Illinois Tech opens Mumbai campus as global student mobility patterns shift

When Illinois Institute of Technology decided to set up a degree-granting campus in India, the move was less about geographic expansion and more about acknowledging a structural shift in global higher education. That recalibration has been sharpened by conditions back home. Last year, Illinois Tech was highlighted as the ‘most dependent’ US university on international students based on 2023 data. It showed that roughly 51 per cent of its approximately 6,500-strong student body came from abroad — a factor now being reshaped by tighter visa policies and political scrutiny of foreign enrolment in the United States. Against that backdrop, establishing a full-fledged campus in Mumbai signals more than opportunity; it reflects a hedging of bets in a world where the traditional study-abroad pipeline is under pressure from both policy shifts and global employer demand. In an interaction with indianexpress.com, on the sidelines of announcing the launch of the India campus, Illinois Tech president Raj Echambadi framed the decision as part of a larger recalibration underway across global education systems. “This is about meeting learners where they are, academically, financially, and geographically,” he said, pointing to India’s growing centrality in global talent flows and research-led industry. Illinois Tech’s Mumbai campus, set to admit its first cohort in fall 2026, comes at a moment when traditional study-abroad patterns, particularly to the US, are under strain. Rising costs, visa uncertainty, and changing employer behaviour are forcing students and institutions alike to rethink mobility. ## Not the first stint in India Echambadi outlined three reasons behind Illinois Tech’s India foray. The first is historical. The university has had a presence in India since the mid-1990s, when it ran early learning initiatives in Bengaluru to upskill engineers for multinational firms operating in the country. “We’ve been offering Illinois Tech degrees to Indian citizens for decades now, just in different formats,” he said. The second is strategic. Illinois Tech is building what it describes as a distributed global campus network, with existing campuses in Chicago, Beijing, and Kazakhstan. The third reason is economic. “Last year alone, nearly 18 per cent of global growth was attributed to India,” Echambadi said. “India is an incredibly important market — not just for education, but for global employers who are coming here in a very big way.” That employer shift is central to Illinois Tech’s thinking. According to Mallik Sundharam, vice president for enrolment management and student affairs for India, the old model, where students moved abroad to access jobs, is being replaced by a new one. “The mobility is shifting to where the talent is,” he said. “Companies are no longer coming to India just for services or cost efficiencies. They’re coming for research and advanced talent.” ## From learning centres to a full-fledged university Illinois Tech’s earlier India initiatives were modest by comparison. In the 1990s, its Bengaluru operations relied on what Sundharam jokingly described as “Netflix before Netflix” – videotapes sent to engineers for distance learning. “This time, it’s a complete university,” Echambadi said. “With multiple undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and the ambition to grow.” The Mumbai campus will offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees across computing and business disciplines, including computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, and business administration. Degrees will follow the American structure, Bachelor of Science (BS), Master of Science (MS), MBA and BA, rather than India’s BTech nomenclature. Admissions will also be different from India’s exam-centric model. Illinois Tech will not mandate national entrance tests such as the JEE. Instead, admissions will be based primarily on undergraduate GPAs, along with a holistic assessment of a student’s profile, including essays and extracurricular experiences. SAT scores will be accepted, but not compulsory. ## ₹16 lakh annual fee, with the option to study in the US during the degree Cost, however, remains a key consideration. Illinois Tech estimates annual tuition at its India campus at around Rs 16 lakh per year for undergraduate programmes, higher than most Indian public institutions but comparatively lower than the cost of studying full-time in the US. Sundharam argued that the figure needs to be seen in context. Students will have the option to spend a semester or even a year at Illinois Tech’s Chicago campus without paying additional tuition. “It’s all spread across four years,” he said. Affordability pressures, he added, are reshaping student decisions globally. “There’s an active debate everywhere on the value of a degree relative to earnings. Add visa and work permit challenges, and families are far more cautious than they were a decade ago.” To address this, Illinois Tech is looking to replicate a US-style philanthropy-backed funding model in India over the longer term. With an alumni base of over 10,000, the university plans to build scholarship support in the next two to five years to widen access. ## What industry thinks is missing For the Indian industry, the appeal of foreign universities setting up local campuses lies less in branding and more in outcomes. Jamshyd Godrej, chairman and managing director of Godrej & Boyce and an Illinois Tech alumnus, was candid about the gaps he sees in India’s engineering education. “India produces a large number of engineers, but many are not ready to be employed straightaway,” Godrej said. “They need significant handholding and training.” The issue, he argued, is not a lack of intelligence but insufficient exposure to real-world problem-solving. “Working on live projects with companies throughout your education prepares students very differently,” he said. “That orientation is still limited in most Indian universities, even some of the best ones.” Illinois Tech’s model, with structured employer engagement built into the curriculum, aims to address that gap. The university has already signed memoranda of understanding with Indian conglomerates, including Godrej and Reliance, to integrate industry projects, internships and skill-building modules into its programmes. ## Rethinking the study-abroad experience A recurring concern around foreign campuses in India is whether they dilute the cultural and experiential value of studying abroad. Godrej rejected that premise. “You have to look at it holistically,” he said. “Students today can split their time, spend some semesters abroad and some at home.” Illinois Tech’s global campus network is designed to support that flexibility. Students from Mumbai will be eligible to study in Chicago after their first year, for a semester or a full year, while still graduating on time. Similar exchanges are possible across the university’s other international campuses. “The intention is not to replace the international experience,” Echambadi said. “It’s to expand it—while removing barriers that make it inaccessible to many.” Illinois Tech is not alone in betting on India. Universities from the US, UK, and Europe are lining up to launch campuses over the next few years, with the University Grants Commission having issued Letters of Intent to around a dozen international institutions under its new framework, including York, Western Australia, and Aberdeen, among others.