Punjab Newspaper

Student mobility is on the increase with 2.7 million students travelling abroad in the year 2006 to pursue higher education. This number is expected to rise to 7.2 million by the year 2025. Half of the mobile students are from China and India.


These were some of the revelations of consultants, Dr. Markku Oksanen and Mr. Niclas Lindgren during a presentation at the Milton E. Bender Jr. Auditorium at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). During a presentation, they revealed that one third of the global investment in higher education is occurring in Asia, and the two countries of China and India have a pool of 40 million students. The top global exporters of students continue to be China, India and Korea.

An interesting trend is the establishment of campus branches in Asia, particularly in Singapore. This has been facilitated by the establishment of mechanisms like credit transfer, joint academic programs, and mobility as well as joint research programs. Significantly, for AIT, many students had joined the institute courtesy information from alumni. The internet had also emerged as a major source of information for prospective AIT students.

Mr. Niclas Lindgren works as the Managing Director and Senior Management Consultant at Cerion Solutions Limited, and has special expertise on developing the public sector and the higher education sector in particular in Scandinavia. Dr. Markku works in Poyry plc as a director responsible for business development in Asia in the environment and water engineering sector.