Valley
It’s an IT world
Monil Adhikari is a techie. He got hooked on computers from an early age when his family owned a computer hardware shop.Manish Gautam
Adhikari says that because the world depends on information technology and as Nepal readies itself to embrace technology, there is a huge scope in the IT sector. IT professionals like him, for instance, work to make the Internet safer for banks and ensure that online transactions are safe and easy to execute, among other tasks. “IT is already a big thing and it’s an interesting field,” says Adhikari.
Information Technology is sophisticated. So are the courses students need to study to become an IT professional. In Nepal, IT colleges offer a wide array of specialised courses in their IT streams, right from the A-levels through a Bachelor’s course. An IT degree can in today’s tech-driven world provide a lot of career options.
Because the students have to take in so much, colleges have devised ways to keep them engaged during the course. They have also tried to ensure that students can get the best instruction available: from live video sessions with teachers aboard and credit transfer facilities to foreign colleges to choosing for themselves how many years— it’s usually a three- or four- year option— they want to devote to their major.
Islington College in Kamalpokhari and Softwarica College in Dillibazar are among the colleges that offer the best any student could want out of a course.
“Our students can get a UK education in Nepal,” explains Amrit Thapa, Business Development Manager of Softwarica. “For the first two years they are taught in Nepal and the rest comprises video lectures by eminent teachers from the UK.”
Softwarica offers Bachelor’s in Information Technology with three intake sessions a year, in July, September and January. The college takes in 150 students a year.
The demand for IT subjects is growing by the day. “From government offices to agricultural projects, every sector now relies on the Internet, which has today become indispensable,” says Thapa.
Students are attracted to this course, believes Thapa, because colleges like his offer curriculum used abroad, and after having gone through the rigours of the course, they are more than ready to work here or for the growing IT sector abroad.
Sulav Budhathoki, CEO of Islington College, says they have more courses on their menu. The college offers a bachelor’s degree in Computing, Computer Network and IT Security and Multimedia Technology. All these courses can be completed in either three or four years as per the needs of the students. The Computing course deals more with software development, while the Computer Network and IT Security courses teach students how to build secure computer networks. The Multimedia Technology focuses on animation and graphics, among others; Budhathoki believes that multimedia is the next big thing in media and technology.
“The growing film and documentary industry, banks and corporate houses, in fact, all institutions, are constantly in need of a better Internet network and security. And this is where we see our students working,” says Budhathoki.
But even with the gains made by Nepali IT professionals, he believes that fresh professionals from Nepal should not get complacent. “Many Nepali IT professionals now work as mid-level workers. And they are faring better than they used to. But can get better still,” says Budhathoki.
The fees for IT packages ranges from Rs 600,000 to 800,000.
Bachelor of Science
With the world faceing so many environmental challenges—from air and sound pollution to climate change—environmental studies has emerged as a major field of studies. Gopal Bhandari, Principal of Xavier International College, which offers a four-year Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences, says more and more students are now attracted to the course. He says the lucrative jobs offered by various NGOs and INGOs as well as research institutions have increased the course’s popularity. In his college, which is affiliated to Tribhuvan University, students can study a wide range of topics including Ecology, Earth Science and subjects having to do with pollution, climate change and energy.
The BSC in Microbiology degree offered by the college is also becoming a popular subject. As Nepal prepares to establish new medical colleges, along with the expansion of existing ones, the graduates from this course should have good opportunities in academia. The pathology department of medical schools and big hospitals too offer graduates from such programmes opportunities for research and work. Students from colleges like his can also easily find placement in research projects abroad if they excel academically, believes Bhandari. Apart from the medical field, graduates can also work in sectors related to the environment, food and agriculture. The course offered by Xavier International is affiliated to Tribhuvan University. The fee for each of the courses in environmental sciences and microbiology comes to around Rs 3,000 per month.