After I complete my Plus Two (science) next year, I want to take up a career in healthcare/biosciences. Should I sign up for an undergraduate programme in bio-medical engineering, biotechnology or pharmacy? Please advise. Sunita Rao, Bangalore Instead of getting confused with alternatives, you must first understand the nature of work associated with these study programmes. Thereafter, evaluate your strengths and aptitudes. A bachelor’s degree in all these disciplines should be supplemented with postgraduate qualifications to improve career prospects. I’m keen on a career in multimedia after getting my B.Com degree in 2014. Please suggest reputed institutions offering multimedia courses. Siddharth Iyer, Chennai Multimedia is a generic term for technology which integrates video, audio, text, illustrations, graphics, photographs, and animation, and has become increasingly popular with commercial artists, graphic designers, animation specialists etc. It has applications in a large number of professions such as advertising, publishing, print and electronic media, including television and internet as well as architecture, entertainment and marketing. An essential prerequisite for excelling in these professions is creativity. Hence a background in commercial art or graphic design is desirable. While there are many institutes offering training and certification in multimedia programmes, they merely provide multimedia software training. They neither offer education in the fundamentals of design nor campus placement. I’m a class XI (commerce) student keen on pursuing an undergrad degree abroad. Please enlighten me on the approximate cost of education in the US, UK and Singapore. Mario Vaz, Mumbai An undergraduate degree in the US costs anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 (Rs.18-37 lakh) per year; in the UK costs vary between £15,000-23,000 (Rs.15-23 lakh) annually, whereas in Singapore undergrad education costs S$20,000-30,000 (Rs.10-15 lakh). However please note that scholarships and financial aid often reduce these fees. I want to pursue an MBBS degree abroad. What are my options? Sunil Kumar, Bangalore It’s advisable to pursue an MBBS degree in the country where you wish to practice. If you want to practice in India, it’s better to sign up for an MBBS programme in India. However if you insist on studying abroad, Singapore and Australia are good choices. Two reputed schools in Singapore which offer MBBS are the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Nanyang Technological University’s Lee Kong Chian (LKC) School of Medicine. LKC conducts an entrance test (Biomedical Admissions Test) administered by Cambridge Assessment. The selection interviews are held in April and the admission offer is made between April-June. Please note that NUS requires excellent grades in Plus Two. After completing my B.Com next year, should I sign up for an MBA degree or acquire work experience and then pursue an MBA? Amit Verma, New Delhi In my opinion you should complete your MBA programme without a break in your studies. For most students, MBA is the final degree and studying for two years after B.Com will help you complete your academics in one go. Equipped with an MBA, you can venture into the corporate world. However there are plenty of people who believe…
