Now, how does being glocal impact the international education scene for IDP?Hyam explains that although IDP's strategies are international, it believesin focussing on the local market for implementing projects. Take forinstance the new focus on information technology. With the demand for ITprofessionals growing in India, IDP decided to give that extra IT thrust forIndians going to Australia for higher education.

As a result, in the forthcoming Australian education fair in Indian citiesstarting April 1, a majority of the Australian university representativeswill be from the IT departments. Hyam says this is the first time such ahigh number -- a total of 90 -- of representatives from various Australianinstitutions will participate in the fair. And most of them will be talkingIT at the fair. In terms of numbers, participation of IT representativeswill increase by 45 to 50 per cent this year, she adds. And even as BusinessStudies continues to be an important discipline for Indians, the number ofscholarships for the IT courses will see a significant jump this time,particularly for those passing out from the six IITs.

Apart from extra scholarships for the IT segment, how else does IDP combatthe intense competition in the foreign education market in India? Theplayers are so many now -- US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and someothers, all in the race for Indian rupees. The latest ranking is not outyet, but Australia hopes to stay neck to neck with the UK this time, interms of the number of Indian students studying in that country. Competitiondoes not worry Australia so much, says Hyam.

In fact, says Hyam, ``we've been the role model for our competitors''. Sheadds that many of the other countries have taken up ideas from IDP EducationAustralia and implemented them in their own programmes. Plus, says Hyam, IDPbelieves in a collaborative approach. At present, IDP shares such a tie withthe British Council. IDP's interest, says Hyam, is much beyond thecommercial angle. The primary idea of IDP is to add value, she says.That does not mean, however, that IDP is complacent about what it delivers.

At a recent meeting in Budapest, it talked about how IDP should change itsfocus. First, it was felt that IDP should share more with the members acrossthe network. Second, the focus should be more on knowledge management andrelationship management.

The focus on knowledge management could also mean exploring other models oflearning, says Hyam. It could be electronic learning, for example. On April12, IDP will meet its business partners to discuss the issue further. Thenew thrust on relationship management, on the other hand, will indicate thatIDP will take a new look at the services being offered; the customer'sexpectation, perception and satisfaction levels about IDP's services.

These projects are part of the total strategic planning process of the IDP.IDP's strategy is that good relationships will make future business tiesstronger. The ties could be with the government, faculty, institutions,students or their family.

And even as IDP has narrowly missed its target of 10,000 Indian students inAustralia by the year 2000, it promises to keep going that extra miletowards the students.

LSE hardsells external degree
You mention LSE or the London School of Economics, and heads turn in India.More so when you say that you can get that coveted LSE diploma or degreewithout stepping out of India. To make desi students and their parents awareof how they can get these branded degrees and diplomas in India itself, theBritish Council recently organised a session in the Capital. Addressing thesession was Rosemary Gosling, director, external study, London School ofEconomics and Political Science.

Having attended the session, a few points emerged very strong. For one, itwas clear that the diploma and the degree awarded by the University ofLondon to external students or those studying in India was equivalent tothat awarded to the university's internal students. Second, the LondonSchool of Economics and Political Science is the `lead college' of theUniversity of London, which is responsible for the academic direction of theBSc Management and BSc Economics degrees awarded by the University ofLondon. Third and very, very crucial, an external student in India enrolledfor LSE's BSc course pays Rs 1.7 lakh per annum towards tuition and otherfees, against 17,500 (Rs 12.25 lakh) per annum in the case of an internalstudent at LSE.

If you've finished your 10 plus 2 and you wish to get enrolled as anexternal student of the University of London in India, contact the Instituteof Technology and Management, Gurgaon. The contact numbers are91-1272-366787 and 91-11-4624818, and the e-mail address is itm1@vsnl.com.But the fun part of being an external student of the University of London isthat you may begin with the diploma course in India, and then go on toattend the second year in London or China or Hong Kong or Malaysia oranywhere else where the course is on offer. Also, you finish the entire BScdegree course in three years, which includes one year of diploma. If youwant, you can even call it quits after finishing the diploma. The diploma inEconomics from the University of London will help you go places, saysGosling.

Bristol show on CD-ROM
With the competition hotting up on the international education scene,foreign universities are devising new ways to woo Indian students. Take forinstance, the recent initiative of the University of Bristol, UK. In orderto make its programmes and courses popular among international students, theUniversity of Bristol sent across its interactive CD-ROM to whoever itthought could benefit.

The letter that came with the CD-ROM specifically mentioned that copies ofthe CD-ROM are freely available to anyone who is interested. It added: ``Ifyou would like more in your office, we would be delighted to supply them.Individual students may also request copies.'' To get free copies of theCD-ROM, all you have to do is e-mail the university at orlo@bristol.ac.uk.

The CD-ROM offers useful information on admission, prospectus, fees, studentlife, campus, accommodation, religion and culture, health and welfare,sports and entertainment and the city of Bristol, too. Not only does it giveyou slide shows and picture galleries, but it also offers web links for moreinformation. One of the things that is particularly attention grabbing isthe university's `units' concept. What you call classes in other parts ofthe world, is `units' in Bristol. Also interesting is the university'smodular system of units. The modular system allows you to create an academicprogramme suited to your needs. From the Indian point of view, however, themost important factor is that of fees.

For a Bachelor's course in Arts, the annual fee is 7,306; for a Sciencecourse, 9,609; and for a Medicine degree, 17,805.

Add to that, the cost of living, at approximately 600 per month. The CD-ROMclaims that the University of Bristol has had a thriving ``study abroadprogramme'' for over 40 years now. But all this while, the focus was onstudents coming from America.

Of late, the University of Bristol is taking a more global view of things,and is therefore working on ways to attract students from all over theworld, including India.

So, what was till the early 19th century the most important city in Englandafter London, is again trying hard for a position of eminence. This time fora different kind of trade.