Attracting & Retaining Indian Expatriate Talent in Academics
The pandemic has allowed organisations and individuals to implicitly re-assess their personal and professional paths. The academic sector, too, has been part of this shift, with universities attracting talent from diverse geographic markets. This has been augmented by the introduction of technology and the expansion of online course offerings.
The Graded Autonomy Regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) now allows the highest performing universities to hire up to 20% of foreign faculty over and above the total sanctioned faculty strength on a tenure basis. The Government has allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the education sector through the automatic route since 2002. Despite regulatory support, there is a significant gap in hiring expatriate talent in academics in India. As of 2021, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) had just approximately 65 foreign faculties/researchers approximately – 1% of the total faculty of 5,700 – despite the Government’s goal to attract a minimum of 20% international faculty to the IITs.
There is a gap in the expectations concerning attracting & retaining expatriate talent for the academic sector in India. Whether remuneration aspects, legacy systems, infrastructure gaps, or cultural fitment, the Indian education sector demands quick adaption to match global standards.
At a roundtable event organised by Odgers Berndtson which hosted leaders from the academic field, delegates discussed how to attract & retain expatriate talent for the education sector in India.
The points and topics discussed have been noted in a whitepaper, which covers:
- Do we need an expat & why does an expat want to come to India?
- What are Universities doing to attract expat talent & address concerns
- Investment in Infrastructure v/s People
- The Role of Compensation in attracting expat talent
- Industry & Academia Collaboration
We thank the following for joining us at the Odgers Berndtson roundtable & giving their valuable contribution to this paper.
Dr. Anil Kashyap, Director General & CEO, NICMAR
Dr. Rajat Kathuria, Dean - School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Shiv Nadar University
Dr. Rajesh Chakrabarti, Director, MDI Gurgaon
Dr. Rajeev Shorey, CEO, The University of Queensland–IIT Delhi Academy of Research (UQIDAR)
N. Ravi Shanker, Chancellor, DIT University
Dr. Rishikesha Krishnan, Director and Professor of Strategy, IIM Bangalore
Dr. Rudra Pratap, Founding Vice-Chancellor, Plaksha University
Dr. Soumitra Dutta, Dean, Saïd Business School
Dr. Vijay Ramani, Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Washington University in St Louis
*in alphabetical order
Reach out to our team in case you wish to know more about hiring talent for the Education sector in India.