In a new report, the company notes science, computer, sustainable development and international business courses as the “most promising opportunities for higher education institutions for 2023”.

Studyportals used two metrics to identify the 10 programs: demand expressed as page views from its sites and the supply expressed at the number of programs linked to each of the 245 sub-disciplines on the portals.

The top 10 subject areas are: User Experience Design; Data Science & Big Data; Artificial Intelligence; Supply Chain Management & Logistics; Sustainable Development; Human Computer Interaction; Business Intelligence & Analytics; Food Sciences; Biotechnology; and International Business.

Approximately 90% of all English-taught programs in the world are listed on Studyportals.

The strength of the platform’s data, Studyportals said, is that it “takes the market into account at a more strategic level and can provide more information in predicting future trends” by tracking both supply and demand.

“This data provides a strong indication of trends set to impact student enrolments over the next two years,” it added.

“Understanding future market trends whilst moving quickly to identify and meet demand is integral”

Developing and launching new programs is a vital activity in the university sector, senior partnerships director at Studyportals, Mark Ovens, said.

“The financial sustainability of universities can often be dependent on recruiting sufficient numbers of students to innovative and excellent academic programs. Understanding future market trends whilst moving quickly to identify and meet demand is an integral part to this process,” Ovens noted.

“It is vital that Universities safeguard and future proof their international recruitment strategies by being informed by data trends on the intentions of their potential future students.”