ApplyBoard sees 52% jump in Indian students to the UK

Buoyed by the favourable measures like the post study work visa stay by the UK, edtech platform ApplyBoard has seen a 52 per cent rise in Indian students to the European country in 2021 over the previous year.

A study by the edtech platform ApplyBoard found that the increase in numbers were helped by favourable changes made by the UK in student norms.

"The enrolment of Indian students in the UK seems to be following an upward trajectory, with a rise of 52% having been recorded between 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years. Recently, the UK has been carrying out developments that can attract more students from India, including the new Graduate Route announced in July 2021. Under this, students who have received their undergraduate or master’s degree from the UK are able to apply to stay in the UK for two years after getting their degree, while students who have completed their PhD can apply to stay in the UK for three year in order to work and gain work experience in the country," ApplyBoard study found.

According to the study, like Canada, the UK also witnesses Indian students preferring courses around business and management, while Math and Computer Science courses are next preferred. The Communications and Information sector in the UK has one of the highest vacancy rates in the country, according to HESA data, so they might be an attractive option for students who wish to stay in the country.

On the other hand, with regards to Canada, the study found that the country remained one of the preferred destinations among Indian students. Quoting an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada data, the study stated that an increase of about 350 per cent has been witnessed in the number of Indian students in the country between 2015-16 and 2019-20 academic years.

However, ApplyBoard has estimated that in the full year 2021, over 140,000 students from India have been accepted for studies in Canada, which would mark an increase of 25 per cent over 2019.

Further, with Canada being popular for business courses among Indian students, the country has seen Indian students approved to study management and business-related courses grow to around 43,000 in the first nine months of 2021 from about 11,000 in 2016, it stated.

The ApplyBoard report found that while the US had been witnessing a decline in the number of students recently, with the figure falling nine per cent between 2015-16 and 2019-20 academic years, in the past four academic years, over 70,000 students have enrolled in Optional Practical Training (OPT) every year. "Moreover, now that the US Department of State and the US Department of Education have given a joint statement supporting international education, it is expected that enrolment of Indian students in the US will see a rebound," the report stated.

"Majority of the Indian students in the US prefer to study or work in the STEM sectors (78%), likely because of the vast number of technical institutions that the US is home to and because of the work benefits that accompany OPT. The programmes and recent support to international students announced by each of these countries seem to point to a brighter opportunity for Indian young adults aiming to get international education and exposure," the report further stated.