Forget beans on toast and public transport, a new butler service hopes to make life for university goers from the Middle East as luxurious as possible, writes Jane Plunkett

Living on a diet of baked beans and tinned spaghetti, sharing a small flat with eight friends, using a traffic cone as wall art, never having enough clean clothes, and having to decide between spending your last bit of cash on a night out or a meal - aren’t these the magical memories of university life?

Well a new service for students in the region that recently launched in Abu Dhabi hopes to change all this.

The International Student Accommodation Service (ISAS) now offers the world’s first luxury student concierge service, which plans to take any hardship out of university life by offering Middle East students who choose to study in Australia an easy and stress-free relocation process.

Rather than get off the plane and actually tackle life as a student in a foreign country head on, an ISAS representative will basically be at the airport waiting to lead the? student by the hand for as long as they require.

Dean Giannelli, CEO of ISAS, isn’t shy to admit he sees the concept being a great success given the level of pampering students in this region are accustomed to. ?

“We saw a gap in the market to provide a personal fully integrated concierge service for students who want to experience a new country, but are perhaps dissuaded by the prospect of starting an entirely new life without their creature comforts,” said Giannelli.

“We made a strategic decision to first launch the company in the Middle East because the region is renowned for its high levels of personalised service.”

To date more than 22,000 students from the Middle East region have chosen to study in one of the 38 universities across Australia, according to Giannelli.

Future students who might choose to use the luxury concierge service can look forward to being greeted at any airport Down Under by an appointed concierge, who will take care of their baggage collection as well as drive them in a private vehicle to their new home.

The student will also be handed a mobile phone with an Australian sim-card, wireless internet access will be ready and available in their new home and a bank account will have been set up - as will health insurance and numerous other things associated with starting life in a new place.

The concierge is also on call 24-hours a day to answer any questions the new student might have.

Emirati Reem Althawadi, 30, says she is not surprised that such a service was first launched in Middle East considering the reputation people here have of being a bit spoilt.

While she predicts that some in the region will lap it up, Reem herself is appalled by the concept.

“Helping the students out like this is counter-productive.

How are they going to learn how to take care of themselves if everything is done for them?

What will happen when they finish studying and expect to find a job - how will they handle that? They are going to be adults that don’t even know how to buy a sim-card,” says Reem.

“University life should be a learning experience. I spent six months at a language school in Spain when I was 24-years-old. Before I arrived I had nowhere to stay and barely knew the language, but I handled it. “And when people saw me trying they were really helpful too. It gave me a new level of confidence knowing that I survived it all.”

Moving to another country to study might be perceived as a challenge for some, but for Dubai-based adventurer Julie Amer from Mountain High, real challenges come in the form of hiking in sub-zero conditions up Everest.

“While I agree it’s nice to have accommodation arranged as a student arriving in a new country, all the other things new students have to arrange is all part of the learning experience. It’s good to face challenges,” says Julie.

“How hard can it be too? It should be exciting. I mean there isn’t even a language barrier in Australia. University students are usually 18-plus - they are adults that should be well able to look after themselves,” she adds.

Dubai-born expat David, 24, who graduated from university in Canada this year, says that after living in the UAE his whole life, he loved being left to fend for himself for four years.

“I was so excited to move to Canada to study. I really loved the freedom of it all after growing up in the UAE, where people do everything for you,” says David. “I did struggle at times and had to work a rubbish part-time job to make ends meet, but those difficult memories were part of the best ones from college life. When it’s too easy it’s no fun.”

Sorce:http://www.7days.ae

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