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The QS World Grad School Tour 2007 in review
“Having a line of hundreds of eager prospective students waiting to talk to our international universities in Bogota was certainly one of the highlights of the QS World Grad School Tour in 2007,” Peter MacDonald, QS Director of Graduate Products recalls. Close to 30,000 international students and over 150 universities and colleges from 25 countries attended the QS World Grad School Tour 2007 which concluded a successful five month, 39 city itinerary in Kolkata, India on 10 December. MacDonald continues: “The interest in receiving information on study abroad directly from the universities was overwhelming.”
According to MacDonald the popularity of the events in 2007 year was quite staggering. “There was an increased interest from 2006, with more student demand in a range of academic subject areas, from accountancy to zoology,” he said. Such an experience matches the evidence emerging from international organisations such as the OECD and the Institute of International Education (IIE) that the demand for international education, particularly at the graduate and research levels, is increasing. International study and international qualifications are most certainly reaching levels never seen before.
One clear trend from the 2007 QS World Grad School Tour is the great variety of potential destinations for international Masters and PhD study available for students.
One clear trend from the 2007 QS World Grad School Tour is the great variety of potential destinations for international Masters and PhD study available for students. Previously, countries such as Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA dominated the minds of international students, but an increasing number of alternative country destinations are now being considered. Universities and colleges from Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain and The Netherlands all participated in the QS World Grad School Tour and found a receptive and willing student audience. Ria Westenberg from Maastricht University in The Netherlands, met students in Vietnam and India interested in Masters and PhD degrees: “We definitely found qualified students who were aware of the advantages of coming to The Netherlands to study and had also visited our websites for further details of our programs.”
Nothing replaces the opportunity to actually meet a university representative face-to-face.
The real benefit of the events held as part of the QS World Grad School Tour is to allow future students to meet the representatives from international universities. While the use of the Internet for research into international study continues to be a very important factor, nothing replaces the opportunity to actually meet a university representative face-to-face. MacDonald advises everyone should take advantage of the chance: “There is still no better way to really get the flavour and atmosphere of a university than to meet someone from that university. You have the opportunity to ask them the questions that really matter and get a sense of whether the university experience you want is one that they offer.”
