1. India has become one of the biggest source markets for international education, but the higher education sector here has also changed significantly. From what you have seen over the last few years, what has really changed in the way Indian students are making these decisions today?
The biggest change I have seen is that international education has moved from being an aspiration-led decision to a much more outcome-led decision. Students and families are asking sharper questions around employability, affordability, visa pathways, post-study opportunities and ultimately, the return on their investment. That shift is also making Global Student Mobility more sophisticated.
For universities and recruitment partners, it is no longer enough to have visibility in a market; they need genuine Local Intelligence to understand what matters to different segments of students. A one-size-fits-all recruitment strategy simply does not work anymore. India itself is not one market, it is a collection of very different regional markets. The institutions that understand that complexity and build long-term partnerships will be better positioned for sustainable international recruitment.
2. There was a time when the conversation around studying abroad was largely about getting into a good university and getting a visa. Today, students seem much more concerned about jobs, ROI and what happens after graduation. How has that changed the way the industry itself operates?
The industry has fundamentally moved from an application-generation mindset to an outcomes mindset. Universities are increasingly looking beyond how many applications a market can generate and asking: Are these the right students? Do they convert? Will they enrol, progress successfully and ultimately achieve strong Student Outcomes? That is a much healthier direction for international education. It also changes the role of recruitment partners.
The traditional university-agent relationship is evolving into something closer to a strategic partnership, where Market Intelligence, conversion insights and local understanding become as valuable as lead generation. The connection between education and employment is also becoming critical. I see Education-to-Employment becoming one of the defining themes of international recruitment. Universities that can clearly communicate value, career pathways and long-term outcomes will increasingly differentiate themselves in a much more competitive global market.
3. A lot of growth in higher education is now coming from beyond the traditional metro markets. Are you seeing a meaningful shift in demand from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, and what does that mean for the next phase of India’s international education market?
Yes, absolutely. One of the most important shifts in Indian Global Student Mobility is the broadening of the addressable market beyond the traditional metros. Tier-II and Tier-III cities are producing increasingly ambitious, globally oriented students, but their decision-making journey can be quite different from that of students in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru or Hyderabad.
This is precisely why Global strategy needs local intelligence. Universities cannot simply take a metro-market recruitment model and replicate it across India. They need to understand regional aspirations, affordability, counselling ecosystems, financing behaviour and preferred destinations. This also creates an opportunity for the industry to build stronger regional partnerships and more sophisticated market intelligence. For the next phase of international education, I believe India’s growth story will be much more distributed and institutions that invest early in emerging markets will have a significant advantage.
4. Infinite Group has grown considerably over the years and now works across different markets and stakeholders in the education ecosystem. What has driven that growth, and where do you see the biggest opportunity for the business from here?
Infinite Group’s growth has been driven by a fairly simple belief: the international education ecosystem needs to become more connected, intelligent and outcome-focused. We have seen that universities, education providers and recruitment partners often have valuable information and capabilities, but those capabilities are fragmented. Our focus has therefore been on building an ecosystem that brings these stakeholders closer together, supported by technology and International Recruitment Intelligence.
Looking ahead, I see a significant opportunity in helping institutions move from transactional recruitment towards strategic University Partnerships and market expansion. The next phase will be about combining technology, data and local intelligence to help institutions identify the right markets, the right partners and the right student segments. That is where I believe Infinite Group, and our AI-driven approach through IUnite.AI, can contribute to a more transparent and sustainable global education ecosystem.
5. The international education industry has also gone through a period of correction, with countries changing visa rules, institutions becoming more selective and concerns around recruitment quality coming up. Do you think the industry has become too focused on volumes, and what needs to change now?
I think the industry has, at times, measured success too heavily through volume, applications, deposits and enrolments. But the market is now correcting that approach. Quality-led Recruitment has to become the benchmark. For universities, a smaller number of well-matched students who enrol, succeed academically, graduate and progress into meaningful careers can create far greater long-term value than a large volume of poorly aligned applications.
The recent changes in visa policies and institutional scrutiny have reinforced that reality. This is also where recruitment partners need to evolve. Their value should increasingly come from Market Intelligence, student-fit assessment, conversion quality and long-term market development, not simply application numbers. At Infinite Group, we see this shift as an opportunity for the ecosystem to become more accountable and data-driven. Sustainable international recruitment ultimately has to be measured by outcomes, not just intake size.
6. Technology and AI are becoming a much bigger part of student recruitment and the way institutions find and engage with students. From your experience, where is technology actually making a difference, and where does the human element still matter most?
Technology is already changing international recruitment, particularly in areas such as AI in International Recruitment, market intelligence, segmentation, personalisation and data-led decision-making. The real opportunity is not simply automating communication; it is helping institutions understand why students behave differently across markets and using that intelligence to make better recruitment decisions. AI can identify patterns across large datasets far faster than traditional processes, helping universities prioritise markets, understand demand and improve conversion.
That is an area we are particularly interested in through IUnite.AI and the broader technology ecosystem at Infinite Group. But I do not believe AI replaces relationships. International education is still fundamentally built on trust, between universities, recruitment partners, counsellors and students. Technology should make those relationships more informed and efficient. The winning model will be AI-enabled, but human-led.
7. If you look at the next three to five years, what do you think India’s higher education market will look like?
I expect India to become even more strategically important to the global higher education ecosystem, but the nature of that opportunity will change. We will see greater Market Diversification, both within India and across destinations. Universities will increasingly look beyond a handful of established cities and beyond traditional destination markets, while countries and institutions across the Global South, MENA, Southeast Asia and Africa become more important to the mobility landscape.
I also expect recruitment to become significantly more data-led, with greater emphasis on Quality-led Recruitment, student outcomes and Education-to-Employment pathways. The university-agent model will continue evolving into deeper Partnerships, built around intelligence and long-term market development. For 2027 and beyond, I think the central question for universities will not be, “How many students can we recruit?” but rather, “Where can we build sustainable demand and long-term value?” That is the future of global education.