The march of foreign universities preps ground for a battle for teaching talent

Universities of Southampton, Liverpool, York, Aberdeen and Queen’s University Belfast from the UK, Italy’s Istituto Europeo di Design and US-based Illinois Institute of Technology are in line to enter India next year, apart from a clutch of Australian universities. The institutions are primarily scouting New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Gujarat’s GIFT City to open their campuses.

Typically, universities hire for academic and non-academic roles. While the former covers teachers, vice-provosts, vice-presidents and deans, the latter includes vice-chancellors.

A senior faculty member at one of the top five Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) said foreign universities are offering top dollar for the best talent. “The global universities are looking at second-rung management colleges and offering more than ₹1.5-2 crore for the positions of director and vice-chancellor. The faculty is getting around ₹50 lakh,” the professor said.

Talent shortage

The surge of foreign universities comes after the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 greenlit their entry. According to KPMG estimates, about 500,000-800,000 university teachers would be needed over the next decade to meet NEP’s expansion targets. A recruiter for universities said principals of international schools have been approached with offers of a 15-30% pay hike. As new entrants and incumbents vie for rankings and accreditations, demand has soared.

According to Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head of the education sector at KPMG India, there is a serious issue with the availability of faculty who meet a certain quality standard. “This is especially true for universities that have reached a certain stage of maturity, typically those that have been established for a few years now and are seeking recognition through innovative courses, research intensity, quality measures such as accreditation, rankings and so on,” Ramaswamy said.

According to Ramaswamy, some large private universities and the foreign ones are willing to pay as much as ₹2 crore for the right candidate. “If the location is remote, it could include other perks as well,” he said.

The government informed the Rajya Sabha in April that the University Grants Commission is likely to approve 50 more foreign varsities. The NEP’s aim is to increase the gross enrolment ratio in higher education, including vocational education, from 26.3% in 2018 to 50% by 2035.

Senior hiring

“In the first year, we’ll probably hire around 60 faculty members — 10 Indian faculty per university across six universities. About 30 will be onboarded by April-May, and another 30 by September-October,” said Ashwin Damera, founder and CEO of upskilling platform Eruditus, which is working with several global universities setting up campuses in India.

The University of York, which will soon launch its Mumbai campus, said it has started recruiting senior leadership. “Our recruitment field is both local to Mumbai and international, and over time, we aim to offer York staff opportunities to work at the Mumbai campus as well,” a spokesperson said.

The KPMG partner added that some foreign universities are already in discussions before opening their campuses.

“India’s higher education landscape has exceptional talent, particularly from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and leading private and state universities. We are also engaging with research institutes and policy think tanks that align with our focus areas: fintech, AI, sustainability, and global development,” a spokesperson for Queen’s University Belfast said, as it prepares for its upcoming GIFT City campus.

Australia’s University of Wollongong (UOW), which is setting up shop in GIFT-City, is scouting as well. Its India campus director Nimay Kalyani said it was “engaging” with universities and institutions to “identify potential candidates, particularly those with experience in areas such as business, computing, and engineering”.

Damera of Eruditus said that many positions will be filled by candidates from the university’s home country or an expatriate who has worked there. Earlier this month, the University of York named Lindsay Oades from the University of Melbourne provost of its India campus, which will open in Mumbai next year.

Perks

Training abroad can also be a perk. “We recognize that academic recruitment is highly competitive, particularly in the Indian context… Another opportunity for academics appointed here in India is the possibility of visiting Australia, not only to become familiar with our ethos but also to collaborate with our colleagues in Western Australia,” said Guy Littlefair, deputy vice-chancellor (education and student experience) at The University of Western Australia.

Meanwhile, Indian institutions aren’t sitting back.

Local universities say they’re strengthening their research ecosystems and career growth opportunities to retain top faculty. “While foreign institutions often have deeper financial resources, leading Indian universities such as Ashoka have made strong strides in offering an intellectually stimulating environment, robust research opportunities, and global collaborations that appeal to faculty beyond compensation alone,” said a spokesperson of Ashoka University, which has over 180 permanent and 90 visiting professors.

The director of an IIT said foreign universities’ entry could soon influence India’s elite technical institutes as well. “If foreign universities invest the time and resources to establish fully functional units in India focused on education rather than merely preparing and exporting talent to countries like the UK and Australia, it could result in competitive offers and faculty poaching from IITs,” the director pointed out.