| |9 May 2019HIGHERReviewinternational students in the US are now showing a strong interest in off-beat courses like marine engineering, geophysics, game design and develop-ment. One main reason behind the shift in their demeanour is that these interdisciplinary courses are not eas-ily available in their home countries. Also, as parents in India become more supportive of their children's career choices, students are no lon-ger shying away from choosing the road less travelled. In 2019, unusual courses are expected to strike the chord with more Indians enrolled in foreign universities. Rise of specialized coursesWith the ongoing 4th industrial revolution and rapid progress in au-tomation, machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence), tradition-al job roles are evolving and new jobs are coming up. In line with the changing times, modern employers are now lookout for people who are skilled in these specialized fields. This explains why some specialized courses such as Robotics, Automa-tion and Mechatronics are likely to witness demand in 2019. Other than that, disability programmes and in-fection control courses seem to gain popularity among Indian students heading abroad. Most preferred countries for higher education in 2019 USAs mentioned earlier, the United States will be the top international destination for Indian students in the coming year. According to a state-ment by the USIEF earlier this year, with over 186,000 Indians studying in the US, they make up 17 per cent of all overseas students in the coun-try. In 2019 too, the North American country will attract lakhs of Indi-an students who wish to strengthen their curriculum vitae. CanadaCanada is another country that has been the favourite destination for In-dian students for years. Unlike the US, the Canadian government allows them to stay back in the country and get the work permit after they fin-ish their post-graduate degree. Es-pecially, following the introduction of the SDS (Study Direct Stream) Pro-gramme, there has been a significant rise in the number of Indians apply-ing for a student visa for Canada. As we come to the end of another year, the numbers are speculated to further go up. AustraliaCities like Melbourne and Sydney have remained the favourite destinations among the Indian students. However, in 2018, there was a noticeable shift towards new regions such as Gold Coast, Adelaide, Perth, and Northern Territory. In Australia, students tend to opt for postgraduate courses as hav-ing a master's degree paves the path for permanent residency. UKWhile the number of Indians studying in the UK has dropped alarmingly due to strict student immigration laws and lack of stay-back opportunities, the government is now looking to increase the inflow of international students. In fact, a cross-party group of British Par-liamentarians plans to change the coun-try's post-study visa policy. If the post-study work visa is reintroduced, more students will turn to the UK for higher studies. Also, the one-year master's course offered here ensures relatively lower expenditure and faster entry into the workforce. Other European countriesGermany, Ireland, Latvia and a few other European countries are also emerging as popular study desti-nations for Indian students seeking quality education.
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