fbpx
Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF

Exploring undergraduate recruitment opportunities in India

India has been a major driver of growth in overall mobility, and particularly so over the last few years. While it is still somewhat overshadowed by China – which remains far and away the world’s leading source of international students – the two are on notably different trajectories this decade. In fact, India’s growth actually outpaced China’s (in percentage terms) between 2013 and 2016. Average annual growth over that period was just under 4% for China, but India grew more than three times as fast with average growth of just over 13% per year. Indeed, as China’s year-over-year growth has begun to slow, India is emerging as a more important driver of future growth for receiving markets, including those outside of the major English-speaking destinations, such as China and Germany. India has traditionally been market for graduate recruitment. While it also sends strong numbers for vocational training, the vast majority of students over the years have gone abroad for advanced degrees, and this certainly remains true today. But there have been signs recently of growing demand for undergraduate studies as well. The US, for example, has seen two consecutive years of strong growth in Indian undergraduate enrolment, with a more than 30% increase between 2014 and 2015 and another 14% bump in undergraduate numbers from 2015 to 2016. Amit Jalan is the managing director of EEC, an education agency with offices throughout the Western India state of Gujarat. Mr Jalan is a frequent conference speaker on market trends and we recently sat down with him to explore further some of the issues and opportunities in undergraduate recruitment in the Indian market. In our first interview segment below, Mr Jalan attributes the growth in demand for undergraduate studies to increasing income levels and the expansion of the international schools sector within India. Turning to the question of market entry for undergraduate recruitment, Mr Jalan adds, “My best advice for schools is to develop relationships with agents, but [first] check how successful they have been with undergraduate recruitment...rather than overall numbers. That will give you a reality check in terms of how efficient that agency might be for an undergraduate school.” Along with agents, Mr Jalan highlights the importance of building strong links with high schools in India in our next interview segment below. In our next video excerpt, Mr Jalan highlights some of the key demand factors that weigh on the choice of institution and destination for Indian undergraduate students planning for studies abroad. He notes affordability as an important issue for this market segment, along with proximity to family and friends already settled abroad and institutional or subject rankings. But more than rankings, he emphasises that, “The idea is to go into the market and talk about your particular strong areas. What is your school good at? What are you well known for? How are you going to support the student, and how do you connect their education to a career?” Looking ahead, Mr Jalan highlights Canada’s growing popularity among Indian students as one of the important trends that will further shape the market over the next few years. In our final segment, he cites Australia’s easing student visa policy for Indian students as another important development, and projects that Canada and Australia will continue to challenge the traditional lead of the US in the market. For additional background, please see:

Most Recent

  • US warns of expanded travel ban that could affect key African markets Read More
  • Breaking: US resumes student visa processing Read More
  • Is Canada valued more as a “pathway to immigration” or as a destination for education? Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

US warns of expanded travel ban that could affect key African markets “The United States is considering restricting entry to citizens of an additional 36 countries in what would be...
Read more
Breaking: US resumes student visa processing On 18 June, the US State Department sent a cable to all US diplomatic posts abroad instructing them...
Read more
Is Canada valued more as a “pathway to immigration” or as a destination for education? During a 12 June 2025 webinar presented by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and IDP, IDP...
Read more
Japanese outbound numbers reached 90% of pre-pandemic levels in 2024 An annual survey of Japanese education agents finds that outbound student numbers from this key sending market are...
Read more
UK: Study visa applications up by nearly a third year to date The early data we are seeing so far this year makes a couple of things clear. First, there...
Read more
Real-time insights on shifting international student interest in the US ICEF and NAFSA co-hosted a featured webinar on 11 June, and the session showcased some important data reflecting...
Read more
What are the latest developments for international students in the United States? An update like this needs a time stamp as the events reported are unfolding quickly. It was first...
Read more
ICEF Podcast: Live from NAFSA 2025 Listen in as ICEF’s Craig Riggs and Martijn van de Veen recap a busy week at the annual...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links