How can universities deepen their ties with India?

As Indian international students reach an all-time overseas, Western universities have been adjusting their international strategies to accommodate incoming students. But, developing lasting bonds with the world’s #1 student market requires more than just a recruitment plan.

In the latest episode of Keystone’s Higher Ed Chats podcast, we spoke with Rajika Bhandari, award-winning author and co-founder of the South Asia International Education Network, who shared her thoughts on Indian student mobility trends and how institutions should approach partnerships.

Continue reading to learn how universities can strengthen their ties with India and create long-lasting collaboration initiatives…

Understanding Indian students’ preferences

Indian students have clear priorities when choosing to study abroad. Rajika Bhandari says that, like in most Asian cultures, Indian students value the quality of education and the return on investment. 

“The families play a key role in sort of making some of these decisions along with the student. So a real focus on, you know, will the investments pay off in terms of delivering a high quality of education?”

The second priority is the degree’s viability in securing good career outcomes. For students interested in continuing to live abroad, the work opportunities that become available post-study are “absolutely critical,” she says. “The data speaks for itself: every time a country has constricted these sorts of opportunities, you can begin to see the number of international students fall.”

Access student data specific to Indian students with our 2024 State of Student Recruitment report:

However, deepening ties with the Indian market isn’t restricted to recruiting students to your school. Instead, the most valuable and lasting partnerships can only be achieved by two-way engagement, where international universities also contribute to making India an increasingly coveted destination country.

These are some strategies for collaborating with Indian institutions:

• Faculty exchanges and research partnerships 

“International academic partnerships are a key aspect to scientific innovation,” said Jelena Kovačević, Dean of NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, when praising the school’s collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. The partnership is expected to boost critical research in cybersecurity and AI, share teaching and research strategies, and substantially expand doctoral programs.

Faculty exchange programs are excellent at creating lasting bonds between international institutions. Through short or long-term exchanges, faculty members teach and collaborate with a new network of researchers while broadening their cultural horizons and developing new academic practices.

Another example of collaboration comes from Texas’ Rice University, which has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur as part of the Rice-IITK Collaborative Center, launched in 2019 to support research in data science, energy, health care, and other areas. 

Caroline Levander, vice president for global at Rice, said that the partnership “helps to identify areas of shared research strength between the faculties of the two universities and to pinpoint ways in which we might support the research aspirations of faculty and also help grow our partnership.”

• Hybrid and joint degree programs 

As the cost of living and traveling rises and new platforms allow classes to be delivered remotely, online and hybrid degrees have become more appealing to international students. A 2022 report by Leap revealed that 33% of South Asian students believed hybrid learning to be more attractive than traditional learning, and another 33% believed the two methods to be equal.

While the numbers may have been affected by the still-receding pandemic, many students will continue to turn to hybrid programs as a more accessible alternative to international accreditation.

Joint degrees with Indian universities are also a powerful strategy for international collaboration, as shown by the joint Masters in Data Science and AI offered by the University of Birmingham in association with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras.

Students enrolling in this program can choose from two pathways: one begins with a seven-month period in IIT Madras, including industry placement, followed by twelve months of research in Birmingham; the other begins the same way but leads to a five-month period in Birmingham, after which the student returns to the IIT for a research project.

• Developing industry collaborations 

As Bhandari highlights, Indian students place great weight on career prospects when choosing to study abroad. Offering internships, practical training, and post-study work opportunities can give universities a significant edge when recruiting from India.

However, another ample and often untapped opportunity lies in the reverse route. India’s education system has recently transformed to focus on industry collaboration, a move set to make India the next global study destination.

Establishing partnerships with emerging industries in India is equally important for universities abroad. Beyond increasing the institution’s international presence, these arrangements are pivotal in promoting student mobility in both directions.

• Shedding the lens of recruitment

Like many higher education experts, Bhandari believes that a recruitment-based approach alone will always limit the potential of international institutional partnerships and student engagement.

“If institutions in Western countries want to develop deeper partnerships with Indian institutions, the first thing required is a sort of mindset shift,” she states.  

There is no more room for outdated views: universities need to see India “as an equal partner and not necessarily as an entity that’s kind of the beneficiary in some way, [with] the US institution coming in with all the expertise and the Indian institution is simply receiving all this knowledge.”

Listen to the full podcast interview for more insights on India’s role in global higher education.