Hyderabad: Foreign students flock to Osmania University

Hyderabad: The city, it seems, has not lost its name as the preferred education destination. This time, the number of foreign students flocking to the Osmania University is expected to be higher than last year. Technical and professional courses continue to be a favorite among foreign students with a good number of applicants opting for a B.E in civil engineering at the OU College of Engineering and affiliated colleges.

“We have been rejecting applicants for the civil engineering stream owing to too much demand. Civil engineering is still popular among foreign students due to the developing infrastructure in their countries. Presently, we have 240 foreign students enrolled in B.Tech course and expect a similar turnover this year as well by August 1 when classes for B.E are scheduled to start,” said Professor C Venugopal Rao, director of the University Foreign relations Office (UFRO) who did not disclose the exact number of applicants as admissions are in progress.

Courses in information technology and computer sciences are also in demand among foreign students joining OU. Undergraduate courses especially in B.Com with computers, BCA and B.Sc are what the students seek in the city. For post-graduation, MBA followed by MCA and M.Sc in Computer Sciences are the popular choices.

The city, it seems, has not lost its name as the preferred education destination.

“This year, across courses and streams, we are expecting between 1300 and 1500 foreign nationals joining the university,” said the director of UFRO who added that last year there was a 30 per cent increase in the total number of students and the trend is likely to continue this academic session as well.

Though the university attracts students from close to 80 countries, students from Ethiopia, Sudan, China, Afghanistan and Iran among other countries mark the largest numbers.

To accommodate the increasing number of students, the university has also set up a 172-seater foreign students’ hostel on campus for students pursuing their post-graduate studies and Ph.D from OU and affiliated institutions. The facility will be inaugurated next month and is meant only for single male students. “The number of male students is usually 80 per cent of the total student population,” added the director of UFRO.

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