‘Study abroad’ comes to India as foreign universities race to set up campuses

NEW DELHI – Like many Indian students, Ms Sakshi Talreja had plans to study abroad. In 2024, she managed to secure a spot at two Australian institutions – Deakin University in Melbourne and Queensland University of Technology – but was forced to drop her pursuit of a foreign degree because her family could not afford an overseas education.

But fate had a fortuitous twist for her. That year, in July, Deakin University came to her when it opened an offshore campus in Gujarat. A thrilled Ms Talreja lost no time in enrolling for a two-year postgraduate degree in cyber security at the institution in 2025.

“It was a really convenient opportunity for me,” the 24-year-old told The Straits Times. “Being able to access foreign quality education not far from home has worked out well,” said Ms Talreja, who comes from Ulhasnagar in the neighbouring state of Maharashtra.

Deakin University is among at least 14 foreign universities that have either set up offshore campuses in India or are planning to do so, drawn not just by the country’s large pool of students and academics, but also by its fast-growing economy and demand for highly skilled professionals.

The entry of these institutions is something the Indian government is also encouraging as part of its efforts to provide quality global curricula to its youth and raise the standard of higher education by attracting institutions ranked among the world’s top 500.

This drive to set up campuses comes as the number of Indian students going abroad has declined because of several factors, including stricter visa norms, limited long-term residency and job opportunities, as well as a depreciating rupee that has made education overseas more expensive.

Their numbers dropped by around 15 per cent in 2024, falling to approximately 760,000 from a peak of nearly 900,000 in 2023. Setting up campuses in India allows foreign institutions – many of which rely on fee-paying Indian students – to skirt restrictive immigration policies at home, while continuing to earn foreign revenue.

Deakin University was the first to set up a campus in India, and since then, two other foreign institutions – University of Wollongong from Australia and University of Southampton from Britain – have set up campuses with students already enrolled.

The University Grants Commission (UGC), India’s higher education regulator, has given at least 11 other institutions, from countries such as Britain, Italy, the US and Australia, the go-ahead to set up campuses.

They include the Illinois Institute of Technology from the US and Istituto Europeo di Design from Italy, both of which plan to launch their campuses in Mumbai in 2026.

In October, when

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer led a trade mission to India,

the growing footprint of British universities in India was a key theme.

During the visit, the Indian authorities gave Lancaster University the clearance to set up a campus in Bengaluru and accorded an “in-principle approval” to the University of Surrey to start one in Gift City, or Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, which is located near Ahmedabad.

Six other British universities, including the University of York and University of Aberdeen, are expected to open their campuses in India in 2026.

International education brought more than £32 billion (S$54.7 billion) of export revenue to Britain in 2022 and overseas campuses accounted for nearly £1 billion of that earnings. No Singaporean institution has submitted a proposal to set up an offshore campus in India.

Room to grow

There are more than 40 million students studying at Indian universities, but 70 million places are needed by 2035. The dearth of spots at quality institutions is also a concern, giving globally ranked foreign universities significant room to set up operations in India.

Dr Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, UGC’s former chairman and under whom the body cleared the rules for foreign universities to set up campuses, said the goal is to expand access to high-quality education and enhance research capacity within India. “All this while keeping foreign university campuses aligned with national objectives,” he said.

These institutions also provide access to global curricula at significantly reduced costs, compared with living and studying abroad, Dr Kumar told ST.

“They also open pathways for stronger employability through updated syllabi, modern laboratories and career services with international reach.”

Yet, the tuition fees at these institutions are much higher than at most Indian universities, making them a viable option mainly for upper-middle-class Indian students only.

For instance, the tuition fee for a two-year postgraduate degree at Deakin University in Gujarat is approximately 1.85 million rupees (S$27,000), much higher than the fee for a comparable postgraduate programme at a private Indian university of around 200,000 rupees, or even lower at government institutions.

But, at the same time, the tuition fee at Deakin in India is around half of that of Deakin University in Australia. Living expenses in Australia are also significantly higher compared with those in India.

Dr Deepak Bajaj, Deakin University Gift City Campus’ academic and campus director, told ST that its students will receive an “identical Australian degree and academic standard without the significant financial burden of living and studying abroad”. But he acknowledged that one key challenge will be “managing growth and scaling while maintaining the absolute parity in academic quality with our Australian home campus”.

“This requires dedicated recruitment and training of faculty, ensuring all resources, including the specialised cyber security lab, remain cutting-edge,” he said.

Foreign universities have been given considerable leeway to run their operations in India, including on curriculum design, fee structure and faculty recruitment. Drawn by these relaxed norms, campuses have plans for significant growth here, including potentially welcoming students from other South Asian countries.

Around 150 students joined the University of Southampton Delhi in August as part of its first cohort, and the institution expects to enrol as many as 5,000 in the coming years.

In an e-mail statement to ST, a university spokesman said the institution would create “work-ready graduates with specialist and transferable skills that will enhance India’s fast-growing knowledge economy”.

“We will undertake research and knowledge exchange in partnership with local universities, industries and government, and apply the results to deliver real-world social and economic impact.”

Brain drain at public universities?

Some have expressed concern that these foreign universities, with their relatively deep pockets, could poach talented faculty staff from poorer public Indian institutions and become “elitist enclaves and distant from Indian socio-economic-cultural problems”.

But Dr Kumar countered that foreign university campuses “tend to draw a mix of returning diaspora, industry experts seeking teaching roles and early career academics who value international brands”.

“The net effect is additional capacity and new collaboration nodes, not a drain on established public university departments,” he said.

There are also those who are urging caution, given the jury is still out on whether these universities can offer the same quality of education in India as they do back home.

“While we do need more international quality education in India, the focus should be on quality rather than just brand names,” said Ms Nistha Tripathi, director of 24NorthStar, an overseas education consultancy firm.

“I hope they bring similar rigour in their curriculum, the same infrastructure quality that they have abroad. If that happens, then it can be a very, very good move,” she told ST.

These campuses are also likely to have limited appeal because they do not offer a truly global exposure. “If you spend a little bit more, then you can get that global exposure abroad,” said Ms Tripathi, noting how certain countries such as Germany are actively wooing Indian students.

“It will open a new network for you, a new exposure culturally, industrially, and create those global connections that I don’t think are going to happen here,” she added.

Students who perceive a degree abroad as a migration pathway are also unlikely to apply to these institutions in India.

“So, unless these universities create global placement pathways for Indian students, they won’t be as successful as their counterparts abroad,” Ms Tripathi noted.