For prospective students in West Bengal considering a degree abroad, here’s some exciting news. Poland is fast emerging as a new education destination with a number of reputed universities providing high quality pedagogy for new-age students.

Education Poland is a unique initiative to generate awareness about the quality of education on offer in Poland and help in the movement of global students who wish to carry out research activities there. In a first, Education Poland joined hands with the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to organise “Poland Education 2016” in Kolkata recently. It was Education Poland’s first attempt to host an education fair in India. Moving ahead, it is keen to tap into the North Bengal, North-east and Bhutan markets through its online campaign.

According to Vishal Sagar Agnihotri, director, Education Poland, “Polish education is catching up fast among Indian students interested to chart a career in medicine and engineering. Rated as a stable and secure destination for students, Poland offers high quality, affordable education and low-cost living with the option to study, work and reside in European countries. They can study for a year in Polish universities and opt for a transfer to other European universities that share sound bilateral relations with Poland.”

There is Poznan University of Economics and Business lying in the midst of Warsaw and Berlin in western Poland — it is one of the best, oldest and most prestigious universities for pursuing career in economics. Agnihotri said, “The highest number of Indian students is shaping careers in the field of medicine and engineering. There is Warsaw University of Technology, best-known for its engineering courses that have around 10,000 Indian students.

“In an attempt to generate awareness among Indian students on education in Poland, we would be hosting fairs in cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai and Ahmedabad next year. We are also firming up plans to make a presence in Nepal soon.”

Vincent Pol University in Lublin is highly popular among students of Nepal. Raman Wadhwa, manager, admission-India, Education Poland, informed, “The courses that are in-demand for Indian students are hospitality management and tourism. We are receiving a plethora of requests from students in Bengal over the last couple of years. There are business-related queries from Guwahati and other North-eastern states of India. The course fee in Polish universities is not too high and a bachelor degree in engineering or management would start from Rs 5 lakh onwards including basic facilities like admission, tuition fee, lodging and boarding.”

For those interested to make a career in hotel management in Poland, the price pinch starts from Rs 2.5 lakh. Wadhwa said, “Poland is a growing destination for pursuing high quality education. In order to raise awareness among students, we are planning to come up with promotional campaigns in Thimpu. We have received around 40 queries from students in Kolkata, Durgapur and Asansol who have shown interest to join medicine, literature, hotel management, engineering and environmental science courses.

“In early 2016, we visited the Siliguri Institute of Technology to provide information on education in Poland and most students in towns like Siliguri and Jalpaiguri were interested in hotel management and engineering.”