With India positioning itself as a hotspot for transnational education, a bevy of foreign universities have been flocking to Indian shores to suss out the market. Some Australian universities such as The University of Wollongong (UOW) and Deakin University have already established campuses at Gujarat’s GIFT City. Not to be left behind, the University of Surrey, a British university, has also finalised plans to set up a campus there. Two other universities from the United Kingdom – Queen’s University Belfast and Coventry University – are expected to follow suit soon.

Will the recent agreement signed between the United States and India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit now push top American universities to claim their share of the transnational pie? 

More than 300,000 Indian students contribute over $8 billion annually to the US economy, creating a large number of direct and indirect jobs. The movement of students, researchers, and professionals has been mutually beneficial for both countries leading to knowledge exchange and economic growth.

According to the terms of the agreement, India and the United States have agreed to ramp up collaboration between higher education institutions, facilitate student exchange and explore setting up of offshore campuses of leading US institutions in India. Initiatives such as joint and dual degree programmes, twinning arrangements, and the establishment of joint Centres of Excellence have been discussed during the meeting between Trump and Modi. India has also invited the United States to set up offshore campuses of leading American universities.

Around this time last year, a delegation of 17 US universities visited various institutions in India in order to build relationships and facilitate student exchanges. Then, in November last year, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met a delegation of academics from Johns Hopkins University to discuss the possibility of setting up an offshore campus with Indian partners.

According to higher education commentators, the American universities are not in a rush to set up shop in India. Philip Altbach, professor emeritus at Boston College’s Center for International Higher Education has been quoted in Inside Higher Ed saying that the top institutions are going to be quite slow because operating in India is not easy.

Be that as it may, with other countries already having moved in to stake their claims, would it be wise for the Americans to let such a lucrative opportunity slide?