Meti Basiri, CEO and co-founder of ApplyBoard, got the idea to start a “study abroad” platform with his two brothers in 2015 after facing hardships in his own journey to study in Canada. It has, however, splenid journey thereafter. At the last funding round in June 2021, his start-up was valued at $3.2 billion. In an interaction with FE’s Manu Kaushik, Basiri talks about the visa restrictions faced by students in different English-speaking countries, and India iteself being as an emerging destination for international students. Edited excerpts:

The stricter visa rules in different parts of the world, especially in the UK and Canada, are hindering student mobility…

I think it’s a short bump. The cross-border movement of students is going to continue to increase globally, and it is actually going to accelerate, in the years to come. Last year was a booming time for most of the countries. But if you do an average of the past five years, it doesn’t seem a lot. Because in 2019 and 2020, the numbers were too small.

In general, I am still seeing a huge optimism towards mobility. Despite all these restrictions, there are still more than 10 million international students. Every decade, the number of international students will double. India is going to be a major hosting destination for international students in about 15 years.

A lot of countries are now figuring out what is the best way to bring someone in their country, get them to understand their culture, and then solve their labour shortage. That’s something that you see in Europe right now. Even though they have far-right conservative governments, all of a sudden, they need more students. Because if you have labour shortages, you can’t solve it domestically.

It’s unlikely for a government to say we don’t want international students. The US has an unemployment rate of 3.2%, an aging population, and labour shortage. Irrespective of the government, they understand that the country’s economy is not going to grow if they cannot solve labor shortages. At the moment, US has millions of job openings, and they need millions of people.

What are the key drivers for foreign students to come and study in India?

I think in the next 20 years, India is going to have more good quality institutions. Look at Korea and Japan, both at some points had the highest outbound students, but are now host countries. China wasn’t the destination, it has become one. In 2000, the top five major countries accounted for 70% of the mobility. In 2022, the top five countries accounts for 45%. So the market’s has become far more fragmented.

Firstly, the new education policy of India is very conducive for foreign institutions to come and set up campuses. Deakin is the first example, and many more are in the pipeline. Then, India’s quality of education, proximity in the Southeast Asia, the price points, and niche programmes are going to pull international students.

India received about 70,000 students last year, and that number will continue to grow. The education infrastructure here is growing fast. I see Ivy League universities coming into Indian and setting of campuses. I think it’s not about if but when.

Most Indian students take foreign education as a means to go to the host country and get settled in that country. Do you see students coming back to India after finishing their studies?

Today, there are a great number of high-paying jobs that exist in India too. The market is changing fast. The whole ROI (return on investment) is going to change in favour of India in about 10 years where students would find good opportunities even in the home country.