Get paid to go to university

School-leavers keen to take a degree but scared of racking up thousands of pounds of debt in Britain are being provided tempting packages – and the chance of an adventure – by Asian universities.

Harvard and Yale, the prestigious American universities, already supply lucrative funding to poach the brightest British teenagers. But now they face new competition from the East. Universities from South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand lately visited London to promote themselves to a British audience.

Ivy League competition

Numerous of their courses are taught in English, and they are attempting to lure school-leavers by claiming that studying abroad will make them much more attractive to future employers.

Nicola Woolcock, education correspondent of The TimesWhile Ivy League universities supply some generous bursaries, which includes living expenses, competition to get a location is fierce and couple of succeed.
 
Students are expected not only to be academically brilliant, but nicely-rounded people with plenty of extra-curricular interests. Emma Watson, the Harry Potter actress, has reportedly visited American universities with a view to studying there.

Now Asian universities want to muscle in on the act. Eleven of them visited a university fair in London last month to discover out how to market themselves to British teenagers.

They could find a receptive audience: fears over the recession mean growing numbers of sixth-formers are questioning the cost of a degree – and how much value for money it represents.

A government review of England’s top-up tuition fees will take location this year, and is expected to suggest that the £3200 cap is raised, or scrapped altogether.

A lot of students already graduate tens of thousands of pounds in debt, and going to university could suddenly become even far more costly.

Free flights to Asia

Some Asian universities are offering free of charge tuition and subsidised living costs – with flights thrown in. Those wanting to attract British teenagers incorporate Hanyang University in South Korea, which has campuses in Seoul and Ansan City. 

A spokesman for Hanyang says: “Asian universities are attempting difficult to internationalise and to diversify their campuses and curriculum, and to bring in more international student groups.

Japan offers cosmopolitan cities such as Tokyo as well as tranquil landscapes“So far they have focused on North America, but universities such as ours now need to diversify into other regions, especially into Europe. The UK is naturally the very first priority due to the fact its students speak English.

Courses in English

“This is our really 1st contact with the UK and British undergraduate candidates. They are probably entirely unaware that they can come to Korea and take all of their courses in English.

“Companies such as LG and Samsung are increasingly looking for to recruit staff with international awareness and encounter. One of the very best techniques for a student to demonstrate this is to have studied abroad in a country such as Korea, where they can take their course in English and be totally immersed in a foreign culture at the identical time.”

Others keen to attract British school-leavers consist of Hiroshima University, Japan King Fahd University of Petroleum &amp Minerals, Saudi Arabia National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan and Mahidol University, Thailand.

Dr Chanuantong Tanasugarn, the deputy dean in international relations at Mahidol, said his university had a very good reputation for medicine and natural sciences.

He says: “Mahidol has the benefits of geographical location and rich, mixed cultures. It promotes the bridging of information between the developed and the developing world.

“These characteristics would benefit the next generation of UK teenagers who want to position and relate themselves to this part of the world.”

Open chequebook

A spokeswoman for the university fair said Asian universities had been “bringing their chequebooks”.

Fancy joining the students of the National Yang Ming University in Taiwan?She adds: “It’s a new concept breaking boundaries in international education. Asian universities are targeting both undergraduate and postgraduate students in the UK, enticing them with full tuition fee scholarships.

“For example, all degree-looking for international students who enrol at 1 Korean university obtain scholarships, which contain tuition fees with monthly stipends that can cover living expenses. In addition, very first-year students receive reimbursement of their 1-way flight to Korea.

“Students attending National Yang Ming University in Taiwan who are eligible for the Yang Ming University Scholarships will have their tuition fees, accommodation, insurance and miscellaneous expenses covered.

“The UK’s top student talent is also being sought in the Middle East, where some universities are prepared to pay over US,000 per student per year, which includes a round-trip flight.”

Asia, the corporate powerhouse

Tony Martin, director for universities for QS, which organised the fair, says: “UK students need to seriously contemplate Asia as a viable destination for their tertiary study, as this region of the globe not only has some of the world’s leading universities, but also some of the powerhouses of the corporate world.”

But leading school heads questioned whether numerous families would be prepared to let their young children travel so far.

Empty nest syndrome is anguish sufficient for some parents, particularly if their son or daughter moves to the other end of the country. They could say a firm ‘no’ if their child considers Malaysia rather than Manchester.

Pat Langham, headmistress at the independent Wakefield Girls’ High School, and former president of the Girls’ Schools Association, said: “I’m not certain they have the credibility of British universities and I believe parents would be extremely worried indeed.

“Students are still really young at 18. We usually say to our pupils you really should go far away sufficient for parents not to be able to pop in to see you, but somewhere close enough for them to reach you in an emergency.”