This Article is From Oct 30, 2009

Australia: Special varsity service to guide Indians

Melbourne: In a bid to provide first-hand information on education facilities available Down Under, a Melbourne-based university has launched a special service to help Indian students find out more about "life at university".

Through a variety of communication avenues -- including phone, SMS and online -- the "Ask-a-SwinMate" service run by Swinburne University of Technology near Melbourne allows prospective Indian students and their parents to learn more about campus life, a statement said.

Indian-origin student Nischint Vora will answer questions on Swinburne's student services, clubs, lectures and teachers, scholarships and university life in general.

Vora's answers will be honest and sincere, but most importantly, they will be answers backed by personal experience, the university statement said.

"It is often difficult for international students to attend university events to learn what life at Swinburne and Australia is really like. 'Ask-a-SwinMate' allows these students to learn more about student experiences from someone who has been in their situation," Swinburne Ask-a-SwinMate co-ordinator Julia Makin said.

Vora who is currently studying for a Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management has been living in Melbourne for 15 months and said that life at Swinburne has been a very rewarding experience.

"My time in Melbourne and at Swinburne has included some of the best experiences of my life. The campus, located only a few kilometres from the city, is full of diversity, fun and academic brilliance," Vora said.

"Everything about the life on campus is a very enchanting experience -- from the eateries to the buzzing life of the surrounding suburbs and state-of-the-art classrooms."

"This journey has allowed me to cross paths with some fascinating and dynamic people and has also given me the opportunity to progressively evolve as a person, an experience that no degree can confer," he said.

Vora said that the most important contribution to his transition has been the academic and support staff at Swinburne.

"All of this merged with the brilliance of Melbourne and the warmth of its people, truly makes this the place to be," he said.
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