A representative of ESIGELEC Vidhya Suresh said “This is the first time such a course is being offered in India. It is open to students who have completed their schooling in India. The selected students will spend two years in Manipal, studying basic engineering in English but they will also log 750 hours during this time learning French. Then they will spend the next three years in France, pursuing the course in French”.
The students will be selected through an exam of physics and mathematics. Vidya claimed that splitting the education between India and France would work out to be cheaper for students. However, the test would be held in five major cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Puducherry, Bangalore and Mumbai- in the country and in Dubai.
The course include Biomedical Engineering, Business Engineering and Electric Engineering. She said; learning the craft in another language would only add to the value. She said “People look at language as a barrier but I don't think Indian students will have too much trouble picking up a new language as Indians by nature are polyglots. And here is a chance for not only picking up technical skills but also learning about a new culture”.
The teaching methodologies in India and France vary and that would add to students experience. In India, it is all about getting the results but we concentrate more on the learning process. Even the entrance examination will reflect that as the students will not be subjected to the run-of-the-mill multiple-choice-questions exam format but will be pushed to use their skills; she added.
Regarding the selection procedure, it also reflect on picking out the best students for the first batch. As she says; “The entrance test will be held on May 5th but even if we get many applications, we will be restricting it to maximum of 15 students. Ideally we would prefer just 10 candidates”.