CHENNAI: The shifting balance of global higher education, with Asia and India in particular emerging as a major force, formed the core of discussions at the India Global Education Summit (IGES) held in Chennai, where global academics and policy-makers examined how demography, policy and public investment are reshaping universities worldwide.
Setting the global context, Helmut Kern, Government Representative for University Rankings and Governor of the University of Vienna, in his special address said the world was witnessing a decisive eastward shift in the centres of knowledge production.
While the US is expected to remain a major global magnet for academic talent despite political turbulence, Kern noted that Europe faces structural constraints due to demographic decline and funding pressures. Asia, he said, presents a contrasting picture, with countries such as India, China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan emerging as strategic knowledge hubs.
With over 150 million people in the 18-23 age group today and an ambitious National Education Policy target to raise higher education enrolment to 50% by 2035, India represents an unprecedented reservoir of academic talent.
However, demography alone does not guarantee success, Kern cautioned, stressing the importance of institutional autonomy, academic freedom, predictable governance and merit-based systems in converting population advantage into national capability.
Linking the global narrative to Tamil Nadu’s education legacy, MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian said the state’s engagement with education has always been “political in the best sense”.
“Education here has been a tool to question hierarchy, dismantle inherited inequality and create opportunity where none existed before,” she said, invoking the Dravidian movement’s emphasis on rationalism, social justice and scientific temper.
Highlighting initiatives under CM MK Stalin, she cited the Knowledge City project, the expansion of specialised universities, the breakfast scheme for schoolchildren, and climate education programme.
The two-day summit, hosted in association with the National Indian Students and Alumni Union - UK (NISAU) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO), saw participation from senior government officials, global education experts, industry leaders and academic institutions and students from over 20 countries.