Snapshot of Study Programs in Demand for Today’s International Students

The only subject that made the top 10 lists for both bachelor's and master's programs was artificial intelligence (AI), in terms of demand. Undersupply is present in the bachelor's level for AI, user experience design, and European law and at the master's level, inadequate supply is present in data science & bigdata, AI, and robotics. Both university administrators evaluating their program offerings, along with international student recruiters identifying areas of competitive advantage in various markets, will find the analysis to bethought-provoking.

European Law has 3.5% more students interested than other programs. The demand for this topic increased by 33% over the previous years. Naturally, Europe—particularly the nations of the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania—is the main source of demand. The interest of learners in artificial intelligence is 4.4%higher than its supply, and demand for AI courses increased by an astounding36% in comparison to the previous year. There is a 33% increase in the need in User Experience Design (UX), a skill set that is closely related to digital products but has far wider applications. The top countries that students look for while exploring UX are Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands, and there is3.5% more student interest in this subject against supply.

Additional noteworthy developments at the bachelor's level include the 44% and 54%increases in student enthusiasm in Sustainable Energy and Web Technologies& Cloud Computing, respectively, compared to previous years. Regarding Master's, student interest within Data Science & Big Data is over double(2.5 times) the supply and up 22% from the previous year when compared to the top three subjects. Although US and UK universities offer more than half of all master's programs in artificial intelligence, there is obviously space for more competitors to enter the market given that demand is up 24.5% from the previous year and pupil enthusiasm is 2.5 times greater than the supply of accessible programs. The remarkable number businesses and employers integrate machine learning into their operations; the scope of AI programming is growing.

A few years ago, we might have assumed that the majority of "sweet spots" those intriguing intersections of high demand and low supply—would fall under the purview of Engineering & Technology or Business & Management. However, there are now many programs available in those areas. Moreover, the upcoming opportunities are in computer sciences and information technology.

For institutions, it is critical to collaborate with businesses to ensure that the training courses are in line with their present market needs. There is always an option to think about developing joint research projects, internships, and guest lectures.

For any institution intending to recruit good number of international students, it is time to expand the range of programs offered to international students. Also, all institutions need to make their brand a more appealing choice for students who are worried about their employability by emphasizing employability through the promotion of in-demand subjects that help match the demands of the labor market with available offerings.