India

The number of Indian students at Russian universities increased by almost 60 per cent to 450 in 2012, up from 280 in 2011. Indians are said to be attracted by Russia's affordable, well recognised education system.

Nine thousand two hundred Indians studied at Chinese universities this year, up by 15% on 2012, a report by India's Ministry of External Affairs has claimed. The report claims Indians are increasingly drawn by China's admission system, affordable fees, facilities and international branch campuses.

Applications to US graduate schools grew at their slowest rate in eight years in 2013 driven by a fall in Chinese interest, a survey from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) shows. However, this was offset in part by a large rise in Indian applications which agents put down to improved post-study work rights for STEM students.

India’s prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) business schools are seeking to improve their facilities, faculty and marketing to attract more foreign students. The move comes as the Indian government proposes to change the law to allow IIMs to deliver internationally accredited MBA degrees, instead of their own diplomas.

British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has not made any concessions on student visa issuance for Indians - the UK's second-largest student market, which has been notably impacted by new visa legislation. But the sector has welcomed his strong message while in India that genuine students are welcome.

In a blow for UK universities, a leading panel of experts on Indian education has recommended that students with a one year masters degree from the UK take additional credits at Indian universities to be eligible for government jobs or higher study in India. Observers fear the recommendation could further damage Britain’s sway in the Indian market, after Indian enrolments slumped last year.

Indian, Emirati and international educators will go head to head at major education fair this month, in a bid to tap the large expatriate Indian community living in the Gulf. 65 Indian and 100 regional and international institutions will attend the International Education Show, Sharjah.

Presenting new opportunities for foreign providers, the ELT market in India is set to nearly double by 2015 according to a report by The British High Commission in New Delhi. The vocational training (VET) segment of the market has the most potential, the report claims, as the government endeavours to up-skill the labour market.

The Association of Colleges (AoC), a UK organisation promoting colleges offering FE and HE, will open a permanent office in Delhi, India this month as part of an initiative to promote 30 UK colleges during a time of high demand for vocational skills in the country. It hopes to leverage a consortium-level approach to meeting India's skills needs.

The Indian government has rolled out a system to track the activities and academic performance of all foreign students entering the country from April 2013. Similar to regulations in the UK and US, universities will be required to register with the Foreign Student Information System...

An innovative partnership of 16 London universities, London Universities International Partnership, has worked with premier Indian online job board Firstnaukri.com to set up a jobs portal specifically for returning Indian graduates of London institutions, promoting their world-class commercial experience and more creative attitudes.

Students use our services because nine times out of ten we’ll have a counselor that understands their language, our service is free, and we are very centrally located.

The UK Border Agency has warned Indian students against using unscrupulous education agents to book courses in the UK, saying that agents and students involved in fraud will face action from the Indian authorities. In a statement on the British High Commission website in India, UKBA also said students should avoid using agents for visa purposes altogether.

In a state trip to India last week, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard used the trip to assure Indians of a welcome reception in Australia – and announced new funding for educational and research projects, which she says are at the heart of economic and social ties between the two countries. Occupational qualifications will be mutually recognised..

The number of Indian students in Germany continues to rise thanks to a combination of low fees, internationalised universities and improved student work rights, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has claimed. Enrolments grew 19% in 2011-12 to nearly 6,000, with sources claiming the UK's tough new visa rules were driving the trend.