The rate of Nepalese students who want to go to Switzerland for their higher studies is increasing compared to past years. Switzerland’s, which is regarded as one of the best countries for studies has a 40% foreign student intake.
Switzerland is an excellent place for living, studying, and working. It is located in the heart of Europe and its diversity, beautiful landscape and environment offer one of the best environments for well-being and career advancement. Berne is the capital of Switzerland. Likewise, Swiss Franc (CHF) is its official currency. German, French, Italian, Romansch are some languages that are spoken here. Switzerland and Nepal actually have many things in common. Both countries are landlocked and are rich in diversity.
The country is also regarded as the best country, the world over for the study of Hotel Management. It is believed that the world base of hospitality management lies in Switzerland. Top hotel management colleges like- Les Roches Bluche and Glion Institute of hospitality management, under the Laureaute Hospitality Education umbrella are situated in Switzerland.
The number of foreign students in Switzerland is increasing even though it is not easy to be admitted to Swiss universities. But approved refugees, foreigners who themselves, or whose parents have been in possession of a Swiss work permit for five consecutive years and children of persons with diplomatic status in Switzerland go through the same admission procedure as Swiss citizens.
Passport, certificate of Citizenship, letter of acceptance from SWISS college, receipt of advance payment, bank Statement and sponsorship letter, a personal essay stating reason and vision, bio-data with education details, academic document, complete visa application form, photos and visa processing fee along with postage charge are required for a Nepali student before applying for a Swiss Visa, said Raju singh from Professional Education Consultancy (PEC), Anamnagar. He added that the certificate of IELTS/TOEFL is an additional supporting document for a student applying to Switzerland.
Singh informed that “it is not possible to get a legal working permit in Switzerland, even for the holiday periods. So, you must therefore be able to have the financial means to pay both the fees and your living costs.” Later he added, “However, students are paid during their internships but it is not enough for living.”
According to Singh, studying in Switzerland is very expensive. He said that, in Hospitality Management, a student has to pay at least 16 Lakh NRS for a semester. Which means that a student needs to pay 48 Lakhs that includes both tuition and hostel fee in Switzerland to get a certificate of Diploma.
In view of the fact that it is very expensive to study at Switzerland, PEC only targets to send two to three students per year.
According to Rajendra Rijal, Managing Director of Kathmandu Infosis Education Consultancy (KIEC), “Nepalese students mostly apply for Travel and Tourism or Hospitality Management because of the six months paid internship they get every year.” He says, KIEC has sent six students to Switzerland till date and is planning to send 15 to 20 students every year.
Besides Hospitality Management courses, some universities in Switzerland also offer cheap courses. These are public universities.
Switzerland has twelve public universities with a wide range of educational opportunities for national and international scholars. Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich (ETH) and Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), the two central institutes of technology, are world leaders in science, engineering, and research.
The Swiss Government awards a range of scholarships to overseas students through the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS) – university scholarships (Swiss universities and Federal Institutes of Technology), arts scholarships (schools of music and fine arts) and scholarships for universities of applied sciences (UAS). But, unfortunately students from Nepal cannot apply for a Swiss Government Scholarship.
But, A Nepali student can apply for a Sawiris Scholarship. The Sawiris Scholarship gives preference to citizens of least developed countries and other low-income countries according to the OECD classification. A student should fulfill the entrance requirements for doctoral study at the ETH Zurich and should have experience in the selected research area.
The first Sawiris Scholarship was awarded to Shanker Raj Barsila from Nepal for his research project ‘Improving grazing systems with Nepalese yak crossbreds to foster the livelihood of mountain farmers in the Taplejung district of Nepal.’
Published in – Republica National Daily, August 2nd 2010
