Report

Studying abroad can be one of the most rewarding decisions of one’s life. It aspires one to discover the diverse cultures, lifelong learning experience and goes a long way ahead for holistic development. 

It is imperative to know in-depth every aspect related to studying abroad before taking this life-changing decision. Always enthusiastic and keen to work for improvements and quality sustenance of Education fraternity, International Board for Education, Research and Development (IBERD) organized a Webinar on ‘Study Abroad: Scope and Opportunities’ on April 29, 2020 in collaboration with International Board for Education, Research and Development, Vivek College of Commerce, Goregaon, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Interedwise Education Pvt. Ltd., Vashi, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra and Edulab Educational Exchange Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, Maharashtra. The webinar witnessed 74 participants from varied academic streams. The entire webinar was scheduled into 4 sessions being delivered by eminent speakers followed by question and answer session. 

The webinar commenced with a brief introduction by the Joint Secretary of IBERD, Mr. Mahesh Madhav Deshmukh who laid the rationale for organizing such a webinar. With facts and figures on board, he emphasized how globalization has changed the way the world works and cutting edge students with cross-cultural competence enjoy while moving ahead in their career paths. He then welcomed the dignitaries and the participants for their overwhelming response even when the world was drowned with the impact of COVID-19.

‘Education transforms your life in a better way and you become a new person’ was the opening remark of the Session I delivered by Dr. Minakshi Gurav, President, IBERD. Her impressive remarks gathered all the attention of the participants keeping them glued to the session. Putting across the need and scope of studying abroad, she left the participants with the following key takeaways- 
a.     Foreign Education has its own standard and holistic approach which creates an upper edge in this competitive market. 
b.     With creativity and innovation being brainstormed amongst students of diverse culture brings the best within oneself. 
c.    The employment prospects receive a boost when education is completed through foreign Universities due to its varied exposure. 

Dr. Sunil Patil, Director, Department of Students’ Development, University of Mumbai inspired the students who with his its closing remarks intrigued them to explore opportunities for seeking education abroad. 

Moving towards technicalities of choosing the right institute to suit our needs was well engraved by our speaker, Mr. Pratik Gandhi, Founder, and CEO, Edulab Educational Exchange Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai. He flipped the concept of studying abroad by presenting the various opportunities of studying abroad while in India. In nutshell, he cleared the myths pertaining to foreign education. With its expertise in experiential learning, he exposed participants with various collaborative programmes that could help them gain an edge over others.

Leaving no stones unturned and to present a complete picture to students, the webinar witnessed its last session delivered by Mr. Kaamendra Dahat, Managing Director, Interedwise Education Pvt. Ltd., Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Every individual is unique and so are its needs, to provide a personal touch and tailor-made counselling, Mr. Dahat touched upon the need to recognize the personal traits while thinking about foreign education, engaging students to probe deeper within itself. He advised not to follow the herd but to create one’s own stance. 

Lastly, Dr. Vijetha Shetty, Principal, Vivek College of Commerce, Goregaon, Mumbai added in her views in the existing reservoir of knowledge, explaining emplaning on the creation of one’s own identity in the crowd. 

The talks of the eminent personalities were followed by question and answer session. The interactive Q & A session helped the participants to clear their doubts about seeking admission abroad even in a pandemic situation, churning out the desired objective of the webinar in the most fruitful way. 

Dr. Bhushan Langi, Secretary, IBERD expressed his gratitude to all the dignitaries, participants and the technical team without whom organizing and executing this webinar seamlessly wouldn’t have been possible.