Stakeholders across India, South Asia, China and South Korea spoke to The PIE News about the key developments shaping Asia’s global education landscape in 2025 and what could be built on in 2026.
With emerging study destinations beyond the big four, families and students from India are showing “growing maturity” in their education decisions, increasingly evaluating outcomes, especially around employability and market relevance, according to Aritra Ghosal, founder and director, OneStep Global.
“While the UK, Canada, Australia, and the US continued to attract students, countries such as Germany, Ireland, Finland, and New Zealand gained greater attention for very specific reasons,” stated Ghosal.
“Germany appealed for its affordability and strong industry integration, Ireland for its access to European employers, Finland for its student-centric academic model, and New Zealand for its clarity around post-study pathways and quality of life.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Asia’s education landscape is set to become increasingly borderless and career-first
Gaurav Jain, SP Jain London School of Management
With the US revoking a record number of visas since January 2025 and stricter study policies elsewhere adding to policy uncertainty, Ghosal called for clearer communication for the Indian sector, while noting a potential undergraduate shift in 2026. Indian students are expected to increasingly consider choosing the Indian campuses of top-ranked international universities as they aim to bridge gaps between education and employment readiness.
According to IDP Education’s Emerging Futures 7 research, career outcomes are the primary driver for Indian students choosing to study overseas, with 77% citing better employability and higher earnings as their main motivation, while access to work placements and job outcomes also rank among the most influential decision factors.
“Continued progress in aligning academic programmes with evolving labour-market needs will be important in helping students build future-ready skillsets and navigate clearer education-to-employment pathways,” stated Piyush Kumar, regional director, South Asia, Canada and Latin America, IDP Education.
With India set to become the world’s largest higher education ecosystem by 2035, enrolling over 90 million students, a new sense of confidence is emerging in the sector as interdisciplinary programs, research-led teaching and global academic collaborations increasingly take shape within Indian universities, according to Kuriakose Mamkoottam, dean of the School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Vidyashilp University.
With this development “reducing the binary” between studying abroad and studying in India, the country could emerge as a serious academic destination in its own right, according to Mamkoottam, a view echoed by a recent NITI Aayog report, which also noted ongoing challenges in attracting international students to the South Asian country.
“We are likely to see more hybrid pathways – where students study in India while engaging internationally through research, faculty exchange, and collaborative programmes,” stated Mamkoottam.
“Universities that are interdisciplinary by design and confident in their academic identity will lead this shift.”
With only 40-50% of India’s graduates deemed employable according to several government and non-profit reports in recent years, Tripti Maheshwari, co-founder and director of Student Circus, told The PIE News that outdated curricula and limited practical training mean nearly two-thirds of graduates miss out on vocational education, leaving many in semi-skilled roles.
In such a context, artificial intelligence is expected to play a significant role in India, driving a shift away from traditional one-size-fits-all teaching models towards skills- and outcomes-based, personalised learning across the education landscape.
“Alongside this shift, practical skill development will become more prominent, with a focus on real-world applications, internships, and hands-on projects, ensuring that graduates are better equipped for the rapidly evolving job market,” stated Maheshwari.
“AI will act as an important enabler across this ecosystem, not as a replacement for academic judgment, but as a tool to improve consistency, personalisation, and fairness across learning, assessment, and student support,” echoed Omar Chihane, global general manager for TOEFL at ETS.
“Together, these developments point towards a more flexible, outcome-driven, and globally integrated education model for India in 2026.”
With study destinations like South Korea gaining momentum after reaching its 300,000 international student target two years ahead of schedule last year, and with more students planning to stay and work post-study, the country has emerged as a major attraction in Asia for both regional and international students, including from the US, in recent years.
According to Kyuseok Kim, centre director at IES Abroad Seoul, Korean universities have capitalised on global interest in the country’s culture, technology and society by expanding fee-paying visiting student programs, particularly large-scale summer and winter sessions, signaling a maturing inbound mobility ecosystem, though significant challenges remain heading into 2026 around financial strain, demographic decline and geopolitical uncertainty.
“Rising tuition fees, following a prolonged freeze, highlight the fragility of university finances and intensify demands for clearer value propositions and stronger student protections,” stated Kim.
“At the same time, the demographic cliff continues to threaten the viability of regional and smaller private institutions, raising concerns about consolidation, uneven policy support, and the emergence of new institutional hierarchies.”
Kim suggested that with two intersecting shifts underway — the further blurring of boundaries between public and private sectors in international higher education, and a recalibration of how universities position themselves in the age of generative AI — the question for 2026 is not just about Korea’s ability to attract international students.
“The defining question for 2026 will not simply be whether Korea can attract more international students, but whether it can integrate soft power–driven recruitment and AI-enabled systems into a coherent higher education model that protects academic integrity, clarifies institutional responsibility, and delivers durable educational value,” stated Kim.
“Universities will increasingly rely on private platforms, recruitment intermediaries, and program managers, while the government plays a stronger strategic role in aligning international education with national soft power, workforce development, and innovation agendas.”
Elsewhere, in countries like China, where students are increasingly moving away from the big four — particularly the US amid heightened scrutiny of Chinese study visa applications especially since Donald Trump’s second term — the introduction of a new set of TNE reforms, aimed at increasing enrolments from 800,000 to eight million over the next decade, is set to be a key feature of the country’s education ambitions in 2026.
“Employability of returning Chinese international students and TNE graduates would need to be addressed properly. Significant increased availability will stop the increasing and even see declining of the total number of Chinese students going overseas for a full degree.
“More students will study part of a program in China via TNE and go overseas for shorter period of time to complete the TNE program,” stated Charles Sun, founder, China Education International.
More students will study part of a program in China via TNE and go overseas for shorter period of time to complete the TNE program
Charles Sun, China Education International
Another key trend observed in 2025 was a fall in applications to US business schools – translating into increased interest in Asian business schools, with MBA applications in the region rising by 7% during the year.
While Asia is aiming for a “borderless, career-first” education landscape, programs such as MBAs driving this shift need careful regulation to avoid over-specialisation, according to Gaurav Jain, director of business development at SP Jain London School of Management.
“The rise of specialized MBAs in fintech, analytics, ESG, and other niche domains presents another challenge. Over-specialization can leave graduates without cross-functional leadership skills needed for long-term growth,” Jain said.
“Looking ahead to 2026, Asia’s education landscape is set to become increasingly borderless and career-first, building on momentum from 2025, as universities expand cross-border programmes and multi-campus models to meet demand for global mobility and job-ready skills, with traditional West-centric study flows continuing to diversify towards Asia, the Middle East and hybrid global networks.”
