The 14th Careers guidance and educational fair ended on Saturday. Youngsters and adults had the opportunity to interact with representatives of local and foreign institutions.

The Rotary Club of Grand-Bay in partnership with the minister of Education organised its 14th “Careers guidance and educational fair” last week at Swami Vivekananda Centre in Domaine 

Les Pailles. The aim of this annual event is to give students who are finishing secondary school and those who have left information on tertiary education – first degrees and post-graduate qualifications in various fields.

Nearly ninety universities from all five continents were represented. Each university had its own stand where students could have “face-to-face interaction” with the representatives and had access to a mine of information. Even if some students considered the event as an opportunity to be away from school and meet friends from other schools, the majority made the most of it. Some were gathering all the information they could to plan their future. Brochures, pamphlets or even books were the kind of things they were looking for. 

To guide the students in the best possible way, more than fifty conferences and talks were delivered by professionals from training sectors as well as people operating in banking, offshore, tourism, advertising and other areas… Anabelle, a 17-year old girl comments: “The whole initiative is excellent. It is a great opportunity for us students to experience this kind of event. I am now more realistic about what is involved in studies abroad…”

Wherever a student wants to go to study, the “Careers guidance and educational fair” was the ideal place to get information. At the same time, it was an opportunity to get to know more about universities that are less famous than others. In fact, information on universities in countries such as Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand was available. But as is usually the case, most of the universities present were from the United Kingdom. As a matter of fact, the stands of the UK universities attracted more visitors. Indeed, around twenty were present including such great names as: Queen Mary University, the University of Manchester, Birmingham University or even London Metropolitan University.

The United States Embassy also attracted a lot of students as it represented more than forty universities, including Bates College, Louisiana State University and Yale University. To indicate how popular the United States is among Mauritian students, the representative of the Educational Advisory Center of the US embassy explained: “Around 100 Mauritian students go to the United States every year. And each year the number is increasing. Now there are around three hundred Mauritians studying in the United States.” 

The Rotary Club of Grand Bay organised this annual event with the help of partners such as the British Council, the CIFOD, and many other embassies. The President of the Rotary Club is very satisfied. “I would like to thank all those who contributed to this success. Each year, parents and responsible parties try to improve the education of their kids. In the Rotary Club of Grand Bay, we want to play our part.”