• 15
  Jun
  2009

• Canada: becoming a favorite hub for international students

  
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Canada seems to be growing as the next hub for higher education as the Universities in US are becoming more expensive and inaccessible. Also the fact that many of the Canadian universities are of Ivy-League quality schools adds to their increasing popularity.

The feeling is fuelled by the increased marketing by the Canadian government and more interest by Canadian schools, drawn to the American market as a way to maintain enrolment, attract more tuition dollars and give their campus a more international outlook. Signs of that push are showing up this spring. Many schools say their U.S. applications are up, and so is the number of students saying yes to offers.

Across the country, about 9,000 Americans studied at Canadian universities and colleges this year, up from 2,300 just 12 years ago, according to Canada’s embassy in Washington. On the flipside, an estimated 29,000 Canadians headed south in 2007-2008 for undergraduate or graduate studies, a reflection of the size of the American system.

At Montreal’s McGill University, where there is a long tradition of U.S. recruiting, Americans accounted for 12 per cent of this year’s freshman class. Application numbers this spring are even with previous years, but acceptance rates are up 4 per cent.

McGill has seen a steady increase in American students, with numbers rising by 22 per cent in the past five years. Senior administrators say name recognition and recruiting efforts have contributed to that rise, but advertising cost is a factor.

• 14
  Jun
  2009

• Intake of international students increased in one of the top Asian Universities.

  
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In the top 100 Asian universities ranking, the best amongst the five Malaysian universities, the Universiti Malaya is aiming to increases its uptake of International students by 40 percent this year. Currently 82 countries have their students studying in the university, constituting a group of 2500 international students on campus.

UM deputy vice-chancellor (academic and international) Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin said the move would complement the government’s efforts towards internationalization.

“One of the thrusts of the National Higher Education Strategic Plan, which was launched two years ago, was to enhance internationalization to turn Malaysia into a leading education hub. So we are moving towards that,” he said after opening the UM Graduate Month at the university recently.

Mohd Amin said as a research university, UM should also welcome more international students to do their research studies here. “This is important so as to promote the country internationally and also as a platform for local students to exchange ideas with their foreign counterparts,” he added.

• 11
  Jun
  2009

• Mountain climbing during vacations

  
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If mountain climbing is your idea of a vacation all you need to have is to be in possession of sound health, a few bags of good-old-fashioned-raisins and peanuts and a pair of good comfortable hiking boots.

Depending on the toughness level of your climbing a mountaineering course would be advisable. Schools like the National Outdoor Leadership School in US offers courses in mountaineering. Do not forget to consult your doctors in case of health issues.

The Italian Alps and the French peak Mont Blanc are some of the introductory peaks. The Italian Alps, generally considered as the 18th century birthplace of modern mountaineering, is surrounded by some of the best trekking trails in Europe.

For the amateur climbers in US, Mount Olympus in Washington State and Mount Washington in New Hampshire are considered the best climbs their respective coasts have to offer.

For a more exotic mountaineering experience, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is accessible to amateurs. Kala Pattar in Nepal, meanwhile, offers beginners the chance to get full up-close view of Mount Everest, which is about as close as most of us will ever get.

For those of you having health problems, there are some mountains which are meant to be viewed and enjoyed from below. Peaks such as Uluru (Ayers rock), a sacred mountain for Australia’s Aboriginal people and Kailash Mountain in Tibet are some of them.

• 10
  Jun
  2009

• Top Universities of UK-2010

  
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Based on The Guardian’s recently published list of all UK universities ranked according to their teaching excellence, for the year 2010, Oxford University has retained its position as the best university, scoring a 100/100. While it scored a 92% under ‘satisfied with teaching’ criteria. Under the ‘career prospects’ field, Cambridge University is ahead scoring an 83 compared to Oxford’s 79.

St Andrews, Warwick and London School of Economics are the other universities on the top of the list. Winchester university has the lowest ‘Spend per student’ while Oxford is the costliest. London School of Economics has moved down to fifth rank in the list compared to its previous year’s third position. St Andrews has moved up in the rank to the 3rd position replacing London School of Economics.

The ranks were determined on criteria such as ‘% Satisfied with teaching’, ‘% satisfied with feedback’, ‘Spend per student’, ‘Student staff ratio’ and ‘career prospects’.

The Universities in the top 10 positions are Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Warwick, London School of Economics, UCL, Edinburgh, Imperial College, Bath and Loughborough.