UAE students flock to Education Show in large numbers

The counseling services will be provided by well-known academicians retained by Dubai-based Apex Consultancy and Exhibition Services.

'For the benefit of students, counseling services for enrollment at the participating Indian educational institutions will continue even after the Education Show concludes on November 2,' said Mr. Vasu Gangadaran, Senior Consultant for Apex Consultancy and Exhibition Services.

'Our organization will serve as a contact point in the UAE for the participating institutes from India. Our counseling services will help students and parents choose the right course and institute. Besides, we will be assessing the eligibility of the applicants based on their past performance and after short listing will forward their applications to the concerned institutes. We may even conduct the entrance examination in the UAE for some of the Indian institutions depending on the response that we receive from UAE-based students,' he added.

Among the Indian institutes of higher learning that are participating in the Education Show are Amity University, Birla Institute of Technology, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, IGNOU Centre - Dubai, Mahatma Gandhi University Off Campus Centre, MAHE Manipal Dubai Campus, Skyline College - Sharjah, Universal Empire Institute of Medical Sciences, and Vishwakarma Institutes.

The Indian pavilion at the Education Show is turning out to be a major crowd puller given that UAE hosts a large expatriate population from the sub-continent.

'Most Indian parents are keen that their children go back to their home country for higher education,' said Mr. Gangadaran.

'India provides very high quality education at a fraction of the cost charged by institutes in other parts of the world. Also, Indian institutes of higher education are now fully geared up to receive NRI students,' he said.

Other than the Indian Pavilion, the UK pavilion too has turned out to be a major highlight at the Show and is attracting both expatriate as well as national students in large numbers.

For those that are interested in going to Germany for higher studies, the DAAD Information Centre for the Gulf Region is providing exclusive counselling services at the show venue. The DAAD Information Centre, which has its office in Abu Dhabi, UAE, serves as a point of contact for all issues concerning cooperation between Germany and the UAE in the field of higher education.

The Education Show, which began on October 30 with thousands of school students from across the UAE flocking the event on the first day itself, is hosting over 70 institutes of higher learning including universities, colleges, institutes of higher learning, computer schools, business schools, technical institutes, management training centres, and language centres, from Australia, India, Jordan, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and the UAE.

Besides the institutes of higher learning and the counseling services, the offers by the Union National Bank at the current edition of the Education Show are also attracting considerable attention from visitors. The Bank is offering account opening services for students below 18 years of age, sponsorship opportunities for national students pursuing banking courses, various internship opportunities, and personal loan schemes.

The Education Show is being organized by Expo Centre Sharjah with the support of the UAE Ministry of Education and the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), and sponsored by the Emirates National Development Programme.

The Education Show will be open till November 2 daily from 9 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm. All visitors will be eligible to participate in a raffle draw and will have the chance to win a laptop and other fabulous prizes.