34 foreign students will join PhD, PG progs at Mangalore University

MANGALORE : The academic council of Mangalore University has approved intake of 34 foreign students for PhD and post-graduate programmes offered by the university on its Mangalagangothri campus. The approval was given at the second general meeting of the academic council on Saturday.
This is the first time so many foreign students will be studying at the 34-year-old university, which has had in the past just one overseas student pursuing PhD programme here.
While 28 students will pursue doctoral studies, the rest will be doing PG programmes.
Seventeen of the PhD students have been enrolled under the first lot of the Africa scholarship scheme, and seven under the second lot while the rest will pursue their courses under the Commonwealth Scholarship scheme. The students are from nations including Egypt, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Rwanda, Eretria, and Namibia.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relationship (ICCR) has supported the students selected under the Africa Scholarship scheme.
The university has indicated the course available to the students based on their preferences and assigned either the nearest or equivalent course of their choice for PhD programmes. The university is striving to leverage its expertise in areas of preferences indicated by the students, vice-chancellor K Byrappa said.
The refurbished Nethravathi guest house of the university will be a temporary home for the students, Byrappa said, adding that if needed the vacant bungalow of the registrar (evaluation) will also be utilised for the purpose.
The university has drawn up plans to construct a full-fledged hostel for international students and would approach the state government for funding besides tapping in to internal resources.
A special two-day orientation programme will be conducted for the foreign students to help them know about the university, the campus, facilities available on the campus and the city where they will spend their next five years, Byrappa said.
A similar orientation programme will also be held for the teaching and non-teaching staff of the university to sensitize them on needs of these students. As the post-graduate programmes for the academic year have already started, Byrappa said faculty members will help the foreign students make up for the lost time by holding special classes during weekends and holidays.
“We will pay the faculty members an honorarium for working during this period,” he said, adding that this marks a new era in the university.
Incidentally, the university has set up an International Students’ Centre this year with a focus to attract foreign students.
The centre’s director, Ravishankar Rao, and senior faculty member A M Khan approached embassies and consulates, the ICCR and MHRD to promote the university and the centre, Byrappa said. Mangalore City South MLA J R Lobo, member of the council, lauded the university’s initiative and assured support for the activities of the centre.