Students off to Europe as final barrier comes down

AN INCREASE IN the number of English-language courses available and growing cultural awareness among local school leavers have made continental Europe increasingly popular as a destination for overseas education.

'We are getting more students coming, especially in the science field,' said Abdo Malac, a vice-consul at the French consulate who is responsible for promoting French universities to Hong Kong students.

'There are a great many opportunities there and [Europe] has a long history of quality education.'

For the second year running, there is a special pavilion at the Education & Careers Expo entitled Study in Europe. The pavilion contains stalls representing institutions across France, Germany, the Netherlands and beyond. Mr Malac said a larger contingent of European universities would gather for another fair next month. The important thing was to keep putting the message out to local students.

'Students need to know they can broaden their knowledge and cultural experience,' he said.

Unfortunately, the language barrier has discouraged local students from studying in Europe.

'The main problem for Hong Kong students is language. They prefer to go to an English-language country such as Britain,' Mr Malac said.

Few local students had the opportunity to reach proficiency in a second European language, let alone be able to attend classes taught in French or German.

'But the universities are aware of that and they are offering more programmes in English. Plus there is a growing number of international programmes and they also use English as a medium,' he said, adding that English was already the preferred language in European postgraduate circles.

'When we say you can go to France and study in English, local students suddenly get very interested. They are starting to think of other countries.'

While studying in English, students could begin learning the local language.

Traditionally, local students looking for an overseas study experience have headed to Canada, Australia, the United States and Britain. Mr Malac said European schools could offer a much broader cultural experience.

'If you go to the US, they may have great schools there but they are ultimately all in American culture,' he said, adding that Europe benefited from having so many different nations so closely packed together.

Mr Malac said there were more than 4,000 higher educational institutions in the European Union. The new Europe-wide education system means that course credits can be transferred between universities in different parts of the EU.