Note From the Editor
As countries start opening their borders to travellers, more and more international students are scrambling to get visas to their chosen destinations. The good news is that some countries are fast-tracking their visa processing for the benefit of international students. Although the pandemic is still not over yet, there seems to be a renewed confidence in both the HEIs and the international studentry to resume face-to-face classes. Let’s hope that no major surge happens and we go back to the feared lockdowns
After months of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and border closures, Indian international students who are required to begin classes in US schools in mid-August can now book an appointment with the US Embassy in India for a US Study Visa. The US Embassy has decided to fast-track the process to allow more Indian students to receive their US Study Visas and depart for their chosen US college or university before classes begin in mid-August.
Akhil Damodharan and Khushi Kalra, two international students who are taking their post-secondary studies in Manitoba, Canada, have started their non-profit organization to provide fellow new and incoming international students as well as immigrants with more opportunities in the country. The organization aims to assist international students and immigrants in their search for part-time jobs and accommodation. The non-profit organization is named “Rey,” which is inspired by a Star Wars character and pushes the idea of “resilience.”
The UK government will grant £190,000 to the Universities UK International program. Universities UK, representing universities in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, has announced that 71 partnerships between universities in Ukraine and the United Kingdom are in place. Under the said program, UK universities will be collaborating with their Ukrainian partners for a minimum of five years.
International students who received their study visas increased by 25 percent in 2021 compared to 17 percent in 2020. France has since then joined countries such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, and Canada in the list of countries that welcomed the most number of international students as per 2019 UNESCO figures.
Starting July 6, the Australian government will fully open its international borders. With this development, travelers to Australia will no longer be required to declare their COVID-19 vaccination status. The decision to amend the Biosecurity Act 2015 comes at a time when Australia has surpassed over 10,000 COVID-19 deaths as of July 3. The changes have been made following advice from the Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly.
New Zealand is all set to reopen the country to international students from around the world this August, including Malaysia. This coincides with the celebration of 65 years of diplomatic relations between the country and Malaysia, its 10th-largest source of international students. It likewise reinforces the strong ties between the two nations, specifically in the area of education.
As more countries continue to open their borders, a survey by the Institute of International Education reveals that more US Higher Education Institutions have conducted in-person classes during the Spring of 2022. A little over half of US HEIs conducted face-to-face classes while only a handful of the 559 HEI survey respondents offered online classes.
Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, is halting any changes to its tuition fees. Vice President of Finance for Laurentian University Michel Piché says the move is to attract international students to the university and meet their projection of a 22.5-percent increase in revenue brought about by international students. Undergraduate international students pay an average of $26,000 a year, while international students taking their graduate studies pay an average of $24,000 a year.
During the inaugural ceremony of the six-day International Faculty Development Programme (IFDP) 2022 of Chandigarh University, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, said that India aims to increase the number of international students studying in its universities from the current 50,000 to 5 lakh by 2024. The event was organized as part of the Indian government’s initiative toward internationalization of Indian higher education as per the New Education Policy (NEP).
Based on the survey conducted by the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research, an estimated 97 percent of international students who finished studies at a higher education institution in the Czech Republic would recommend studying in the country. Nine out of ten graduates said that completing studies at a university or college in Czech Republic has contributed to improving their careers.
Filipino students who were accepted into universities in the United States received financial aid worth $240,000 or over Php12 million pesos, according to the US Embassy in the Philippines. During the orientation, the Filipino students were provided with information about international study, safety and security, and travel during the pandemic as US universities returned to in-person classes.
Around 250 higher education institutions (HEIs) and their partners from 38 countries have joined the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) initiative for higher education which aims to support institutions with expertise, access to the EIT innovation ecosystem, and funding. The Chair of the EIT Governing Board Gioia Ghezzi noted that the role of HEIs in nurturing so many talents, skills, and potential, adding that the time to transform HEIs research and ideas into innovation has come.
Whitworth University is a private Christian university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Spokane, Washington. They offer over 100 undergraduate majors and programs, six graduate programs, two doctoral programs, and seven adult bachelors degree completion programs.
The student-faculty ratio at Whitworth University is 12:1, and they have 54.8% of its classes with fewer than 20 students. They are named as the fourth best regional university in the West and the second best value by the 2022 U.S News & World Report.
MSc in Biomedical Engineering is an emerging field that involves applying physical, chemical, mathematical, computer science, and engineering principles to the analysis of biological, medical, behavioral and health-related problems. Biomedical engineers develop innovative devices and procedures to help prevent, diagnose and treat diseases. It relies on an in-depth understanding of science and engineering fundamentals, combined with a broad knowledge of physiological and anatomical systems.
MSM Reporter is collated by a globally spread team of MSM and is published every Thursday.
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