Students check out course options at the Education UK exhibition. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Engineering, management, finance and bio sciences. These were the top picks for students seeking information at the two-day Education UK exhibition, held at Taj Bengal, which ended on Tuesday.

?We received the highest number of queries in these areas,? said Catherine Harris, senior international officer of Queen?s University, Belfast.

?Such events provide us with a great opportunity to come face-to-face with the students. It also helps them to ask all the questions they want to and clear their doubts,? added Harris, who is leading the team of 46 UK institutions that set up stalls at the fair.

Other ? and newer ? areas in which students showed interest included creative arts, media sciences and communication.

Calcutta was the first stop for the Education UK exhibition and saw around 1,600 visitors. The exhibition is travelling to six other Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Ludhiana.

Eastern India has seen a growth of 34 per cent in the number of students going to the UK to study. Overall, more than 16,000 Indian students travel to the UK each year.

?Students approaching us for course details here seem very well-informed and serious about the courses,? said Ruchika Castelino, head of Education UK-India.

Agreed Barbara Turner of Bradford College, who had most visitors to her stall seeking MBA course details. ?They seem to know exactly what they want.?

Steven Williams of University of Warwick, on his second trip to the city with Education UK, found the students a ?little less interested in English Literature? than previous years.

?Students are preferring the UK because of the shorter course durations and better job opportunities, in cases where we are able to provide employment,? Castelino said.

Visitors included mostly undergraduate students, though there were some post-graduates as well.

?I?m looking for an MS in social work. Not many are offering the course, since it?s a new area, but this is a better option to learn about the opportunities than going through the websites,? said Sriparna Dey, a research student.