KARACHI: The 20th Dawn Education Expo kicked off on Saturday, attracting a large number of students eager to explore higher learning opportunities locally and abroad. The two-day event that began at Pearl-Continental Hotel is an informative platform for students to engage directly with representatives from a variety of universities across the globe and get guidance for higher education. There were over 70 stalls representing local and international educational institutions, including those from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Pakistan, Iran, Ireland and Russia to name a few. Students, either in groups, individually, or accompanied by their parents, interacted with university representatives at those counters. Over 70 prestigious local and foreign institutions are taking part in the 20th edition of education expo At a stall by Erasmus Scholarships, a young man with a lively smile on his face explained how they were guiding students about the prestigious scholarships in Europe. “We guide students for bachelors and masters scholarships in our programme and provide them with complete information of the entire process to apply for it as well as the details of the degree programmes available along with what career options they’ll have after they graduate.” “And Erasmus is the only scholarship programme in which Pakistani students remain on top of the list, leaving behind students from more than 150 countries,” he added. A woman at the stall of Tehran University of Medical Sciences said their group was providing information about admissions in MBBS and specialisation at their university. “We tell students that along with other requirements, knowing Persian language is mandatory for these medical programmes as the graduates and doctors would be engaged in hospitals where they’ll have to deal with the locals of Iran. So there are language courses that students have to do once they arrive in Iran,” she shared. At the Russian booth, a young woman explained in detail the services their company, Russian Education System, was providing to students and said: “We are very delighted to have come here. It’s a new era of Pak-Russia friendship which we need to strengthen such collaborations and programmes.” A young representative of the Ireland Education Office said they were providing guidance for bachelors and masters admissions in Irish universities as well as about what subjects/degrees are more in demand in the global market. A young man at the stall of Warwick University said they were proving all details about their university’s selection criteria. There were also other stalls offering advice such as Conzept Connection, the British Council, United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP), Student Ways and others. Their representatives were answering the questions of the students. Many Pakistani universities including Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Ziauddin University, Iqra University, Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and Indus University have also set up their stalls. LUMS representatives said they were guiding students about admissions in their university while those at the stall of Indus University said they were more focused on providing details about a new programme that the university was launching in January after which it will be providing international certifications too. At one stall, student Muhammad Rayyan, along with his father, was engaged in conversation with a representative of Times Consultants. Talking to Dawn, he said he was interested in studying mechanical engineering and was looking for admission in European countries, preferably in Germany. His father added, “We can’t afford countries such as the US, Canada or Australia because of financial considerations. Therefore, we are looking for European universities.” Another group of friends said they were studying in intermediate and wanted to be aware of the admission criteria and all related information about foreign and local universities and therefore they were visiting the exhibition.