A Brief Introduction to UKEAS - Your Friend in British Education

UKEAS Ltd. is a British Company founded in 1993. The same year it opened offices in Taipei and Taichung to provide an impartial, professional and FREE counselling and applications service for Taiwan students interested in going to study in the UK. The service was unique and has continued to excel with its blend of British and Taiwan staff to make sure our students get the very best advice and help with their plans to study in the UK. Since 1993 UKEAS has grown rapidly, mainly through the recommendations of our satisfied students and UKEAS Kaohsiung and Tainan opened in 1997. The new Hsinchu office, which opened in April 1999, compliments the other offices and helps advance our mission of making a free quality counselling and applications service for British education easily accessible to all Taiwan students. Geographically and demographically we cover a greater area than any other specialist British education counselling organisation in Taiwan and we believe we provide a friendlier, more comprehensive and more convenient service for British education than any other organisation in Taiwan.

UKEAS are particularly proud of having been instrumental in making British education more accessible to Taiwan students outside the Taipei area. We were the first organisation to arrange a British education exhibition outside Taipei when we brought the British education exhibition to Taichung in 1996. Then Provincial Governor, James Soong, was kind enough to show his support of British education at this event when he spoke as the guest of honour at the pre-exhibition banquet. So we were particularly happy that Mr. Soong was able to take time out of his busy schedule to attend the official opening of our Hsinchu office 23/07/99. Since our first exhibition UKEAS have managed and organised two more British education exhibitions in Taichung and in 1998 we held the only ever British education exhibition in Tainan.

So what makes UKEAS successful and distinguishes it from other education counselling services? First and foremost we treat the students who visit our offices as our honoured customers and work to provide them with the most appropriate study plan for their background. Our customers become our friends and many of them stay in touch with us while they are in the UK and visit our offices after they have returned. Secondly, the structure of our company with British managers working alongside Taiwanese staff (many of whom have studied in the UK either on Masters courses or on language courses) is unique. This blend allows us to give our customers the best possible advice, both on their study plans and on life in the UK from the perspective of both British nationals and Taiwanese students. UKEAS counselors in Taiwan have more than 50 years experience helping Taiwan students go to the UK. This wealth of experience helps ensure that students embarking upon their studies are aware of what to expect when they arrive at their destination. This helps to ensure that the trip is both successful and enjoyable.

Our service covers every aspect of the process of applying to study at any institution in the UK, whether it is a language school, a high school, a community college, a university or a graduate school. Once the student has decided which institutions to apply to help is then given writing study plans and resumes to make sure they are accurate and clear and advice is given on obtaining references and English language qualifications. When all the necessary paperwork is in place we help filling out the applications and check everything to make sure the application has the best possible chance of being successful. Once the student has decided which course to accept we take care of all pre-sessional language course bookings, accommodation, visa and travel arrangements. Then, before the students leave they are given thorough briefing sessions on life and study in the UK. We firmly believe that the better prepared you are before you leave the better you will do when you arrive.

UKEAS pre-departure briefings are done in great detail and in small groups so that all students have plenty of opportunity to ask questions regarding their particular study destination. After the briefings students leave for their destination complete with the UKEAS study abroad pack which consists of the pre-departure briefing booklet containing emergency contact numbers and all the detailed information delivered in the PDB. They are also provided with free stamped postcards so that they can write back to their parents as soon as they arrive. Language school students get free fax-back forms to fax to their local UKEAS office so we can call parents to let them know their children have arrived safely. We also provide detailed free UK travel books in Chinese, discounted telephone cards and free ISIC cards. Perhaps though the most distinctive thing about the UKEAS service is the fact that it doesn't stop when the students arrive in the UK. We encourage our customers to stay in touch with us throughout their studies and should they have any difficulties we help them to overcome them whenever possible. Our students often come back to visit us when they return to Taiwan to share their experiences with us. To compliment our backup service while you are in the UK we opened our office in Aylesbury near Oxford in September 2000. This office offers help in case of emergencies and also gives ongoing applications services to students while they are in the UK.

By treating our customers like our friends and family we have created a quality service for Taiwan students wishing to follow a quality education in the UK. We would like to invite you and your friends to enjoy the UKEAS service for entrance into British education. Please call your local office to make an appointment, or if you are in the UK already contact Su Hayter in our UK office.