The partnership will allow upGrad to recommend Casita’s service to students, with the hope that it will streamline the student pathway.

“The partnership further demonstrates the shared student-first focus by both organisations”

“The partnership with Casita further demonstrates the shared student-first focus by both organisations,” Jerry Czub, upGrad Abroad vice president, University Partnerships – North America, said in a statement.

“[It also] allows upGrad Abroad students the ability to source accommodation no matter what partner institution they decide to join after completing their program with us.”

The partnership comes at a time where both organisations are seeing “phenomenal global growth”, director and co-founder of Casita, Leigh Pulford, added.

In 2020, Casita increased its student accommodation stock to over 1 million rooms across more than 60 countries.

“The new partnership ensures that upGrad students, no matter where they are studying, can avail of the best customer service when booking their room abroad,” Pulford noted.

With offices in the UK, US, the Middle East, India, Singapore and Vietnam, upGrad has reached more than two million students across 100 countries to date. Core geographies for upGrad learners include the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Germany, the provider has previously said.

However, the edtech industry has seen widening losses, and despite being valued at more than $2 billion last year, Reuters reported on January 10, upGrad’s CEO, Arjun Mohan, stepped down in December.

The company’s international education division, upGrad Abroad said in eight months leading up to March 2022, it had enrolled 1,500 learners and onboarded 18 partner universities.

It had set a target of enrolling more than 25,000 learners and cross an annual revenue run rate of $130 million by the end of 2023.

upGrad’s ability to offer online courses to start with before students move to on-campus learning would “exponentially” open up the study abroad market, president, Ankur Dhawan, said at the time.