Monday, April 22, 2002		Article

Reaching out to students down under
Peeyush Agnihotri

THOUGH creating a Website no longer makes for splashy headlines, the philanthropy behind it definitely deserves some applause. Here we have a young man from Ambala using the Web to help out those trying to immigrate like him so that their task becomes hassle free.

Most of the persons from this region crave going abroad either to settle down or pursue higher studies. After 9/11 with the USA getting strict on immigration and visa policies, Australia, the land down under, is being viewed as the next hot option.

The site, www.Australian Desi.com, is a venture that keeps in mind all problems international students face ever since their plane touches the Kangarooland runway. Designed and created by Toshit Bhardwaj (23), the portal has been created to help the students who want to pursue their studies in Australia and need more information on that.

The portal’s home page is divided into 13 sections viz. Australia, E-mail, Quickfinder, AustralianDesi jokes, E-greetings, Here it is, Astrology, Computer professional, World news, Business promotion, Contest, We care for you and Classified sections.

Presently working as a software engineer in Melbourne, Australia, Toshit’s main areas of expertise is Web development and programming. Hailing from Shahzadpur, Ambala, this son of a bank manager (his father works with Allahabad Bank), completed his graduation Govt. College Sector 11, Chandigarh. He then flew off to Australia for his post graduation and completed his M.Tech (computing).

Providing details about education structure and jobs, the site promises to guide a student in case he or she has a specific query about any educational course or job. The portal even has a ticker on the latest world news. However, the date being shown at the top right hand side of every page is of the last leap year of the ’90s — totally immaterial if the cause is social.