Soon, TN govt college students to be sent on study abroad programme
"The entire expense, including travel and accommodation, will be borne by the State government,” he said, adding that the programme was expected to be officially launched soon.
File photo
CHENNAI: Soon, students from government arts and science, and engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu will follow their counterparts from leading private institutions in spending a semester abroad, with the Higher Education Department exploring tie-ups in this regard with recognised foreign universities.
The semester abroad programme would be offered to final year students, a senior official told DT next. Explaining the details of the programme initiated by the Tamil Nadu government, the official said 50 students would be selected, mostly from rural areas, based on specific criteria, including their academic performance. Later, it would be expanded for more students depending on the requirement.
"The entire expense, including travel and accommodation, will be borne by the State government,” he said, adding that the programme was expected to be officially launched soon.
“It will be a unique opportunity for the students to gain international learning and living experience, and they will get a chance to work with eminent faculty members of those universities,” he said.
Unlike the typical exchange programmes that are offered by private institutions, in this programme, courses that are currently trending will be selected based on feedback and suggestions from experts and high-level authorities in the Higher Education Department, the official said.
"Only those foreign universities that have a high World QS Ranking score will be selected for the programme," he said.
The programme would ensure that the students get an opportunity to work in a cross-cultural, multinational environment, which will improve self-confidence and independence, he said, and pointed out that the students would also gain the best research practices and experiences through interactions with research scholars.
After the period of study in the foreign country is over and the students return to their parent colleges to continue the course, the credits earned while at the foreign university would be converted to the degree programme by a quality conversion procedure, he added.
