Hyderabad: Stricter visa rules in traditional international destinations like the US, UK and Canada have driven Indian students, including those from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, towards a new country — Italy. According to official records, the European nation saw more than 93,000 international students travel there for education in 2023. Of this 6,100 were from India — second only to Iran.
About 20% of these Indian students were from the two Telugu states, records showed. Maharashtra was at the top spot with a share of 25%. Academics and consultants also attribute this to a steady rise in demand for unconventional courses.
"An increasing number of students are veering away from conventional fields like engineering and exploring fields such as hospitality, arts, humanities, designing, luxury goods management, culinary arts, and architecture, all of which Italy offers in abundance," said Abhijit Zaveri from Career Mosaic, a registered consultancy. He added: "The increase in applications to Italian universities is also owing to lower tuition and living costs compared to places like Canada, the UK, and Australia." And this trend is likely to continue going forward, reports indicate.
According to a study titled, From Enrolment to Accommodation: Unlocking Italy's Education System, by University Living, an international accommodation provider, and the Embassy of Italy, enrolment of Indian students in Italy is expected to witness an over 22% surge by 2025 and a staggering 500% .