Indian students are increasingly choosing to study abroad to seek a comprehensive and enriching educational experience. Approximately 7.7 lakh Indian students flew abroad to pursue higher education in 2022, representing a 66% rise compared to previous years. Interestingly, this surge is not solely attributed to the ease of travel restrictions in the wake of the pandemic, but also to the paradigm shift in the way courses are being organised in universities abroad.
Traditional academic programmes overseas are now integrating a robust research component into their curricula to provide students with the opportunity to enhance their perspectives through real-world experiences. Students are more inclined toward inquiry-based learning to further strengthen their educational qualifications with academia-based research portfolios. Given that research-centric courses are still in their nascent stage in India, students pursuing higher education are incentivised to explore universities abroad. For example, the University of Arizona, ranked in the top 4% of research expenditure in the US, received over 300 applications from India for PhD programmes, with popular disciplines including Astronomy, Physics, and Chemistry. This reflects a growing demand for research-focused institutions with world-class facilities and research experts who are dedicated to solving the world’s great challenges. With more resources directed to research, aspiring researchers are finding PhD options and benefits, along with the potential to make a meaningful impact on society, increasingly appealing.
Industry insights
State-of-the-art facilities provided by world-class institutions have motivated Indian students to migrate abroad. Numerous prestigious institutions have opened their doors to the Indian diaspora to participate in exceptional research programmes. This provides them with a compelling blend of knowledge creation and consumption.
Updated information
There is a growing demand for faculty members with prior industry experience before they embark upon their roles as teachers. Hence, a research-centric course builds on the idea of not having teaching professionals impart outdated information to their students but rather fostering a sense of inquiry among students and critically evaluating existing knowledge.
Creating knowledge
Students are more inclined toward inquiry-based learning to strengthen their educational qualifications with academia-based research portfolios. Such learning inculcates a sense of critical thinking and an interest in knowledge creation, enabling students to not just consume information
but actively generate it.
(The author is chief Advisor, South Asia, International Admissions, The University of Arizona)