International campuses need to sell careers, not credentials

Is there really a market for branch campuses of foreign universities in India? The headwinds are not weak, and they are obvious.

It appears unlikely that Indian students aspiring to study abroad, when faced with visa difficulties and an increasingly hostile attitude toward immigrants in developed countries, would prefer to get that education inside India.

Indian students are certainly chasing the brands of those universities. But those brand values largely come from opportunities for living and working abroad and, therefore, diminish for campuses in India. Beyond questions about curriculum, cost of education, and cultural issues, the question of jobs will be the value proposition that the branch campuses have to establish.

It’s been nearly two years since these universities started coming. There have been first movers, and although their experience has not been wholly positive, there are still several entities active in this space. Many universities appear keen to set up shop in India. The University of Aberdeen’s campus was launching this September. The University of York’s Mumbai campus welcomed its first cohort on September 16, 2026.

Politically, governments in nations such as the U.K., as well as Australia, have been keen on international branch campuses (IBCs). Education was among the elements of then U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to India on the heels of the U.K.-India Free Trade Agreement and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

This week roughly 200 delegates, led by U.K. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, with Environment Secretary Angela Eagle and Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander, plus seven named mayors, are in India. And once again, education is a part of the delegation’s focus areas.

One well-capitalised entrant believes there is a play for IBCs.

Global Education Holdings (GEDU) is a U.K.-headquartered holding company for about 15 education institutions in about 15 countries around the world. Founded by Viswajit Rana, an Indian who moved to the U.S. for higher education and a job and later set up this education business in the U.K., GEDU has several operations – from K-12 through English language training, an apprenticeship business, and a number of higher education institutions. The higher education institutions offer vocationally focused national diplomas through Masters and PhDs.

The group bears all capex and opex, while partner universities supply curriculum and quality control. GEDU has the balance sheet to build campuses here that the universities may not have.

GEDU is a business with strict bottom lines. It believes that if the value proposition of these universities is well established in terms of jobs, there is an opportunity for IBCs here.

The Indian academic skepticism — what jobs, for whom, at what premium over an Indian degree — will need to be addressed by the interested foreign universities. The “global credential” halo doesn’t reliably convert to income in India, or, for that matter, anywhere in the long term. What Indian students are seeking is the halo plus the jobs that the halo should bring.

Perhaps the campuses may have to go beyond academic halos. They could identify sunrise business segments such as design and semiconductors where the typical tier 1 and tier 2 institutions are lacking in teaching-training capacities and provide it. The Indian government is giving a push to these areas. If foreign universities can provide the training to train the Indian workforce in these areas, IBCs can still be a win-win proposition.