Although students choosing to study abroad usually plump for conventional destinations like the US and Australia, other destinations such as New Zealand and Canada are fast emerging as favourable places for students from Bengaluru.

A multi-destination education fair of the universities from the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand was organised here on Wednesday by IDP Education, an international organisation.

As many as 85 institutions are participating in the fair, which will be travelling to a number of other Indian cities.

Nithin Sonty, a computer science graduate who had been working for an investment bank in the City, quit his job and is thinking of pursuing his higher studies. 

“Europe and the US are ruled out for me. I found a few universities from New Zealand to be quite good and the courses reasonably priced. Also, I do not have to take my GRE and am judged on the basis of my past academic performance. The University of Auckland is quite high in the QS rankings. I found out that a Master’s degree would cost around $33,000 (NZD). A PhD is even cheaper at around $6000,” he said.

Akshata N, a civil engineering graduate, has already got calls from a few universities from New Zealand. “I will be studying construction management in Albany and hope to work there for a few years,” she said. Piyush Kumar, Country Director, India, IDP Education, said that as many as 600 students from the City had gone to universities from one of the five countries participating in the fair. “Almost around 200 to 250 go to the US and Australia. However, many of them want to study in Canada and New Zealand,” said Kumar.

He also said the rate of exchange being lower compared to other countries was another factor attracting students. “One New Zealand dollar is around Rs 40 to Rs 44 and one Canadian dollar is around Rs 48. The UK pound has been stable and US dollar is quite high,” he said.