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% by 2030.
Low cost of courses
Reiterating the reasons of cost and course options, Chirandeep Patnaik from Lemma Consulting said: "Italy offers a wide range of programmes at a much cheaper fee — between 7 lakh and 10 lakh — for public universities. This is particularly attractive when compared to the skyrocketing costs — minimum 25 lakh — in more conventional study destinations."
While the cost of living in Italy is also relatively more affordable, it isn't very cheap either. Accommodation alone accounts for 42.6% of the total budget, share students, averaging around €5,400 (approx 5 lakh) out of an overall annual cost of €12,670 (11.5 lakh).
"Food expenses make up 28% of the budget, followed by utilities and miscellaneous costs at 9% each. Health insurance and transportation are relatively minor, at 6% and 4%, respectively," said Shalini Vikas Hattimare, from Hyderabad pursuing her master's in humanities in Italy, admitting to seeing more students from her home state land in Italy to pursue professional courses. "In the past six months, I have seen at least 25 to 30 students from twin states come to Italy."
More takers for TOEFL
The rise in TOEFL test-takers for Italy over the last three years has also seen an increase. "TOEFL scores are accepted across Italy's top universities, including the University of Rome - La Sapienza, the University of Bologna, and the Polytechnic University of Milan, though certain programmes might still demand Italian language proficiency," said Sachin Jain from ETS India and South Asia.
While proficiency in the Italian language is not required for many programmes, universities do encourage students to learn the language, particularly for courses like medicine where Italian is essential for practical work, shared Sourabh Arora from University Living. He said, "Students can stay in Italy for up to 6 to 12 months after graduation, depending on their course, to seek employment. During their studies, they are also allowed to work up to 20 hours per week."
The advantage of learning Italian is corroborated by Shalini. "While many Italians speak English fluently, learning the local language is always beneficial, especially when we start working," she said.