Tag: India

International universities adopts GLOCAL mantra

“The world is rapidly transforming, and with it, our education systems need to evolve to”

In the past, it was accepted that an education system which revolved around competitive exams would prepare students for the job market. Accumulating knowledge was the driving force behind success, but now after digital disruption, (where information is available at your fingertips), this is not the case anymore. The world is rapidly transforming, and with it, our education systems need to evolve to.

Jobs today are fluid, requiring an array of skills ranging from critical thinking, communication and domain knowledge. Further, with the advent of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and other technological advancements, nobody knows what the careers of the future will look like, what activities will be uniquely human and how organizations will find a balance between automation and human delivered output.

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A View on some of the top education destinations for Indian students

“Indian students today prefer to study abroad for greater career opportunities and to experience diversity”

Overseas education has been gaining grounds and Indian students today prefer to study abroad for greater career opportunities and experiencing diversity, among other reasons. Here I will walk you through top international education destinations for the Indian students.

  1. USA

The USA is one of the prime countries for Indian students who are in pursuit of educational courses such as business management, computer sciences, social sciences, physical and life sciences, mathematics, engineering and other courses. With top-tier universities, USA accommodates lakhs of foreign students every year. Institutions such as MIT, Princeton and Stanford, Harvard, are the most preferred.

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UK universities can be much more innovative in marketing in India

“UK universities need to be more innovative, less conservative and worry less about the Post Study Work visa”

Indian student numbers to the UK have fallen substantially in the last few years because of tighter visa controls. India was left out of an expanded list in June this year relaxing Tier 4 visa rules. But this is the new normal now. British universities need not use these excuses to justify low recruitment in India but do need to become more innovative in how they recruit.

The Foreign Providers Bill was long seen as a panacea for UK universities to enter the Indian market. In 2015, India’s National Knowledge Commission in 2005 recommended the establishment of Independent Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE), replacing the higher and technical education regulators. The Higher Education and Research (HER) Bill 2011 sought to do the same, additionally seeking to grant greater autonomy to well-performing institutions.

In June 2017, the current government announced its intention to replace both the higher and technical education regulators with the Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA) instead. A month later, reports suggested the plans were on hold. Sometime thereafter, they were back on track. Then, formally earlier this year, the plans were finally superseded with a version more acceptable to the sector.

There is a very simple reason for this policy vacillation. The education portfolio in the Indian government is not as prestigious as many others. Governments don’t like spending political capital on reforming this sector when far greater political dividends can be achieved elsewhere.

In the Joint UK-India Trade Review earlier this year, the UK government identified several barriers to entry for increased UK-India education trade, including restrictions on repatriation of investment profits, lack of mutual recognition of one-year UK Masters programmes, twinning programmes not being recognised and foreign universities not being allowed to set up.

These are all fair points to make, but there is little prospect of changes happening in India any time soon. Instead, UK universities would be better served by being more pragmatic.

“It sounds simple, but UK universities should focus more on what Indian students want to buy, not what the UK wants to sell”

First, provide guaranteed placements or internships to Indian students. Indian parents and students care far more about ROI than Chinese students and are less likely to be worried about a poor TEF rating if the course guarantees an internship, however short. I have had multiple cold calls from London-based universities asking me to take on international interns. Leaving aside the GDPR implications, I’ve been surprised at how poorly those organisations have understood the CV they are pitching to me. Some universities outside the Russell Group, are slowly beginning to realise the power of this marketing.

Second, reduce dependence on agents. This model of recruitment in India (indeed, elsewhere too) focuses on what a university wants to sell, not what the student / their parents want to buy. Agent models of selling work better for the top-rated universities, not the second tier. Online avenues of marketing like Shiksha.com have far better reach and are significantly more cost-effective.

Third, understand the Indian psyche better. UK institutions are not always on point when it comes to understanding the thought process of Indian students. A prospective European student may see a marketing message about a variety of on-campus clubs, societies and extra-curricular activities, and think that represents the opportunity to develop as a person. An Indian student may see the same marketing message and think about how much extra money this will all cost.

Fourth, focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Yes, they might not have a nice Sheraton or Taj, but there are plenty of rich parents there, who want to send through children abroad. British universities are – amongst its global competitors – the most conservative when it comes to targeting these smaller cities.

Fifth, understand the power of PR and networks in India. I recently arranged a guest lecture for a visiting academic at a TEF Gold institution at short notice, at a leading college in Bangalore, at the request of their India office lead. The students had great feedback and the college Principal thought it was a wonderful collaboration opportunity. Subsequently, at least a dozen leading academics from the UK university have visited different cities in India, and no guest lectures have been arranged.

“These were missed opportunities to reach out to the right kind of enthusiastic student, without having to pay for stalls at student fairs or commission to agents”

Supplement this with more marketing through WhatsApp groups and a concerted PR campaign means that the universities can reach an audience that goes much beyond just a student fair.

According to Rohit Ramesh, Head of International Recruitment at Liverpool University, they were one of the first universities to successful try the PR route in India, paying significant dividends in terms of recruitment. Dr Sonal Minocha, Pro Vice Chancellor at Bournemouth University, has led an annual Festival of Learning in India and other countries, that enable UK students to experience India, and establish an innovative way of marketing the university in-country.

There is plenty of scope for UK universities to expand in India. To do this, UK universities need to be more innovative, less conservative and worry less about the Post Study Work visa.

About the author: Pratik Dattani is Managing Director of EPG Economic and Strategy Consulting, and has worked with educational institutions around the world on establishing innovative models of partnerships.

Finding Study Abroad Scholarships for Indian Students

“Study abroad scholarships can be an absolute boon, providing students with the much needed financial resources”

What do Indian investor and philanthropist Ratan Tata, journalist and television news anchor Arnab Goswami, politician Shashi Tharoor and actress Ameesha Patel have in common? Well, they all received their higher education in a university abroad!

Ever since the colonial era, Indians have been travelling abroad for education. Apart from the obvious boost to one’s career and academics that an education abroad can provide, the charm of experiencing a foreign culture can also be quite a factor when it comes to attracting Indian students to foreign shores.

But for the most part, this is limited to those with considerable financial resources available to them, and consequently, accessible only to the privileged. There’s one exception to this rule – an alternate method for students to access quality education for close to free – study abroad scholarships.
International scholarships are those scholarship opportunities that are open for students studying in a country apart from their own. For international students, study abroad scholarships can be an absolute boon, providing them with the needed financial resources to pursue their higher education from prestigious universities abroad.

A scholarship to study abroad can cover a meritorious student’s expenses including tuition, flight, visa, accommodation and living expenses.

“Unlike an education loan or study loan, the aid received through a scholarship doesn’t need to be paid back as well, making them the perfect solution for financially constrained meritorious students”

Of course, with many applicants for the same positions, the competition to win scholarships is quite high. Many students are further hindered by the lack of information about available scholarships. Yet, there is no dearth of available scholarship opportunities for Indian students to study abroad.

Study abroad scholarships can be discovered by browsing the scholarship portal of your state or the national scholarship portal, through a web search by keywords, through the student counsellor at your school or college, and on scholarship websites or apps.

One resource to find information for study abroad scholarships for Indian students is Buddy4Study. Started as a website in 2011, Buddy4Study is also available as an android app on Google Play Store. The portal contains complete information on international scholarships for Indian students.
Here are few of the top study abroad scholarships:

1.Stanford Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship
This scholarship is offered by Reliance Industries Ltd. in the name of their founder, Dhirubhai Ambani. The scholarship is offered exclusively to Indian students who wish to pursue an MBA from Stanford University in the United States of America. To qualify for the scholarship, the student must be admitted to Stanford Business School. Stanford’s Business School is one of the most prestigious schools in the world, with its MBA Degree frequently ranking among the very best in the world. Reliance CEO Mukesh Ambani, as well as his daughter, Isha Ambani, are among the alumni of the Stanford Business School.

2.Narotam Sekhsaria Scholarship
This scholarship is for graduate students who are looking to pursue a postgraduate degree from a prestigious institution – whether in India or abroad – in any of the listed disciplines. The disciplines include a vast umbrella of courses falling under Pure Sciences, Applied Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, Law, Architecture and Management.

The scholarship provides financial aid up to INR 20 Lakh to each selected scholar. The applications for this scholarship are open between the months of January to March each year.

3.Lady Meherbai D Tata Education Scholarship
This scholarship is provided by the Tata Education Trust, one of India’s oldest, philanthropic organisations, and is exclusively for Indian women graduates. The scholarship provides financial aid to women graduates from prestigious institutions in India to pursue their postgraduate studies abroad in either the US, the UK, or Europe.

The candidate must also possess at least 2 years of work experience in the respective field which are covered under the program, including social work, social sciences, education, gender studies, child health, public health, rural development work, communication of development, etc.

4.Chinese Government Scholarships
These scholarships are offered on behalf of the Government of China by the Ministry of Human Resource Development as per the joint pacts between the countries in the sector of education. There are multiple full and partial scholarships available for Undergraduate, Masters, Doctoral, General Scholar and Senior Scholar programs.

While the full scholarship covers the entire tuition fee, accommodation, monthly stipend, and medical insurance expenses, the partial scholarship would only cover one or some items of the full scholarship.

Nurturing a digitally resilient generation

“Schools worldwide need to start thinking differently about how to equip children with independent learning skills”

In this week’s blog, director of The British School, New Delhi, India Vanita Uppal OBE, takes an award-winning approach to educating students and the wider community, on the benefits of becoming digitally resilient.

The constantly changing world of technology can throw up unprecedented issues for our children.  All over the world cyberbullying exists, but India experiences particularly high rates of this issue and a growing number of young and impressionable mobile device users attend our schools.
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Reflecting on 20 years of AAERI

Rahul Gandhi, president of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India, reflects on the association’s history as is celebrates its 20th anniversary.

While I was a student in Australia 20 years ago, AAERI was born at the Australian High commission, New Delhi, as the brainchild of Prof Tom Calma and the founder AAERI members. For any child, the initial 5 years are important as these define his character. Similarly for AAERI, the initial 5 years were important. It was because of hand holding by the Australian High commission, New Delhi, that AAERI was able to crawl, walk and eventually stand on its own feet. Today, the child has grown into an adult and AAERI is a proud Indian association which operates within the framework of the ESOS act of Australia & AAERI’s code of ethics. For AAERI, Australia is its soul and India is its heart.
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Universities, agents and international students: contribution and the controversy

“Let’s get this straight, shall we?”

Naveen Chopra, Chairman of The Chopras, one of India’s top study abroad agencies, takes on some of the criticisms aimed at agents in the international education industry.

Lately, a lot of stories have appeared in the media across the western world currently led by Australia’s newspapers, with headlines such as Gaping cracks open up in the Ivory Towers. Everyone is in on the act, including ABC’s Four Corners TV programme; which tried to demolish the reputation of Australian universities and the “agents” they use.
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Naveen Chopra
Naveen Chopra is chairman of The Chopras, one of India’s largest and most reputed student counselling organisations, working with over 10,000 students each year.
http://www.thechopras.com/

President Obama dazzles India to strengthen US-India ties

 “If the US is to continue to innovate, develop and flourish, it needs to not only recruit the brightest and best, but also the bold and the brave”

Adrian Mutton, Founder & CEO of Sannam S4, a company providing market entry and ongoing support services to international universities and skills providers in India, Brazil and China, writes about the recent US India CEO Forum and Business Summit that demonstrated an unprecedented willingness for collaboration in HE.

Adrian-Mutton_wwwWhen new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US in September 2014, he received a rock star welcome. He was greeted by a full house of adoring fans at Madison Square Gardens in New York and President Barack Obama gave the Indian Prime Minister two days of his time to talk about building better US-India ties and to personally show him around Washington, DC.

To return the compliment, President Obama was invited as chief guest to India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26th.

Arriving into New Delhi on Air Force One, as the President stepped off his plane onto the tarmac, he was greeted by Narendra Modi with a bear hug.

“The gesture, broadcast around the world, was a clear affirmation that the two leaders have developed a special personal relationship in a very short space of time”

The gesture, broadcast around the world, was a clear affirmation that the two leaders have developed a special personal relationship in a very short space of time. During the two day visit by President Obama, a nation of 1.3 billion people was gripped with the coverage of his every move, suggesting India’s population has also taken to the US President.

The key agenda points tabled for discussion included nuclear collaboration, climate change, increasing trade flows, visas and IPR protection. Leading up to the visit, a number of HE and skills related topics had also been promoted to both the White House and India’s Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) for discussion.

I was fortunate to have been invited to not only participate in the high level US-India talks at a summit held in New Delhi, hosted by both President Obama and Prime Minister Modi, but I was also delighted to have been asked to provide direct input into President Obama’s briefing. Inputs which were included in his final discussion points with Prime Minister Modi and senior US and Indian business leaders and officials, I later learnt.

My inputs were focused on explaining the type of support US universities, skills providers and mid market companies needed to succeed in India. I highlighted the need for a strong platform which dealt with the red tape, bureaucracy, compliance and tax issues faced by organisations when entering India. I highlighted challenges in recruiting good staff, establishing offices and knowing who to collaborate with locally and how to build sustainable partnerships – and, of course, raised the issue of the many “grey areas” around dual programs, tax on local activities and the now rather stale issues surrounding the foreign education providers bill.

“I highlighted the need for a strong platform which dealt with the red tape, bureaucracy, compliance and tax issues faced by organisations when entering India”

Drawing on case studies of institutions we proudly support at Sannam S4 in India, including the University of Bridgeport, University of South Florida, DeVry and MIT to name a few, I set out the vast opportunities these institutions faced and then detailed the specific challenges that hindered their progress.

Presenting Sannam S4’s LaunchPad model as an example, I explained how a strong local supportive environment can help US universities and skills providers flourish.

The US has made good strides of late with its visa policy and the processing of student applications. Unlike some other countries (no names needed!) recruiting Indian students, the PR surrounding studying in the US is positive and as a result its number of applicants is on the rise. The US recognises that Silicon Valley has been built on the brains of Indian students, the engineers across the US are from towns and villages across the subcontinent and that if the US is to continue to innovate, develop and flourish… and own the intellectual property and the rewards that go with it, it needs to not only recruit the brightest and best, but also the bold and the brave.

The US is not just seeking Indian students to become lawyers and bankers, accountants and actuaries, it is seeking to attract entrepreneurs, innovators and risk takers. This is a clear distinction between the US approach to student recruitment and policies adopted by election sound byte focused politicians from other countries.

“The US recognises that Silicon Valley has been built on the brains of Indian students”

The US has recognised that it is also not just student recruitment that is important to help foster long term ties between the two countries. The US India Educational Foundation (USIEF) in New Delhi, for example, led by its impressive and long term Executive President Adam Grotsky, who has decades of experience in India and a deep understanding of the culture and what makes for strong and sustainable ties between the US and India, is doing a sterling job on educational exchanges of scholars, professionals and students. USIEF has awarded approximately 17,000 Fulbright, Fulbright-Nehru, and other prestigious grants and scholarships in almost every academic discipline to promote long term bilateral ties.

The US administration has been working hard on supporting skills development programmes in India with its community colleges and is leveraging the funds available from the Indian government’s corporate CSR ruling to contribute towards new regional training initiatives.

The increasingly influential US India Business Council (www.usibc.com) has a dedicated education and skills group which is fostering bilateral institutional relationships, particularly those with a commercial interest. With its incoming President Dr. Mukesh Aghi having a particular passion for educational ties between the two countries, I expect to see the USIBC’s focus in this area strengthen.

So after all the razzmatazz of President Obama’s visit, what was achieved on the higher education and skills development front?

Frankly, despite the excitement, the visit was unfortunately short of news grabbing headlines for the sector.

“Despite the excitement, the visit was unfortunately short of news grabbing headlines for the sector”

An exception was confirmation by President Obama that the US is to send 1,000 academics a year to India, something which had been discussed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the States last year and is not an insignificant initiative.

The central government sponsored Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN)
aims to give Indian students and academics access to 1,000 US faculty per year, to broaden their horizons, exchange ideas and teaching methods and foster new research collaboration and partnerships.

There was no shock announcement regarding the Higher Education Provider Bill (despite some advanced lobbying during Secretary John Kerry’s visit to India earlier in the month), so no foreign owned campuses for now. There was no public discussion regarding India’s powerful University Grants Commission (UGC) and how it governs international partnerships, so nobody in the sector missed anything by not being tuned into the visit.

What was clear, however, was that the visit encouraged an unprecedented willingness for collaboration between the two administrations. A number of key initiatives have been tabled, several of which are taken from Sannam S4’s own contributions, which will now be pursued and monitored over the weeks and months ahead, so despite the lack of headlines, I am positive about what this visit will achieve mid to longer term.

“The visit encouraged an unprecedented willingness for collaboration between the two administrations”

The future of US-India ties for universities and skills providers has strong support from the highest level of both governments. It has the enthusiasm of Indian students, scholars and business leaders and a focus from the Indian administration on addressing red tape and the complexities of operating in the market. Institutions in the US will have no doubt seen the coverage of the visit at home, reminding them of India’s vast potential.

A touch of realism and pragmatism is still needed of course, but I came away from the visit, truly believing that the stage has been set for a new era of US-India collaboration. For many India has been a frustrating market (particularly when compared to China), fraught with the challenges I have highlighted above. However, I expect to see many exciting opportunities develop over the months and years ahead, which, if well supported in India, will bear rich fruits. The bold and the brave, both institutions and students, will likely be rewarded.

The UK does not have a God-given right in the international student recruitment market

“Our bellicose rhetoric and criticism of UK immigration policy is simply picked up and repeated in the press overseas as criticism of the UK and of our universities”

Vincenzo Raimo, director of the international office at The University of Nottingham, writes about how poor lobbying tactics can damage the UK’s reputation abroad, and the complex factors impacting on Indian students’ decision to study in the UK.

Thank goodness the University of East Anglia’s Edward Acton, who said that Home Office rhetoric on immigration was having “a horrible, negative effect” on international student recruitment, is on his way out. But how do we stop other Vice-Chancellors going on about visas as if they’re the only reason numbers are down from India?
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Vincenzo Raimo
Vincenzo Raimo is pro-vice-chancellor (global engagement) at the University of Reading in the UK.