Panel of experts address students’ queries at The Hindu’s career counselling session

“Is it alright for students from India to pursue undergraduate medical education courses abroad? What is the difference in the accounting qualifications between Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Association of Chartered Accountants (ACCA)? How can one prepare for a career in AI when already enrolled in different engineering courses?”

These were a sample of the questions from the students posed to a panel of experts at the interactive session organised as part of The Hindu EducationPlus Career Counselling 2026 held at Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering (VVCE) in Mysuru on Saturday.

Professor of Community Medicine, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI) S. N. Manjunatha, while addressing a question on the prospect of students enrolling themselves in medical education courses offered by overseas institutions, emphasised the need for the students to conduct a thorough “research” on the institution before joining.

A lot of marketing about such medical schools in Russia, Malta, Ukraine and other countries in the region takes place in India. “While some of the medical schools are good, some are not up to the mark”, he said. He also cited examples of how students, particularly girl students, had to drop out of the courses and return home unable to find hostel accommodation after the first year.

“Identification of a good institution should not be based only by going through their website. You need to talk to somebody, who has experience”, he said.

After completing the medical course in the foreign country, the students have to mandatorily pass a qualifying examination - Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences. “It is not a tough examination. If you pass the examination, your name will be registered in the medical council and you can start practicing in India,” he said.

Dr. Manjunatha also pointed out that there are several medical students, who are pursuing MD (Doctor of Medicine), a postgraduate medical course, in India, after completing their undergraduate courses in one of these overseas medical schools.

Chartered Accountancy

While fielding a question on scope of chartered accountancy qualification by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Bhargava S, who represented the Mysuru branch of ICAI said he would definitely subscribe to ICAI.

A certification from ICAI qualifies one to not only sign balance sheets and legal documents in India, but is also recognised by more than 100 countries, he said, while adding that ICAI has offices in the Middle East and Singapore also.

However, Gaurav Yadav, who is the Director of Admissions, REVA University, Bengaluru, said ACCA may be a private body, but its qualification is “sought-after” by MNCs in India and Middle East. Though ACCA certification will not suffice if one is looking to sign legal documents in India, a lot of MNCs are looking at ACCA qualification for jobs, he said.

Meanwhile, Principal of VVCE Dr. Sadashive Gowda, while fielding a question on the possibility of preparing for a career in AI while already enrolled in a different branch of engineering, said Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) now allows students to add “minor degrees” to courses to their main courses.

“For instance, a student enrolled for a course in Mechanical Engineering can add a minor degree in AI, Machine Learning, Electric Vehicles or Cyber Security. All this is possible now,” he said.

Referring to the possibility of students pursuing courses on online platforms, Dr. Gowda said their college has paid a fee to an online platform that allows its students to take up free courses on their platform.