Germany has become a go-to destination for Indian students, with over 35,000 of them ditching popular English-speaking countries such as the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. With Chancellor Olaf Scholz appealing for Indian professionals in Germany’s workforce, and a mobility agreement being signed by both countries, German universities are capitalising on these recent changes by skilling Indian students through their programmes. In an interview with the Free Press Journal, Balasubramanian Ramani, who serves as Advisor, India relations at Leibniz Universitat Hanover and is an active member of the Social Democratic Party, talked about opportunities for Indian students in Germany, fake…

This special feature is sponsored by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about test validity? If your answer is a hearty, “No!”, then rest easy. You’re not alone. But give us at least the next few paragraphs to explain why validity is important, and we promise that you’ll come away with some useful new insights for your work with international students. Validity is a specialised concept in educational assessment, which draws on psychology and educational research. It is of importance for specialists who design and maintain standardised tests, and backed by academics and researchers the world over. If…

Verbal abuse was the most common form of racism reported by the 428 participants in the study, which included higher education and English language students. Some respondents were subject to multiple forms of racism, according to the Speak Out Against Racism report.  Only 10% of all participants affected by racism reported it to authorities, with reasons for not doing so including language barriers, not knowing how to report and a belief that nothing would be done.  The study notes that students feel reporting is ineffective “as the authorities seem unable or unwilling to do anything about racism, or even provide support…

GLOBAL The United States boasts the highest number of top-10 programmes (256) in the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject, followed by the United Kingdom with 145 and Switzerland with 32.US universities lead in 32 subjects, with Harvard University ranking first in 14 and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 11.British universities take the top spot in 14 subjects, with the University of Oxford leading in four, while the University of Cambridge, UCL and the Royal College of Art lead in two each.Canada’s University of Toronto boasts the most top-50 subjects in the world, with…

Q1) The Finnish government is aiming to double the current volume of work-based immigration by 2030. Will the government introduce new strategies and a flexible visa system? The Finnish government has been implementing several new strategies and initiatives to increase work-related immigration. Fast-track services have been developed to smoothen the immigration process for specialists, startup entrepreneurs and their families. Under the process, the residence permit application has been cut to a maximum of two weeks. This is relevant in Finland-India collaboration for talent mobility including highly qualified IT experts, service design and development, who fall under this category.We are aiming…

Key PointsSouth Asian graduates experience inequity in gaining access to employability-related programmes, finds study.Universities and employers need to provide “culturally appropriate” careers support to international students, says Jasvir Kaur.A conducted by Ms Singh and her peers found that South Asian graduates experienced unequal opportunities in accessing employability-related programmes as postgraduate international students in Australia.Speaking to SBS Punjabi about her research, Ms Singh said they spoke to many international graduates, particularly from South Asian countries, to get an insight into the kind of challenges they encountered while looking out for jobs in the Australian market.”It was surprising to learn that many…

(This letter is part of a series by The Indian Express where we bring to you the experiences of students at different foreign universities. From scholarships and loans to food and cultural experiences — students tell us how life is different in those countries and things they are learning other than academics) — Priyali Bathla After numerous months of filling in tedious college applications and undergoing the tension that kicks in every time the application portal gets a status update, it all boils down to choosing the ‘perfect-fit’ institution that suits one’s ambition and persona. Take it from someone who…

Andrew Guzman, dean of the Gould School of Law, University of Southern California, was in India recently. He spoke to TOI’s Ishani Duttagupta about some of the factors that Indian law students should consider when they go for higher education to the US. From visa issues, when it comes to finding jobs after graduation; to navigating the US legal system there are some challenges; but none are insurmountable, Dean Guzman feels. Edited excerpts from the interview.What are the challenges that Indian students face in joining law courses at American universities? There are thousands of Indian students going to the US…

Karan Kataria said he was motivated by his peers to contest for the post of the general secretary of the LSE Students’ Union. Karan Kataria, 22, comes from a middle-class farming background (Twitter)By India Today World Desk: An Indian student has claimed that he was disqualified from the London School of Economics (LSE) Students’ Union elections due to a deliberately orchestrated smear campaign against his Indian and Hindu identity.Karan Kataria, who is from Haryana and is pursuing a postgraduate degree in law at London university, said he was motivated by his peers to contest for the post of general secretary…