Inside foreign universities’ desperate attempts to woo indifferent Indians
Strapped for cash back home, universities like Deakin, Bristol, and Aberdeen are looking at India to pad their wallets. They are finding it a tough market
Venture·Dalwadi·Inside·Indians·The Ken
30 Sec Summary
- The university no longer satisfied Canada’s work-permit criteria.
- Or so it seemed until it arrived in his backyard.
- Australia’s Deakin University had just set up a campus in Gift City, Ahmedabad, and offered a course in cybersecurity that interested Dalwadi.
- They target students like Dalwadi who are stuck between the desire to study abroad and the inability to go, often due to restrictive visa rules.
Key Highlights
- ✓The university no longer satisfied Canada’s work-permit criteria.
- ✓Or so it seemed until it arrived in his backyard.
- ✓Australia’s Deakin University had just set up a campus in Gift City, Ahmedabad, and offered a course in cybersecurity that interested Dalwadi.
- ✓They target students like Dalwadi who are stuck between the desire to study abroad and the inability to go, often due to restrictive visa rules.
When Harmit Dalwadi was admitted to a university in Canada in 2024, he took out an education loan of Rs 20 lakh. He spent almost Rs 400,000 preparing for his travel and stay abroad, buying winter jackets and similar essentials. But the computer-science graduate from Ahmedabad didn’t go.
Inside the move
The university no longer satisfied Canada’s work-permit criteria. And if he could not work there, Dalwadi decided, there was no point going. His dream of studying at a foreign university was over.
Or so it seemed until it arrived in his backyard.
Australia’s Deakin University had just set up a campus in Gift City, Ahmedabad, and offered a course in cybersecurity that interested Dalwadi.
The numbers behind the story
The decision was made. Instead of flying 12,000 km away to obtain his master’s in cybersecurity, he would dash 20 km across the city. When he arrived for his first day in July 2024, he found himself in a class of 12 and in an inaugural batch, across the university, of 42.
At the time, Deakin was one of only two foreign universities, the other being the University of Wollongong, with campuses in India. In the two years since, that number has exploded to 17, with 14, including the universities of Bristol and Liverpool, wrapping up admissions for the first academic session by next month.
They target students like Dalwadi who are stuck between the desire to study abroad and the inability to go, often due to restrictive visa rules.
What this changes
It’s a potentially lucrative market, or so industry players seem to think. As The Ken reported in September, Emeritus, a Singaporean company focused on online executive education, has already struck revenue-sharing deals to bankroll infrastructure for seven foreign universities that have set up shop in India. The company has raised $150 million in funding in the last round and reported a revenue of almost $400 million in FY24, up from $350 million in the previous year.
But the foreign players may be overly optimistic. Even after two years, the foreign universities in Gift City have been unable to fill all the seats in their courses.
In an attempt to kindle student interest, six of the 17 universities last month partnered with Eruditus, which is a brand under Emeritus, to launch a Rs 1,000 crore scholarship initiative.
Content Courtesy
The Ken — by By Atul Krishna
This article has been rewritten and curated by Blogy News from the original source above. All credit for the underlying reporting belongs to the original publisher. Read the full original piece via the link.