Study Abroad

In what is being seen as a significant win for Ireland’s higher education sector, international student enrolments reached a record high of 44,500, up 10% from the previous year’s total of 40,000 — signalling steady growth across the Irish sector.

East and Southeast Asia stood out in 2025 as emerging education hubs in their own right rather than just source markets. Here are the region's biggest stories from 2025.

Led by the European University Association, the sector is urging €60 billion for Erasmus+ in the EU’s next long-term budget – far above the proposed €40.8 billion for 2028–2034.

With shifting sentiments around immigration and policy changes prompting many international students to rethink studying in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, The PIE takes a deep dive into countries that made headlines over the past year.

From a slowdown in Indian students studying abroad – even as transnational education expands – to Sri Lanka and Nepal emerging as key partnership hubs and Pakistan and Bangladesh facing tighter study visa restrictions, South Asia’s global education market is growing — albeit with challenges.

News of the UK’s reassociation with Erasmus+ sparked a wave of nostalgia across the international education sector, as professionals reflected on the exchanges, encounters and opportunities that shaped their careers – and, in many cases, changed their lives.

According to data shared in parliament by India's minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, 453 Indian students have been deported from a range of countries over the past five years.

Data tabled by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in parliament shows over 1.8 million Indian students studying abroad across 153 countries in 2025, even as university enrolments fell 5.7% — the first decline after three years of growth.

Over 402,000 international students were enrolled in German universities in the 2024/25 winter semester – up nearly 6%, with first-year numbers at a record 116,600.

Keir Starmer's Labour government has announced that the UK will rejoin Erasmus+ for the 2027/28 academic year, six years after the country opted to leave the scheme.

US educators are advocating for the continued expansion of access to study abroad programs, after a new report found it had a measurable impact on students’ career success and earnings.

The French grande école, with its Paris base and six regional campuses, is leveraging its social science strengths and India partnerships to recruit Indian students in line with France’s 2030 target.

Wales has doubled down on its pledge that it will not impose the UK's government's controversial levy on international student fees.

International study visa applications to New Zealand fell 5.3% in 2025, while approval rates rose 6.7% year-on-year, according to data obtained by The PIE News.

The US State Department has announced it will take over a dozen international education programs including Fulbright-Hays as part of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education.