As part of the launch of Campus Abroad’s 15th Education Fair kicking off at Hennessy Park Ebene on November 25 and 26, an inaugural function with a reception and dinner was hosted at Indra restaurant in Domaines Les Pailles. The event took place on November 24 in the presence of the Australian and Canadian High Commissioners as well as representatives from the British High Commission, among the distinguished guests.
In her address, the Chargée d’affaires at the Australian High Commission, Her Excellency Keara Shaw, highlighted that education constitutes a key element in the bilateral ties between Mauritius and Australia. She said: “It is wonderful to see Mauritius as a prominent source in Africa having students pursuing higher education in Australia, where it has emerged as the second most popular higher education destination. There are several reasons for that, with the excellent work done by our higher educational institutions and initiatives by partners such as Campus Abroad in Mauritius.”
Canada’s High Commissioner to South Africa, His Excellency Mr. Christopher Cooter, hailed the commitment of those present in making Campus Abroad a huge success, while mentioning that the many students coming to Canada from Mauritius demonstrates the foundation for a bigger relationship where both nations share a common set of values and commitment across democracy, diversity, gender equity and the rule of law.
“The common international agenda strives to set a platform to build cooperation in education and address the information gap on how academic institutions can help build that relationship with a surge in growth of students going to Canada,” he added, boasting of several attributes such as bilingual Anglophone and Francophone, cost-effectiveness offered by universities and the diversity of experience offered by the country.
British Deputy High Commissioner Ms Sally Harrison said: “Promoting the UK’s Higher Education is a vital part of the UK’s ambition in Africa where universities in the UK have a significantly bigger role to play, not because of the UK being a global leader with the growing appetite of international students to live in our country is ever increasing, but what our universities represent.”
She added that the International Education Strategy launched in 2019 has set up the ambition to increase the value of educational exports to £35 million and aims to reach 600,000 foreign students choosing to study in the UK by 2030, while remarking that the country has achieved this target quite recently, a decade earlier.
In his welcome address, Mr. Ramduth Jaddoo, promoter of Campus Abroad, commented that the years of COVID-19 and lockdowns have triggered the worst educational crisis, where the post-pandemic agenda for higher education rests on three pillars, namely restoration, reforms and transformation, calling for a profound overhaul of education. This former Education Minister spoke about the concept of the physical campus shifting into the online world with Meta Versity which has been recently developed to benefit parents and students with new teaching methods.
Speaking to Platform Africa, Marketing Manager at Campus Abroad Rohit Jaishankar said that the fair was being held after a gap of two years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. He indicated that representatives spanning 65 institutions from countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, China, Grenada, India, Mauritius and the USA were present to speak with students and help them gain an understanding of what it entails to pursue their education abroad with the presence of the British High Commission, Canadian High Commission and Education USA were present to assist students with their visa queries.
Students seeking more information on studying abroad can get in touch with the Campus Abroad office in Rose Hill (Tel: +230 4676200, email: campus.abroad.mauritius@gmail.com, website: www.campusabroadmauritius.com, whatsapp: +230 57607662).
