Indian students still a tiny minority

Roughly 5,000 Indian nationals are presently studying at German universities. What may sound a lot, is actually very little. The numbers of students from other take-off countries like China, Russia and Turkey are in the five-digit range. Considering the fact that Indians make up a meager 2 percent of Germany's international student population of approximately 250,000, Stefan Weckbach, German Consul-General in Chennai, sounds overly optimistic when he told the Indian daily "The Hindu" that "Germany is a sought-after destination for higher learning" in India. In this context it has to be said that the German consular representations in India have often not been very encouraging, to put it mildly, in their dealings with study applicants from the subcontinent. No wonder then that many promising candidates, supported by their English fluency, have looked for greener pastures elsewhere...

From other parts of the world, students continue to flock in steadily growing numbers to Europe's economic powerhouse. Up till now, Germany has withstood the European debt crisis quite well, which is reflected in strong domestic demand and a buoyant job market. Many academics in India, who - for understandable reasons - have traditionally been oriented towards the English-speaking world, will probably be surprised to hear that Germany has the most internationalised student population of all countries. According to Prashasti Rastogi, DAAD representative in New Delhi, 12 percent of all students at German universities are foreign nationals. Whether India can keep up with its main competitors in the developing world like China and Brazil will also depend on the country's ability to better tap Germany's high-tech potential in the future and to send more of the best students there for an advanced research-oriented education.

Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com