Study abroad: Expo opens up student options in Australia

The event featured over 15 universities and colleges.

LAHORE:

The Australian Education Office held an education expo featuring more than 15 Australian universities and colleges for students wishing to pursue higher education abroad.

The expo is part of the Australian Education Roadshow by AEO Pakistan, which will travel to six cities across the country, including Islamabad, Karachi, Multan, Peshawar and Faisalabad. The expo in Lahore was the first event in the series.

Representatives from the University of Melbourne, Canberra Institute of Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Griffith University, Curtin University, University of New South Wales and University of Wollongong were present at the expo.

It started at around 10:30am and ended at 6pm. Scores of students and parents were seen making inquiries and discussing their options in Australia.

Ahmad Pirzada, marketing manager at Navitas, which offers more than 30 university programmes in Australia, US, UK,Canada, Sri Lanka, Singapore and New Zealand, said the company had managed to send nearly 800 Pakistani students abroad.

He said the company offered programmes in as many as 12 universities in Australia, 10 in England and six in the United States.

Muhammad Moiz, an ICS student, said he was interested in pursuing higher education in Australia as the options were better.

“Finances are an issue and we have no idea how much studying abroad will cost,” he said. “This is why I came to the expo, it’s good to have an idea of what is out there.”

Shah Zaman, a BCom graduate, said getting degrees in well-paying fields was also crucial.

“In Pakistan, it is getting difficult to pursue a degree that lands one a good job,” he said.  “This is why so many students look for options abroad,” he said.

CEO and Resident Director of AEO Pakistan Saad Mahmood said students were required to sit a Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) assessment which helped ensure they were serious. He said AEO Pakistan was also an official IELTS test centre.

AEO Accounts and Operations Manager Rizwan Elahi said the consultancy firm held education expos across the country to reach out to students interested in studying in Australia.

The expo now heads for Islamabad after which it will travel to other cities across the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2015.