Higher education in foreign countries was considered as a privilege for the financially sound class. But now it has changed and going abroad for higher education is no longer a privilege of the upper class. The introduction of scholarships and educational loans made it easy for the common man to pursue higher education abroad. UK and US were considered as the prime location of higher education, but now the focus has shifted to other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other European countries which have opened up to accommodate foreign students.

East Asian countries gaining attention

Now South East Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia have started to welcome students fromIndia. The Malaysian education system is yet to prove its caliber in the global market. On the other hand Singapore has already made an impression in the global market, which offers both creative and conventional courses which is openly recognized and accepted world wide.

Today there is a marked change in the kind of subjects that students choose to study abroad. The subjects they choose include fine arts, music, dance, fashion technology, advertising, graphic designing etc. which were not considered by students over the past years.

The scope of education in such countries

The scope for creative courses has increased over the time as more and more opportunities are being found in foreign countries. The foreign universities are offering far better courses in terms of the course content and technology when compared to the Indian colleges. For example Singapore has colleges which are well established and offer creative courses. According to Dr Shang Huai Min, V P, Nanyang Academy of fine arts, the number of Indian students getting admitted to universities in Singapore has increased recently over the last few years. He said that they received more than 100 applications and 76 of them were admitted to the Academy.

What are the skills needed for applying for creative courses?

The main attraction of creative courses is that one need not be academically sound for securing admission. The important requirement is that one should be talented and should have an interest in the course that he or she is applying to. The educational qualification requirements will be a basic education with average marks, which will be sufficient for securing admission. Another added advantage that will increase the chances of being selected is the work experience that the candidate has in the related field which the he or she is applying for.

What are the career prospects?

Singapore is one of the hottest business centers in south East Asia. So the job opportunities in Singapore are high and are increasing always. Many of the multi national corporations have set up offices and facilities in Singapore. According to Shang Singapore was one among the few countries which was not affected by recession. He said that the Singaporean economy is so strong that investors are keen in selecting Singapore as their destination to establish their foot print in Asia and take control of the Asian economy. The academy has tie ups with many multi national companies, which makes it easy for students to get placements in such companies. He added that the academy has a placement record of over 90 per cent and 32 per cent formed foreign placements.

How to secure admission?

In order to secure admission, the candidate has to take an entrance examination, in some of the universities. The entrance examination will be basically aptitude test and might also a practical test to measure the creativity in the field applied for. Some universities require 60 per cent marks in case of admitting for undergraduate program and 50 per cent for post graduate program. Students can apply to Nanyang Academy for Fine Arts for securing admissions for various courses after completing their tenth grade. Such a practice not found in Indian universities, however it is recognized in Singapore and across the world.

The Singapore government provides direct scholarship to deserving candidates to complete their under graduation and post graduation. In addition to this they provide scholarship to deserving students who are attending diploma courses to convert their diploma into a degree for a period of one year. This is a special custom introduced by the government in addition to the direct scholarship for graduation and post graduation. The scholarship will be awarded based on their merit in their academics.

Compensation

A student after completing his or her studies will have two options; either he or she can work in Singapore or can work abroad. The compensation will vary from industry to industry.

For a person working in Singapore after his or her graduation, the compensation will vary from 2500 to 3500 Singapore dollars. In case of students securing jobs abroad will earn a compensation which is more attractive than what they earn in Singapore.

Universities and colleges in Singapore

There are several universities and colleges offering creative courses in Singapore. Few of them are mentioned below.

• Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
• National university of Singapore
• Melior International College
• Raffles Design Institute
• Singapore University of Technology and design

According to statistics about 800,000 international students have secured admission in various colleges which offer courses in science, arts, IT etc last year. Indian students studying in Singapore amounts to only 4 per cent of the international students and the number is on the rise. Indian students who have secured admission in Singapore universities are quite contend with the standard of education in Singapore. For them it is easy to travel to Singapore than travelling to US and UK. Moreover the visa formalities are less complicated than any other countries.

Travelling to Singapore takes about six hours. When compared to US and UK the cost of education and cost of living is very much less. The Singapore government expects more students join their universities and colleges. They are trying to increase the percentage of Indian students to 10 per cent in a couple of years.