PDF: 2962 pages, 5.2 MB - Bay Area Council Economic Institute

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Indian Students:
Innovation and Quality of Life Are Still a Draw
Key Findings:
• India sends the most foreign students to California, and their numbers are growing.
• Nearly half of the 8,300 Indian students in California in 2008 were in the Bay Area.
• The UC campuses and Stanford enjoy deep connections with world-class Indian schools.
• Universities and tech firms are teaming to address India’s pressing societal needs.
• Overseas alumni networks of Bay Area universities are weak; Indian graduate students
identify with schools back home.
• Philanthropy focuses on preserving Indian culture here or on “giving back” in India.
D
espite long waits and difficulties getting visas, Indian students, teachers and researchers continue
coming to the U.S.—and to California especially.
Clearly, employment opportunities are on the rise in India. Fewer graduates remain in the Bay Area
than before, but many are still drawn by the region’s global leadership in technology, the prestige of
an advanced degree or research position at a Bay Area university, entrepreneurial opportunities, the
depth and breadth of the Indian community here, and the quality of life for those working and
raising or relocating their families here.
More Students Coming, More Graduates Returning Home
According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), India is the leading country of origin
for international students, with 94,600 in the U.S. in the 2007–08 academic year (AY)—surpassing
even China’s 81,100—and up 13% from the previous year. AY 2007–08 is the seventh consecutive
year that India has sent the most international students to the U.S.
Some 8,300 Indian students enrolled in California universities and colleges in 2007–08, up from
nearly 6.800 in the previous year and 5,600 in 2005–06, and they account for 11.5% of California’s
international students. Of the estimated $2.45 billion spent in the past year by international students
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