 "Education")
“As bilateral ties deepen, more Indian students could head to Russia,” read the headline in Business Standard on December 6, 2025. The article got me thinking about how the concept of international education has transformed over the last three decades.
When I graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, almost half of my class of 1977 went to the United States for higher studies — some to earn a master of science, many others for PhD. Barring a few, all got full aid and financial support. If you were to do a survey of that cohort graduating from prestigious colleges around India, you would find that many of them had headed to the US or the United Kingdom (even Mahatma Gandhi studied at University College London). Most of them did not return.
Why did this large number go abroad? Was it because our education system was broken? I suppose it was a combination of factors. Yes, for some, our Indian universities and institutes of higher learning were ill equipped. But the bigger reason was the lifestyle that was assured to someone with a master’s degree or a PhD in the US. It was not something that could be matched in India.
Things, however, started changing around two decades ago.
Post-liberalisation, we saw the upper income segment becoming wealthy and ready to invest in the education of their wards. While the US and the UK were the desired destinations, other countries emerged as viable options: Canada, Australia, Singapore — and even Ukraine.
I was in Indore for a literary event and had the chance to speak with one of the organisers, a doctor. He explained that he had got admission in a medical college in Karnataka, but got scared after learning about the intense “ragging” freshers there were subjected to. He decided to go to Ukraine instead for his medical undergraduate degree, equivalent to our MBBS. He returned and then went on to do his masters in two subjects, in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Here is the case of someone who went abroad, not with the plan of settling down but with a clear agenda of returning to India.
Similarly, a friend’s son had completed his undergraduate degree in engineering and was fascinated by robotics. I got him to meet with a few of my friends who were in that field. All of them advised my friend’s son to try for a master’s in robotics, preferably from Germany. He did so, and also managed to land a plum assignment in Munich. His parents are wondering if he will ever return to India.
I remember discussing the issue of lack of seats (or opportunities) in the more in-demand Indian colleges and institutes of higher learning for deserving students. One of my friends told me that she would have wanted her daughter to do her undergrad from India only if she secured a seat at St Stephen’s College, Delhi. That did not happen. It was just as Narayana Murthy of Infosys had said in an interview: Cornell was the backup option if his son did not get into one of the IITs.
A lot is happening on the education front in India. We have a great amount of corporate social responsibility (CSR) money going into setting up world-class universities on a for-profit basis. Indian School of Business (ISB) was a pioneer as far as management education went. I am sure at least 50 per cent of those getting into ISB would have otherwise headed to the US, UK, Australia or Canada. We have seen the growth of universities like Krea, Azim Premji, Shiv Nadar, Ashoka, Jindal etc. It is likely that some of the students today studying in these world-class universities might have headed abroad if the viable India option had not emerged.
While some parents are worried about sending their children abroad at a young age of 17 or 18, I know of those who think this is an essential part of growing up.
What was once the preserve of the UK and the US is no longer so. I was surprised to see that countries like Ukraine (until it became a war zone), Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Czech Republic, China and even Kazakhstan have started attracting thousands of Indian students. Some of them attract international students, and charge high fees to ensure that they can cross-subsidise the fees for their own citizens. Some of them offer scholarships, want the brighter students to stay back, and add value to their economy.
I am sure Russia, too, will join this list of countries.
Indian parents are also becoming more discerning. It is no longer a one-size-fits-all equation. There are many options out there, for different streams of education, in different countries. What works for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) may not work for industrial or automotive design. What works for medicine may not work for furniture design.
With the help of counsellors, who often charge a bomb, parents and their wards are navigating these wide oceans wisely. I am sure we will see many of these students returning, but there will also be those who may want to stay back in Germany, or even Russia.
The writer is an independent brand coach and founder of Brand-Building.com. His latest book, Marketing Mixology, presents four essential skills for marketing success
