The capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is known as a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, the sciences and engineering. Founded in 1583, the University of Edinburgh played an important role in leading Edinburgh to its reputation as a chief intellectual centre during the Age of Enlightenment, and helped give the city the nickname of the �Athens of the North.� Eventually, the prestigious university became one of the frequent entries in the top 20 global universities of various reputed rankings.
The university receives approximately 47,000 applications every year, making it the third most popular university in the UK by volume of applicants. When the number of non-EU students at UK universities fell by 1 percent due to various reasons, University of Edinburgh saw an increase of four percent Non-European students between 2013 and 2014. It proved to the world that the thirst of students getting into great campuses could not be surpassed by any reasons.
University of Edinburgh: A great place for Indian Students
�Indian students help to enhance the diversity of our student portfolio; making up 1 of 140 nationalities represented on campus each year in Edinburgh,� says Stuart Easter, International Officer - South and Central Asia, The University of Edinburgh. The last data snapshot by the UK government shows that there were 23,780 Indian students in the UK during 2012/13 and out of it, 244 were studying at University of Edinburgh. The university has a strong reputation in India and its academic links extend to include a number of India's premier institutions. These include formal links with the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, The Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institution of Management in Bangalore, and the University of Delhi with whom the University has a student exchange program. While looking at the overall aspects, they student�s research can be pursued in over 500 academic specializations and the university has more than 1000 international research collaborations.
Even though course content at many universities in UK, especially the undergraduate level, is the same, the students can experience a different level of teaching methodology at University of Edinburgh. �The University of Edinburgh will instill a sense of independence and critical thinking in all students, enabling them to be an expert in their subject area, but also be able to excel in any situation,� says Stuart Easter. The revenue of 300 million Euros in funding for the innovative research that has been raised in the last year shows that Stuart�s statement is not flamboyant.
However, life at a UK university is different for many students coming from any overseas background. For all international students the university has put on a range of activities and services to help ease the transition. This starts before students arrive within the country (in UK) and online pre-departure information sessions. It continues in Edinburgh with classes on note-taking, essay writing and preparing for examinations. Students and support staff of the university also organise social events to help all new students integrate into university life.
Many students from India pack their bag to UK by thinking about a part time job to fulfill their day-to-day need. Students are permitted to take part-time jobs up to 20 hours per week, but the average salary for basic part-time jobs will not cover the living expenses or tuition fees at the University of Edinburgh. However, the university has a range of academic-merit based scholarships. The majority of their scholarships are partial, which means students need to contribute to the funding at least in part.
University of Edinburgh is a dream place for any scholar in the world and an opportunity to study in such a place means there is nothing to look back. It is definitely a place, where student from all around the world can become critical thinkers, experts in their field and independent adults.
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Edinburgh and India
The University of Edinburgh has had a long history of ties with India. An early example can be seen in the work of Professor William Robertson, the University's Principal from 1762 to 1793. Robertson�s work, �An Historical Disquisition Concerning the Knowledge which the Ancients had of India�, was published in 1791 and is amongst the earliest European texts to take a serious interest in Indian commerce and culture. In early 1800�s, the University of Edinburgh gained reputation amongst Indian scholars and they were proud to honor its very first Indian graduate in that 1876. In the years, which have followed, hundreds of Indian students have enjoyed their time at Edinburgh and gone on to enjoy very successful careers.
A (Very) Notable Alumnus
Alumni of the university include some of the major figures of modern history. The physicist James Clerk Maxwell, naturalist Charles Darwin, philosopher David Hume, mathematician Thomas Bayes, surgeon Joseph Lister, inventor Alexander Graham Bell, and a host of famous authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, J.M. Barrie and Sir Walter Scott are few among many to unfold the list.
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