IDP fulfilling dreams of studying abroad

For more than 45 years, IDP Education, the world’s largest student placement service provider, has been helping students in 32 countries around the world to fulfil their dreams of pursuing higher education overseas.
IDP Education Malaysia, founded in the early 1990s, began with offering counselling services for students seeking education opportunities in Australia. Since then, it has expanded to providing student placement opportunities in the UK and New Zealand, and also conducts and manages the world’s largest English language testing service IELTS—for study, work and migration.
Ajay Rao, country director of IDP Education Malaysia, says the objective of IDP has always been to be the leading service provider for international student enrolments and English testing service in Malaysia. Rao has been working with IDP Education since November 2012 and was country director for IDP in South Korea before coming to Malaysia.
“IDP Education is co-owned by 38 Australian universities, thus we have extremely strong relationships with Australian universities and institutions. We also have a large number of universities from the UK and New Zealand as part of our client base,” he says.
A decision regarding education overseas is one of the bigger choices people make in their lives, and it often involves not just the student but the family too, says Rao. He says IDP’s primary focus is to ensure that students and their families are well informed in making their decisions by receiving advice and assistance in every way.
“The heart of our service is our student counsellors. From the day the students step through our door, we guide them through the procedures of handling every stage of the application process,” he says, adding that each student will be assigned to a counsellor who is dedicated and specifically trained for a particular destination.
“Our counselling teams provide professional, impartial advice and assist our students with applications to their chosen institution. The counsellor will always consider factors such as the students’ academic capability and interests as well as their financial situation,” says Rao.
IDP also gives students and parents the opportunity to interact closely with representatives of international educational institutions and academic faculty, in its popular educational fairs specific to different education destinations, as well as “open day” sessions in its six offices across the country.
“Students and parents have various concerns ranging from programme features, future prospects, and course fees to accommodation options and security, which can be answered by concerned representatives and faculty,” says Rao, adding that IDP also works closely with local colleges in providing counselling services for students at their campuses through on-site education fairs. IDP has invited faculties from overseas universities to interact with the students.
Rao recognises the importance of being part of the information technology age today.
“Students are at the cutting edge of digital technology and therefore it is important for IDP to be present in various digital and social media platforms. Our website (www.idp.com/malaysia) offers the latest updates on our activities and events for student counselling, as well as updates on IELTS test dates.
IDP is actively connecting with students through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, providing up to date information and interactions, and encouraging more participations from students.
“Having said that, social media activities can’t substitute the value of our counsellors,” says Rao. “Our trained and dedicated counsellors provide students with general education counselling, specific course and university counselling, and university application processing. They assist in accepting university offers, visa counselling and pre-departure and arrival support.”
He says in order to reach more students across Malaysia, IDP counsellors have been travelling to smaller locations, and also making use of the Internet to communicate with students. They have close to 20 full-time counsellors, many of who are relatively young and connect well with the students.
Besides counselling services, another main function of IDP is to manage and administer the IELTS tests across various locations in Malaysia. IDP is the co-owner of IELTS with the British Council and Cambridge University.
“We provide guidance and services to students and their families and our client institutions, and test candidates applying for international study and migration opportunities as well as our broader stakeholders which include government, education institutions, professional registration bodies and employers,” says Rao.
He says in today’s world, there can be an overdose of information that can confuse parents and students in making the right choice of educational destination and programme.
“Our role is to always provide guidance with impartial advice to students. IDP Education is proud to have had such a positive impact in the communities it serves and the students it has supported,” says Rao.
He says moving forward, IDP Education Malaysia, which is currently present in key cities in Malaysia, will try to expand its presence in smaller cities. It aims to reach out to students in other locations and also expand its education counselling services for universities in the US in the future.
“But most importantly, our focus will be to further improve our quality services to enable students to achieve their dreams and aspirations of studying abroad,” says Rao, who believes that studying abroad exposes a student to completely new experiences and culture, broadening his or her horizons while offering a whole new outlook on life.