The brunt of recession is being felt keenly by students and professionals in India. From premier institutes like the IITs & IIMs,to colleges all over,placement figures are dismal. As opposed to near-perfect placement figures in the past,Indias elite colleges are struggling to meet the 60% mark in 2009. There are cases of deferred employment offers,and students fear withdrawal of offers,due to lack of projects & cost cutting measures. Anshul,4th year student,IIT Bombay,said less number of recruiting firms and small pay packages make jobs less attractive this year. Were looking out for studying abroad or MBA as they are definitely better options! LearnHub.com,a website that helps student to apply to international programs across US,UK and Canadian universities,registered 100% increase in study abroad applicants in the last quarter. LearnHub.com,a social learning network run by Canada based Savvica Inc,has announced the a scholarship to help students in various academic pursuits to apply and study abroad. Savvica is majority owned by Educomp Solutions Ltd. This scholarship will be declared once in 6 months and can be applied by any student who is an Indian citizen and a member of the website. While there is no upper cap on the number of scholarships,only deserving candidates will be selected for the same. The first round of results will be out by September 1st week,2009. In these lean economic times,students have discovered further studies as an attractive option to avoid career stagnation,while transitioning to higher job profiles. Faced with a choice between colleges in India and abroad,students are keen on studying abroad. As Varun,analyst at a research firm said,I have secured admission in both Indian and foreign business schools. I prefer studying abroad since it provides better education and placement opportunities. The job scenario will improve in the coming years and I should secure a higher level position in a consulting firm,helping me repay my educational loan in time. Studying abroad is also a fast emerging trend for undergraduate courses. When you consider salaries after education and the ease of transition to higher study programs like MS/MBA,it becomes obvious that studying abroad is the way to go,said student counsellor Amit Wadhwa.
