Education consultancy Findlay goes well beyond supporting students in choosing a university or college overseas.
By offering a whole range of services, they also support then throughout their education and in their preparation for employment afterwards.
At the beginning of the student’s journey, the company’s team of experienced consultants, will assess the student’s academic background, interests and career aspirations to provide the best possible suggestions for their studies.
For students unsure of which direction to take, Findlay provides psychometric career profiling assessments to look at their aptitudes, working preferences and personality to support decision-making both for careers and higher education.
The company provides a comprehensive and personalised service to their students in the period leading to their departure.
They communicate with universities on the student’s behalf and provide them with visa application assistance and pre-departure information.
Findlay is also a UCAS centre for students wishing to apply to United Kingdom (UK) universities.
Students continue to have access to Findlay’s team during their studies and benefit from their services on graduation through free access to personal development workshops such as CV writing, interview skills and presentation skills to give them an edge over other graduates.
Founder and Managing Director Sunita Martin is well experienced in the tertiary education student consultation field, having worked for several years as an international student adviser at universities in the UK.
All of Findlay’s education consultants have themselves been educated overseas, bringing empathy to their role.
With the pandemic, the higher education landscape across the world has changed.
One of the benefits has been greater flexibility enjoyed by students in accessing their studies.
Whilst there is no doubt that some students have chosen to study at local institutions, the ones who have decided on overseas institutions have found themselves being able to choose to study online from Brunei or to carry on with their plans to go abroad to their destinations instead of putting their higher education plans on hold.
The vast majority of the students appear to have adapted admirably to the new norm which has been an encouraging sign.
Apart from the COVID-related impact, a visible change in the higher education landscape has been the availability of an alternative routes to university.
A growing number of students now opt to do foundations at a pathway college after their ‘O’ levels or IGCSEs, instead of taking the more traditional pre-university route of ‘A’ levels or International Baccalaureate.
These foundation programmes usually last only a year although medicine foundations can be two years.
Students study on the campus of their intended university, becoming familiar with the wider university whilst in a well-supported college environment.
When they are ready to start the rigours of their degree studies, they have the distinct advantage of already being familiar with the university and having their culture shock or homesickness already behind them
There is also a growing awareness and demand for overseas destinations that offer post-study work programmes and degrees with work placements where students from Brunei can gain relevant, paid experience before returning home.
This trend has become more noticeable particularly where parents are funding their children’s degrees.
Findlay organises higher education study fairs in the country twice a year, offering potential students the option of pursuing their tertiary education from institutions located in many countries around the world.
Their next virtual event will be from January 25-27.
Information is available on their website and social media pages.
