By Radhika Narang:
Apart from the much coveted programmes like engineering, medicine, business and law, Indian students are increasingly going abroad to pursue a variety of vocational courses, be it hotel management, photography, art direction, film making, advertising, copy writing, fashion designing and many other fields related to liberal arts. There is a huge influx of Indian students in London, Paris, New York, Bangkok, Melbourne etc. There is also a large section of people who certainly wish to study abroad but are unable to secure an admission in the foreign universities due to financial reasons or low grades.
It is for those students that international universities have tied up with Indian universities and are targeting these glocal students. For these students, such collaborative measures offer the advantages of a global education, effective cost and quality, given that the value of the Indian rupee has depreciated against foreign currencies in recent times.
International faculty also visits the campus for such programmes many times during the year for lectures and workshops. Such programmes also offer an internship abroad in the second or third year of the study which provides the much needed exposure and an international experience. Students required to pay for their lodging in most cases while abroad but tuition fees is covered.
Some of the vocational programmes with international tie-ups are:
Indian School Of Design and Innovation Parsons, Mumbai: Offers four-year undergraduate diplomas in fashion design.
Le Cordon Bleu at GD Goenka University: Offers a three year bachelor’s degree in hotel management and a four year programme in hotel management and catering technology.
Miami Ad school, Mumbai: Offers two year programmes in art direction,digital design and copy writing.
The tution fees in India is another added advantage, the Miami Ad school charges around 12 lakh rupees which otherwise would cost around 40 lakh if pursued in Miami. Fees for Indian school of design and innovation parsons Mumbai is also about 3.8 lakh.
If one compares the cost of these schools to their foreign counterparts, then it is far more reasonable. But the fact remains that students pursuing hotel management or fashion design or courses in advertising or art direction and many other vocational courses from reputed Indian universities like national institute if design(NID) National institute of fashion technology(NIFT) Institute Of Hotel Management(IHM) or Indian institute of mass comunication(IIMC) pay way lesser.
But also the kind of global exposure that is necessary, especially while teaching and learning about the fashion world; the trends, the kind of fabrics and cuts that are all round the world is provided by schools like Parsons, Mumbai. It definitely builds their skills which is helpful for them to apply in the future.
Therefore, if students who have not been able to secure admissions in universities abroad should not get disheartened or lose hope because such tie-up programmes, whether degree or diplomas, are an interesting option to explore for the students who want to carve a career in the various vocational courses.