The British Council continues to push for students from India to attend UK universities through a variety of informative workshops, exhibitions and fairs.

These efforts appear to be paying off: at present, over 27,000 Indian students are studying in the UK and this number is growing at over 10% per year.

Education UK Exhibition 2007, the most recent of these recruiting endeavours, should be the biggest and best yet.

Through the end of November and into December, the Exhibition is travelling to seven cities in India and will feature representatives from 67 UK institutions of higher education. According to the British Council, more than 14,000 students are expected to participate this year.

The event opened Monday, November 19, 2007 at the Hilton Towers in Mumbai. After spending Tuesday in Mumbai as well, the delegation moved on to Kolkata, where they will give presentations today and tomorrow.

The consensus among participants in Mumbai was that the event was very useful. One parent, whose 18 year old son is searching for business schools overseas, had this to say:

"The entire approach is really neat and interesting. I've been to other education fairs, but they are usually just glorified advertisements. Today, however, I feel as if I've received a comprehensive understanding of the UK education system. We learned about different degrees, post-graduation opportunities, travel, immigration, entertainment and health care issues."

Each of the 60 institutions had a booth manned by a UK representative. These representatives passed out pamphlets and brochures which detailed specific courses, programmes and degrees offered at their respective universities.

Additionally, students and their parents went from booth to booth and discussed various issues with the representatives. The spectrum of institutions was incredibly broad. There were large, research-based universities, medium-sized colleges and small, trade-specific schools. It gave a comprehensive, cohesive understanding of the higher education system in the UK.

Fatima, a student at one of Mumbai's most prestigious colleges, said that the event opened her eyes to the possibility of a UK education.

"I'm very thankful I attended today's event. Earlier, I was certain that I would earn my MBA in the United States or in India. But in today's seminar, I discovered that many UK universities offer a one-year postgraduate course in business management! Furthermore, I learned about admission procedures and requirements, specific programmes in business management and financial options available to international students."

A representative from Bath Spa University said the following:

"We're very thankful that the British Council plays such a pro-active role in recruiting international talent to UK universities. India supplies some of our best and brightest young minds. We hope to see an influx of Indian students into our university in the future, which is why we're participating in this event."  

The seven locations and their corresponding dates are as follows:

Mumbai, Hilton Towers - November 19 and 20

Kolkata, The Oberoi Grand - November 22 and 23

New Delhi, British Council - November 25 and 26

Chandigarh, Taj - November 28

Ahmedabad, The Pride Hotel - November 28

Kochi, Taj Residency - November 30 and December 1

Coimbatore, The Residency - November 30 and December 1

To register online and for more information: http://www.educationuk-in.org