Trump Effect : Opportunities for internationalisation of Indian universities

As per the Government of India, the number of Indian students pursuing higher education in foreign universities has gone up steeply by 47% in the last two years, from about 907,000 in 2022 to 1,330,000 in 2024. In the last three months, however, policy measures taken by the U.S. President Trump administration are discouraging students to go to the U.S. for higher studies.Governments at destinations like the U.K., Australia, and Canada placing restrictions on student visas and caps on admission of foreign students presents an excellent opportunity for India to attract more foreign students, besides retaining some Indian students back home. This article analyses the factors affecting international students’ mobility and opportunities for internationalisation and suggests strategies to tap the emerging market by Indian universities.

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U.S. and Canada, attractive destinations for higher studies for Indian students

According to Government of India statistics on Indian students studying abroad in 2024, Canada comes on top, with 427,000 Indian students, followed by the U.S. with 337,630, the U.K. with 185,000, Australia with 122,202, and Germany with 42,997. The U.S. and Canada have been the hot spots for higher studies because of the quality of education, fee waivers offered, availability of career opportunities, post studies and exposure to global work environment.Canada’s popularity surged due to easier Permanent Residency (PR) pathways and work permits. The students that go to the U.S. on student visa (F1) are allowed to work full-time or part-time in the U.S. for a limited period of time as a part of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) scheme. In study fields like Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), needed by IT industry, OPT could be extended for an additional 24 months, from one year. This enables the students to pay back the loans availed for the studies during this period. Subsequently, they could secure regular jobs, after obtaining H1B Visa and build a lucrative career there. U.K. saw good growth in foreign student enrolments, after reintroducing the Post-Study Work Visa (Graduate Route) in 2021.

About 40% of the students who go to the developed countries for higher education pursue post-graduation in Engineering, followed by 25% in Management. It is estimated that over 75,000 Indians study MBBS in East and Central Asian countries like China, Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine (before the war with Russia), as it is recognised worldwide, more affordable and easier to get admission.Radical policy shift in the U.S. higher education