If you build it, make sure you recruit employers as well as students
14 September 2026
Andrew Crisp considers the key to success for universities building new international campuses in India.
The editorial page of today’s Economic Times is full of coverage of the BRICS summit, which should be of interest to all those involved in international higher education, but it is a side piece that is of more immediate impact. Titled ‘Tighter US Visa Isn’t All That Bad for India’, the article argues that as ‘western economies are erecting entry barriers to jobs’ for international students, ‘this could encourage universities to become more proactive about overseas campuses’.
The article coincides with the arrival in Delhi of almost 40 UK business schools for the second Chartered Association of Business Schools India-UK Business School Dialogue. The schools are coming, but to misquote the 1989 film, ‘Field of Dreams’, “If you build it, will they come?” What will it take to create successful international campuses in India?
Strangely, the answer is not about the students who may study on these campuses. There is undoubtedly a need for greater quality capacity in Indian higher education. The government wants to grow the number of international students in the country as well, India currently only has about a third of the number of international students of Malaysia, despite a population of 35 million compared with 1.5 billion in India.
The answer is about jobs. CarringtonCrisp’s soon to be published report, ‘International India’ found that in India 32% of prospective undergraduates, 41% of prospective postgraduates and 55% of parents would be open to or would consider international campuses in India.
However, 17% of prospective undergraduates may not consider an international campus in India because they are concerned about poor links with employers, rising to 28% of prospective postgraduates.
Indeed, employers themselves are less likely to choose an international campus in India for their graduate recruitment – only 35% would consider such an option behind IIMs/IITs (42%), public Indian universities (44%) and private Indian universities (48%). Employers fear it would be more expensive to recruit at an international campus in India than it would be at a domestic institution. If employers don’t recruit, it will be harder to attract students.
Ensuring a strong relationship with Indian employers looks set to be key for international campuses in India, whether that is attracting domestic students, or perhaps international students. Read the rest of the Economic Times today and there are many suggestions that the jobs market offers considerable new opportunities for graduates from the rapidly growing Indian space sector to a new PwC consulting offer, anticipated to grow “fivefold in three years” and which launches with 40,000 employees.
Those leading the new international campuses in India may spend little time on campus, instead networking with employers wherever they find them across India.
The International India report will be available in late September 2026. A free executive summary can be downloaded at https://www.carringtoncrisp.com/intelligence/international-india/