EDU Bytes: Premier schools’ exhibition India International Premier Schools Exhibition (IIPSE) was held at Everest Hotel from December 1 to 3. The event was organised by AFAIRS. According to Sanjeev Bolia, CEO, AFAIRS “We held this exhibition so that parents in Nepal could get an idea about premier schools in India all under one roof.” He adds, “The response has been phenomenal, we have had parents who are really interested to send their children to India for their studies. They’ve had a chance to interact directly with counsellors from these schools and get first hand information about the schools.” Talking about the schools that participated Bolia said, “We are focusing on schools that are well reputed and are very good in academics and overall development of the child.” Boosting tourism industry A programme named ‘Strengthening the Capacities of SMAPs’ aims to support Small and medium sized accommodation providers (SMAPs) in the selected rural areas in Nepal. The project also aims to encourage entrepreneurship through “Business Incubation” programme. The official launch of the project took place in November 2007. The programme is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by Hilfswerk Austria. It will be conducted in association with the local partners Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) and International School of Tourism and Hotel Management (IST) as well as with Sri Lankan partners. The training modules have been set up by International Tourism and Hotel Management and Salzburg University of Applied Sciences FHS, Austria. The project grant will also cover tourism-related curricula development, cooperative capacity development, e-Tourism and best practice exchanges Asia- Europe and Asia-Asia.