Orbit's Expansion
Counsellors for those seeking to go abroad for higher studies are available aplenty in the market. Recent entrant Orbit International has made a separate identity of its own with its growing specialisation in sending students to Germany and China .
These days, one frequently notices former Miss Nepal Preeti Sitaula appearing on a TV commercial explaining the benefits of joining Orbit International. She is currently in the US pursuing her Master's level course in mass Communication at Liberty University , Virginia with the help of Orbit's services.
But Orbit was recording an impressive growth even without Sitaula's celebrity status and beneficiary endorsement. Established in the year 2000 with three partners and three employees working from a seven-room apartment, Orbit now has four buildings and 80 employees with offices at Putali Sadak, Pokhara and in Osaka, Japan (since 2006) and at Henan and Guangzhou in China.
Orbit Services:
Exam preparation
Information and consultation
Processing application
Bank loan (in cooperation with Lalitpur Finance)
Accommodation
Pre-departure briefing
Scholarships
Visa assistance
Airport pick up
On-going support
Foreign language training: English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese
Specialities
Own building
Parking facility despite being in the busy city centre
Free counseling
Free study material
Online Instant Writing Assessment from ETS , USA |
However, the company's Chairman and Executive Director Uddhab KC says the company is specialised more in sending students to Germany . According to the company brochure, 30 Orbit alumni were studying in Germany as of June 2006. The processing time for applications is five months during which Orbit provides the students language training so that they can jump headlong into the academic course upon arrival.
Other countries where Orbit is focusing to send its students include the UK , New Zealand , Australia , Japan , Switzerland , China and Ireland . The USP of the company is that it constantly monitors the students' progress in foreign countries, a rare feature in most other educational consultancies. Opening up of foreign offices is for this very purpose, says KC. In order to make the foreign office self sustaining, the company is involving them in other income generating activities as well. Take the example of the Osaka office which is also running a Nepali restaurant (Lali Gurans). "The other objective of this restaurant is to promote non-academic courses as well as cultural projects," says KC. Also on the cards is another office in Shandong , China .
Most recently Orbit has started a couple of short-term courses and set up a separate college (Orbit International College) with affiliation to Tribhuvan University offering Bachelor's level course in humanities and social studies with special focus on Buddhist studies. Among the short term courses is a four-week course --Academic Writing --targeted at professionals under which students can choose among English in Academic Setting, Developing Research Project or Dissertation Writing. Another short term course, Experience Nepal , is targeted specially at foreigners and children of Non-Resident Nepalis who want to learn more about Nepali history and culture. The four-week course, approved by Tribhuvan University 's Central Department of Nepali History, Culture and Archaeology, consists of 20 classes and 23 practicals during which the students live in different Nepali villages.
Timeline
2000: Orbit International established. Abroad Study Department set up to help students go abroad for study by signing a contract which is governed under the Contract Act. That was followed by setting up of the Academic Department for preparation classes (language study, language tests etc.)
2005: Orbit Welfare Network established for helping NGOs and to provide scholarships to school students. Pokhara office set up.
2006: Office set up in Osaka , Japan followed by offices in Henan and Guangzhou in China . Agreement signed with Lalitpur Finance for educational loan to Orbit students.
2007: All classrooms fully computerised (three digital classrooms)
Recent developments: New courses started (Experience Nepal , Academic Writing); Orbit International College affiliated to TU set up; Department of Cultural Studies set up within Orbit.
