India is turning out to be a big market for foreign universities looking at collaborations. US universities are estimated to have established more than 100 collaborations in India, mainly franchisee arrangements.
For Indian educational institutions, this is an opportunity to build their brands as well as harness the financial strengths of the foreign universities.
A study of advertisements by foreign universities, conducted by the Association of Indian Universities, reveals that they are increasingly zeroing in on India. The study conducted in 2000 found that of the 144 advertisers, 53 were from the UK, followed by Australia (40), the US (24), Canada (7), and New Zealand. The other universities are from Bulgaria (2), Cyprus (1), France (2), Hong Kong (1), Ireland (1), Mauritius (1), Nepal (2), Romania (1), Russia (1) and Switzerland (3).
While 117 institutions are seeking to attract students to their countries, the rest are offering programmes in India. These programmes are predominantly in management and engineering.
© 2025