program for improved conditions for students from non-EU countries.

Member state difficulties

Every year, more than 200,000 students and researchers from non-EU countries come to Europe to study. But the visa application process differs from one EU-member state to the next. Each country has its own rules about allowing foreign students and scientists to come to that nation’s universities. Transferring from one member-state to another can be difficult as well.

The EU Commission wants to make the European Union even more desirable as a center for higher education, on par with the US and Australia. To that end, the Commission aims to standardize entry requirements and improve conditions for young academics. In the future, member states should handle visa applications in no more than 60 days, the Commission says. Transfers between universities in different member-states should be easier, and students should be allowed to work at least 20 hours a week.

More measures are necessary

Ulrich Grothus at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) also believes that Europe still has to become more attractive for students from non-EU countries. He sees other issues besides entry requirements and visas, though.

“The demand for English-language graduate programs is much higher than the supply in Germany,” he told DW.

Furthermore, foreign diplomas allowing students to apply for university need to be looked at individually, and not by country, he says, to see whether they should be recognized by EU-countries. “With a high school diploma, an American can apply to some of the best universities in the world in her home country. But it doesn’t qualify her to study in Germany,” Grothus said.

He’s in favor of an exam to individually test foreign university applicants. But different educational systems in EU member states, it will be hard to find an EU-wide testing standard.

Step in the right direction

Sandra Haseloff, head of the division for scientific cooperation at the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation, sees the EU’s new suggestions as an important step. “I think and hope that things will be easier. That goes for the handling time of visa applications as well as for the inner-European mobility for students – for example, when they’re in an international PhD program.”

Haseloff thinks that working 20 hours a week while being a full-time student is quite a lot. German law allows foreign students to work 120 full days – or 240 half-days – a year. That includes internships, even unpaid ones. At the EU level, however, there are no such laws.

The European Parliament and the European Council will now discuss the propositions put forth by Commissioner Malmström. The Commission hopes the new laws will come into effect as early as 2016.

And while that may not help Bellarminus Kakpovi from Benin, who will most likely have graduated and received his Belgian diploma by then, it may help students like him.

Quality vs. Quantity Conundrum: Recruiting International Students in India

February 18, 2013September 17, 2014Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

By Adrien Mutton

India, the second largest source market poses immense challenges to institutions wanting to recruit the best and brightest from this market. Numbers are never an issue, however if you are an institution wanting to be a quality recruiter, it will be a long and tough battle.

Unlike most other countries where students don’t link their education to a job as an end result, Indian students are extremely value and return on investment oriented. They are also migration focused and this is across the entire spectrum of student population leaving Indian shores. So if the students perceive that the destination is not offering a quantifiable end result in the form of potential salary they can earn, they will not consider the country while assessing their study abroad options.

With International offices coming under immense pressure to recruit more students from India, quality more often than not is the first one to be sacrificed. And in the long run this results in creating damage for the brand reputation. Institutions need to have a nuanced understanding of the heterogeneity of India, of the various state and central government boards of examinations alongside the standing of central, state and private universities. For example there are state board examinations where the marking of answer sheets is extremely stringent and on the other end of the spectrum you would have state boards that are very generous in awarding marks to students. The same goes for university examinations as well. So a 55% student from these contrasting boards would have to be judged very differently. These are some of the complexities that are brought on by the heterogeneity in the market in terms of systems, preferences, attitude towards expenditure on education etc.

With a gross enrolment ratio of approximately 12%, India has added 20,000 colleges in a decade with the number of degree granting universities doubling as well in the same period. There has been an explosion in the number of private universities. The number of private universities has grown from 10 in 2006 to 145 in 2012. There is a huge issue of quality here. Substandard private universities are common. A survey conducted by PurpleLeap, a joint venture between Pearson and Educomp Solutions, says only 12 per cent of the surveyed undergraduate engineering students were employment ready. While 52 per cent of the students were trainable, 36 per cent were untrainable. The survey was conducted among 34,000 final-year students with more than 60 per cent marks across 198 engineering colleges in 13 states. I have raised the issue of private universities and engineering college here as they churn out a large number of graduates with below par qualifications. This should bring home the huge number of students who are seeking higher education in India.

As recruiters, institutions make a choice about the kind of students they want to attract. Some institutions use channels like agency networks or decide to recruit directly from the market. The agency model obviously is not as applicable to American institutions, majority of whom are recipients of Indian students, without making an effort to be active seekers of students from here, however this pattern is also slowly changing owing to the economic pressures of running institutions which are these days operated like any business unit. If an institution uses agencies, there also needs to be active engagement with agents with the institution setting the agenda for the kind of students you want to attract and being accepting of the reality of training and retraining of agents on your product offering.

Canada beckons

February 15, 2013May 18, 2013Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

By Sparsh Sharma

With post-degree job opportunities on the decline in much of the developed world, several visa restrictions in the UK, comparatively higher cost of education in the USA, and racist attacks in Australia, Canada is fast emerging as an upcoming destination for many Indian students wanting to study abroad. In several United Nations’ surveys, Canada has been found to be one of the best places to live in the world with low crime rates, high life expectancy, and better access to education.

Jugnu Dutta, an international education consultant from Navi Mumbai, agrees with the trend. “A degree/diploma from a Canadian institution is globally recognised. Canadian immigration process has been relaxed for international students, giving the students an opportunity to look for jobs and eventually apply for Permanent Residency (PR). International students in Canada are permitted to work part time for 20 hours/week (first six months in campus and off campus thereafter). During vacations, international students can work up to 40 hours. Average pay for part time job is C$8 – C$11 per hour. All these factors have made the country a much-preferred destination for Indian students,” says Dutta.

Also, since Canada is one of the most multicultural and diverse countries in the world and accepts people from different backgrounds, international students acclimatise better in Canada than in other countries, according to Imran Kanga, associate director, student services and international relations, Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto. “Traditionally, the UK, USA and Australia were prime destinations for students. At the moment, the US economy is not doing very well and so international students are having trouble finding jobs, especially because in the US, companies have to sponsor visas for students. The UK has put breaks on immigration altogether and students have to leave the country once they are done with their studies. Canada on the other hand welcomes international students from all over the world, as is evident by the work permit incentive that is automatically given to students post their graduation, which allows them to stay in Canada for up to three years after completing their studies. The Canadian economy is very stable, and our financial system is sound. This means that students are not struggling to find work after they graduate, as the market is receptive. This helps because students are able to work and pay back their student loans faster,” he says.

The students get a chance to mix and learn from a diverse peer groups consisting of students from all over the world and from varying work and educational backgrounds. Canada is a very safe place, the people are extremely warm, friendly and students, who go to Canada, have very enriching experiences.

Sharath Janakiraman, current MBA student at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, says, “Despite the rigour, it is not ‘all work and no play’. Social events, exhilarating post-exam celebration parties and various sports activities have been able to add enough fun to my MBA experience. Although this was the first time I am living outside India for such a long time, the warmth of people in Toronto always makes me feel at home.”

The number of international students has increased over the years, in Canada. A trend confirmed by counselors and universities. “Along with the Canadian students, our complement of international students has also grown, from 22 countries represented six years ago, to more than 600 students and 75 countries on campus today,” tells Paul Marck, media relations coordinator, University of British Columbia, Okanagan. Even at universities like Thompson Rivers University, situated in Kamloops (an interior area of British Columbia province), there are international students from more than 80 countries.

Besides many part time jobs available for students, many colleges and universities offer paid or unpaid internships for a few months during the length of the program, especially in post-graduate programs like MBA.

Sheldon Dookeran, assistant director, full time MBA admissions, Rotman School of Management, says, “Students who complete a full time program of study longer than eight months and less than two years can receive a work permit lasting just as long as the program lasted. Better yet, students who complete a program of two years or more in length, such as an undergraduate degree or an MBA, can receive a three-year work permit, within which time they can then apply for PR, if they choose to stay longer. Canada is known for its quality education, cultural comfort and job opportunities. There are 31 student groups and clubs on our campus. Rotman’s strategic location in Toronto and recruiter reputation contributes to its 88% internship rate and 85% employment rate within three months of graduation.”

Many universities and community colleges accept applications on a rolling basis. This means that the admissions committee continues to make offers of admission to qualified applicants until a particular intake reaches its enrolment capacity. However, international students are advised to apply early as admission and scholarships grow more competitive around the second or third deadlines. The application deadline for many programs starting in September (fall) intake starts from the first week of February. At Thompson Rivers University, it starts from mid-May for the September intake. Schulich offers an India MBA program, too, which starts in January and the application deadline for which is November 1.

“All Canadian universities/community colleges have intakes in August/September. Some also provide January/February or May intakes. Few community colleges have three to four intakes in a year. The certificates are usually categorised into certificates, diploma, advanced diploma, bachelor’s degree, post graduate diploma, post graduate certificates, master’s degree and Ph.D. Some of the prominent courses at the graduate level are MBA, PGD in management, MS and LLB while at the undergraduate level; it is the Bachelor of Administrative Studies or Bachelor of Engineering,” adds Dutta.

Unlike India, Canada doesn’t have a central education system and hence is under the jurisdiction of each province. All major universities in Canada are publicly funded whereas the private universities are relatively new and usually offer undergraduate courses. There are approximately 92 universities and 175 community colleges in Canada.

Some popular universities among international students:

University of Toronto
York University
McGill University
University of Alberta
University of British Columbia
Queen’s University

Some popular community colleges among international students:

Centennial
Sheridan
Seneca
Humber
Durham
George Brown

Cost of education – The fees ranges from CAD6,000 to CAD30,000 per year. Usually the universities are more expensive than community colleges. Getting admission in a university is comparatively more difficult than community colleges. Also, most universities accept a minimum of 16 years of education while most community colleges accept 15 years of education.

Canadian visa – The earliest a student can apply for student visa is six months before the start date of the course. The processing time for student visa ranges from 15 days to 30 days for Student Partners Program (SPP) or regular visa respectively. It is recommended to apply for student visa as soon as the student gets the unconditional offer from the university/community college.