Drop in Indian student applicants to UK universities in 2023: UCAS

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While the UK has always been one of the top 3 study abroad destinations for Indian students, recent figures released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) indicates that there has been a drop in applications from India. While international student applicants have spiked up by 0.7 per cent, there has been a significant 4 per cent drop in Indian student applicants to UK universities in 2023.

"This data indicates a decrease in applications from mature students, particularly impacting fields like nursing. However, it is expected that these applicants will be more inclined to apply later in the process," commented Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Executive, UCAS.
 
According to experts in the higher education space, the UK Government’s recent visa rules might have something to do with the change in sentiment. According to a new mandate, the UK will limit foreign students from bringing family members with them with the exception of students enrolled in postgraduate research courses and/or availing government funded scholarships. The new regulations, effective from January 2024, has created a fair bit of uncertainty regarding the viability of UK as a prominent study abroad destination for Indian students. Recent media reports highlighting the difficulties faced by many Indian students in getting employment after completing their degrees has only added to the confusion.
 
In an interview published on Moneycontrol, Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham has said that UK will continue to be a favourable study destination for Indian students despite the recent changes. According to Tickell, it is those universities that focus on recruiting lower-performing students which have seen the biggest fall in applicant numbers from India.

 

Better-than-average cloud-related job growth in education: IDC white paper

Cloud computing is being touted as a significant transformation tool the world over.

In a white paper commissioned by Microsoft, IDC estimates that spending on public and private IT cloud services will generate nearly 14 million jobs worldwide by 2015. The paper also reveals that a majority of these jobs will be found in emerging markets because of their immense workforces — 1.2 billion workers in China and India alone.

Cloud Computing: transformation tool?

According to the paper, the education sector, a small vertical but with better-than-average cloud-related job growth, will see IT cloud services as an attractive way to deal with budget constraints. Many are worried about being locked into a single cloud vendor, but in many developed countries, they may find cloud computing is still a good way to face budget cuts. In less financially constrained geographies, IT cloud services will offer standardisation and lower capital costs of expansion.

Dr Elizabeth Sherly

Explains Dr Elizabeth Sherly, Director (In-Charge), Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K): “Kerala’s state education department, for instance, would gain significantly by switching to the cloud platform. There are a number of applications in the education department, handling functions such as common admission counselling and results. These applications register heavy traffic only at certain times, for instance during the time of admission or results. In other periods, the system remains idle.” 


By adopting cloud computing for this sector, the government can create a central pool of shared resources including software and infrastructure. Not to mention, setting off cloud-related job growth.