Debanjali Bose knew exactly where she wanted to go, and with a little help from the United States-India Educational Foundation&’s Study Abroad office she&’s already in Columbia. “I always wanted to pursue higher studies in the USA,” she said by way of explaining how she went about it. New York was always her first choice but she also said that students who weren’t sure about where they would like to travel could still gain a lot from the experience.

Of course, part of such a life-changing experience entails having the courage to venture abroad in the first place. Keeping this in mind, IDP Education India, a leading student placement service provider with more than 100 counselling centres in 30 countries — it is jointly owned by Seek Ltd, a counterpart of naukri. com — and 38 Australian universities got together under one roof in Kolkata recently and organised an education fair for students aspiring to pursue higher education in that country.

The Kolkata leg kickstarted a fair spread across 14 cities, with the conclusion slated for 3 September in Chennai. The other places included Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Vijaywada and Kochi.

Harmeet Pental, regional director of South Asia, North America and the UK, said, “IDP seeks to provide a platform for aspiring students to come and have a face-to-face interaction with university representatives and get answers to all their questions about studying in Australia. There are 36 Australian institutions participating in the fair this time and it&’s a free platform for all students to gauge their prospects, apply directly to the institution of their choice and get first-hand information on courses, scholarships, etc. Australian education has always attracted Indian students and the availability of post-study work opportunities make it even more attractive.”

The Kolkata chapter of the fair provided an opportunity for a one-on-one interaction with 16 Australian institutions and more than 300 students landed up in groups to speak to representatives of Central Queensland, Edith Cowan University (Perth Institute of Business Technology), Flinders University, Le Cordon Bleu, Macquarie University, Monash University, Queensland University of Technology, Study Group-Australia, Australian National University, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland, University of Western Australia, Tasmania, University of Technology and more.

“After the preliminary information session and interest forms, students are helped through the process by a Study Abroad advisor who leads the individual through the basics of leaving the country for any amount of time — travel costs, passport and lodging, for example,” said Anthony McHugh, manager of the international student recruitment wing of the University of Tasmania.

Of course, classes aren’t the only part of studying abroad, especially in Australia. Many programmes have sightseeing trips and activities built into the curriculum, so students can get the full cultural experience of their host country.

Those interested in taking up a postgraduation course need to choose six programmes from the syllabi, a total of 150 credit points. “If you planning for a permanent job with a permanent residency, it is a little difficult but, yes, there are courses that offer you permanent residency, like engineering, nursing and even some IT professions,” McHugh added.

Should you think Australians are not so particular about spoken English, he sets the record straight, “We are extremely critical with English, just like any other English-speaking country. A band mark of seven in the International English Language Testing System is the minimum and a student is definitely judged on his/her soft skills and communication as far as admission is concerned.”

There were students who were focused and knew why they were there, like Sharad Majumdar, Niladri Mukherjee, Suman Mustafi and Ritesh Sahu. Others walked around listlessly, probably just killing time. Majumdar, the most focused of the lot, said, “I want to pursue a Master&’s degree in professional accounting as I have good experience in fieldwork after having completed my graduation in 2010. I was working with Accenture till about a few months back and now I would like to upgrade myself. Monash is one of the universities I have shortlisted but my search is still on.”

Mukherjee and Mustafi had walked in together where they learnt about this fair from a senior councillor, Seema Biswas. While Mukherjee wanted a Master&’s in IT, Mustafi has his heart set on an aviation course.

IDP in India has 18 counselling centres in 17 cities that guide students and their families through the entire process, from university/course selection through to application/ visa process and pre-departure planning. For more information or a live chat with an IDP counsellors, visit www.idp.com/india.