The University of Queensland in Australia is rolling out the red carpet for students.

The University of Queensland in Australia may be nearly a hundred years old, but innovation and adapting to changing world conditions has been one of its hallmarks. Established in 1909, UQ, as it is popularly known, is one of the top universities in the country and attracts students from around the world.

The university — ranked 45th in the world by the prestigious Times Higher Education Supplement in 2006 — is also part of the Group of 8 (Go8), a group of premier Australian universities.

The main campuses of UQ are at Ipswich, Gatton and St Lucia, which is situated in Brisbane and is the largest campus. Around 37,500 students are enrolled in UQ, 6,650 of whom are from 120 different foreign countries. “We have always attracted students from abroad, especially from China, Singapore and Malaysia. Most students from India who head to Australia for higher studies are interested in doing an MBA but the University of Queensland has much more to offer, specially in terms of research facilities,” says Ian Zimmer, executive dean, faculty of business, economics and law, UQ.

Currently, around 200 students from India are enrolled in various courses at the university, including in fields like biotechnology, engineering and business administration. The university, however, is looking for more students from the land of the Taj Mahal. “We want to substantially scale up the participation of Indian students in our university,” says Zimmer.

Recently, a delegation from UQ toured Indian universities and was highly impressed with our talent pool. “During our travels around the country, we realised that some of the research work done in the top technology institutes here can rival that of the best universities in the world,” says Nicholas Shuley of the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. “We want to attract that talent. We know that Indian students are interested in research and I must point out that we have more world-class research centres than any other Australian university,” asserts Shuley.

UQ is a research-oriented institute and has produced many scientific talents who have achieved great heights in their chosen field. “One of our university researchers, Prof. Ian Frazer, has invented a vaccine for cervical cancer,” says Zimmer proudly.

“Our faculty is also top class. Each year, our university teachers scoop the nation’s top teaching awards,” says Brendon Lutwyche, manager, international development, UQ. The university also boasts of well-stocked libraries, 13 of them with more than 2 million volumes.

“We think that Indian students will add to the quality work that we are doing. We have entered into collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Manipal University, Manipal, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and others to attract more students,” says Lutwyche.

The university is keen on attracting Indian students to departments like molecular bioscience, bioengineering and nanotechnology, physical sciences and architecture, business and economics and law.

To make it an attractive study destination, Indian graduate and postgraduate students at the University of Queensland will get help with a variety of things, including visas and accommodation. The university has also roped in former Test cricketer Michael Kaprowicz as their goodwill ambassador in India. Two scholarships named after Kaprowicz have been started, which will be offered only to Indian students. These will be awarded to a postgraduate student each at the faculty of business, economics and law and at the faculty of engineering, physical sciences and architecture.

The University of Queensland claims that most of its students find placement easily in top companies in Australia and abroad. “Some of our courses in mining and related areas are so popular that firms in South American countries come all the way to recruit our students because there is a dearth of quality mining engineers there,” says Lutwyche.

Although tuition fees vary from course to course, most courses cost around 9,000-10,000 Australian dollars (Rs 3,05,501-3,39,446 or appx 8,500 USD) per semester. Accommodation and living expenses come to around 16,000-17,000 Australian dollars (Rs 5,43,114-5,77,058 or appx .14,400 USD). “Another advantage is that our students can work for 20 hours a week with a permit during semester time. Effectively, students can work full-time for around 26 weeks in a year,” says Shuley.

UQ might be slightly expensive when compared to other Australian universities but then you get better value for your money.

Source:The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)