MSU hires agency to woo overseas students

Reacting to the sharp decrease over the last few years in the number of international students studying in MS University, the university's authorities are planning to reach out to students in West Asia and African countries to try and get them to join various courses being offered here.

The university is in the process of finalising a deal with a Jordan-based agency to rope in foreign students from as many as 19 countries in West Asia and Africa, and hopes to see their number rising from around 27 currently to 150 within a year, and to 300 in three years.

Students from countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Yemen, UAE, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and Palestine will be roped in to join courses at MSU.

Out of the roughly 35,000 students enrolled in the university, only 27 belong to foreign countries. The number of such students was 40 three years ago, university officials said.

"The university boasted of a sizable number of foreign students in the 1980s and 1990s, but the number came down because of complications involved, such as in seeking admission and getting a students' visa. To ease the admission process, we are planning to enter into an agreement with a Jordan-based agency, and hope to see a large number of foreign students at the campus in different faculties," director of the International Affairs Cell, Sharad Bansal told The Indian Express.

The university officials said that this will be a major step towards internationalising the university, which already runs a host of student and faculty exchange programmes with different foreign universities.

Other than specialised courses offered by the faculties of Fine Arts and Performing Arts, the students from abroad will also be encouraged to join courses offered by the faculties of Science, Arts and Commerce, among others, Bansal said.

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