New Delhi: The number of Indian students applying for biotechnology studies abroad is growing. They're drawn by the opportunities the subject offers as large corporations and governments pour more funds into research for gene therapies, vaccines and weight-loss drugs, according to experts.
"There is a growing interest among Indian students looking to pursue biotechnology programmes in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia," said Piyush Kumar, regional director for South Asia at IDP Education. "Notably, biotech and life sciences applicants have made up about 40% of the total STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) cohort from India to the UK in the past one-two years-a significant and telling trend."
The Covid-19 pandemic is seen as a turning point. "The tangible success of mRNA vaccines, rapid diagnostics and gene therapies turned biotech into a symbol of real-world impact," said Rahul Subramaniam, co-founder of Athena Education. "Students started seeing scientists like Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman as modern heroes." Gene editing, synthetic biology and computational biology have emerged as the top draws, said Akshay Chaturvedi, founder of LeverageEdu.
"These are seeing nearly 1.5x to 2x more student interest than they did a few years ago," said Chaturvedi. "Agricultural biotech and pharma R&D are also seeing increased traction, particularly among students from tier-2 cities with roots in agriculture or pharmacy backgrounds."
Specialisations in Demand
Notable is the shift in student profiles. Many are now coming from interdisciplinary backgrounds—engineering, computer science and pure sciences—often with research internships or Olympiad projects under their belt.
“Our biotech aspirants, over the last two years, have often hailed from engineering or computer science backgrounds, particularly those interested in bioinformatics, computational biology and systems biology,” said Subramaniam of Athena Education.
Chaturvedi said students are choosing destinations not just for the brand name, but for access to research grants, lab rotations, incubator support and real pathways into the bioeconomy workforce.
High on students’ lists are universities in the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia and even Singapore, with post-study work rights, research assistantships and startup incubation support influencing decisions.
“It’s a very pragmatic generation,” he said.
According to Sanjog Anand, co-founder of Rostrum Education, demand is highest for specialisations such as medical biotechnology, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, gene editing and pharma research and development.
The students headed for foreign universities are funding their studies through a mix of loans, scholarships and assistantships. “In Canada, funding is split between education loans (60–70%), scholarships (20–30%), and self-funding (10–20%),” said Kumar of IDP Education. The US remains attractive due to assistantships and the STEM OPT (optional practical training) extension that allows up to three years of work after graduation.
Once enrolled, these students usually transition into roles of research scientists, biomedical engineers, bioinformaticians and regulatory affairs specialists. Starting annual salaries in North America and Europe range from $80,000 to $120,000, according to the experts.
"There is a growing interest among Indian students looking to pursue biotechnology programmes in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia," said Piyush Kumar, regional director for South Asia at IDP Education. "Notably, biotech and life sciences applicants have made up about 40% of the total STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) cohort from India to the UK in the past one-two years-a significant and telling trend."
The Covid-19 pandemic is seen as a turning point. "The tangible success of mRNA vaccines, rapid diagnostics and gene therapies turned biotech into a symbol of real-world impact," said Rahul Subramaniam, co-founder of Athena Education. "Students started seeing scientists like Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman as modern heroes." Gene editing, synthetic biology and computational biology have emerged as the top draws, said Akshay Chaturvedi, founder of LeverageEdu.
"These are seeing nearly 1.5x to 2x more student interest than they did a few years ago," said Chaturvedi. "Agricultural biotech and pharma R&D are also seeing increased traction, particularly among students from tier-2 cities with roots in agriculture or pharmacy backgrounds."
Specialisations in Demand
Notable is the shift in student profiles. Many are now coming from interdisciplinary backgrounds—engineering, computer science and pure sciences—often with research internships or Olympiad projects under their belt.
“Our biotech aspirants, over the last two years, have often hailed from engineering or computer science backgrounds, particularly those interested in bioinformatics, computational biology and systems biology,” said Subramaniam of Athena Education.
Chaturvedi said students are choosing destinations not just for the brand name, but for access to research grants, lab rotations, incubator support and real pathways into the bioeconomy workforce.
High on students’ lists are universities in the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia and even Singapore, with post-study work rights, research assistantships and startup incubation support influencing decisions.
“It’s a very pragmatic generation,” he said.
According to Sanjog Anand, co-founder of Rostrum Education, demand is highest for specialisations such as medical biotechnology, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, gene editing and pharma research and development.
The students headed for foreign universities are funding their studies through a mix of loans, scholarships and assistantships. “In Canada, funding is split between education loans (60–70%), scholarships (20–30%), and self-funding (10–20%),” said Kumar of IDP Education. The US remains attractive due to assistantships and the STEM OPT (optional practical training) extension that allows up to three years of work after graduation.
Once enrolled, these students usually transition into roles of research scientists, biomedical engineers, bioinformaticians and regulatory affairs specialists. Starting annual salaries in North America and Europe range from $80,000 to $120,000, according to the experts.
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