France, a popular choice for Indian students

Students from India are increasingly choosing France as their destination to pursue their education, over the US or the UK. This was shared by Michelle Cristy, international relations manager, Audencia Group. She was in the city of pearls to guide students who wanted to study abroad, but were confused about their destination.

“Sharing a genuine partnership with India, France has opened its frontiers even wider to the Indian students. Many Indians are opting for higher education in France. In fact, there has been a jump of 50 per cent over the past five years. This has resulted in measures to facilitate the issuance of visas for Indian students, the creation of a ‘France-India’ network, as well as increased number of scholarships being offered by the Embassy of France and its corporate partners,” informed Michelle.

Talking about the standards of education in France, in comparison to other mainstream countries, Michelle said, “What makes education in France good is it's cost-effectiveness. Cost of education is less expensive compared to other countries. There is value for quality and there’s a lot of professionalism. Students have opportunities for paid internships which would give them the required work experience.”

Visa is the most important criteria and is a matter of worry for every student who aspires to go abroad.

Resting such qualms, Michelle informed, “Once students register with the school, we collect their documents and help them get a long term student visa. The French government will ensure that they get their visa without hassles. Job opportunities are something which students look for not just in France, but across the Europe. Keeping this in mind, the French government grants visa to students to move anywhere across the Europe. If they wish to stay after their studies and look for jobs, they can extend their visa for a whole year. Recently the French ambassador in India came up with a new scheme where students of Indian nationality, who graduated from the Europe, would be able to come back to the continent for a long term.”

Talking about scholarships, she commented, “The French Embassy has developed scholarship programmes tailor-made for students in India. Under scholarships, students get a minimum of 3000 Euros, which is more than enough for any student.”

Michelle also clarified that knowing French was not important for students to study in a university and that English was more than sufficient.

Speaking about accommodation, Michelle explained, “Most schools in France do not provide accommodation but make alternative arrangements. There are private houses, where students can rent or there are families where students can live as paying guests. It would be a great opportunity for students to learn the French culture from their owners. Being a hub for students, France has many private accommodations for students at cheap rates. There are no transport problems at all.”

Providing information about her school, she said, that it is one among the best business schools in the Europe. “There are a lot of students who come down to Audencia for its extensive business courses,” she shared.