1990's reforms in India paved the way for a new shift of social transformation, leading to the internationalisation of educational knowledge via cross-border exchange of ideas. Internationalisation, as an implementation strategy of globalisation, promotes diversity and multiculturalism that fosters a global mindset and harmony through the global flow of learners, meaningful collaborations/partnerships, the setting up of branch campuses, etc. This paper analyses the implementation strategies of the ‘Internationalisation abroad’ branch in India.  In the world of linguistic diversity, the cultural capital of a student plays an enormous role in adapting to a foreign culture at university abroad. Entering a higher education institution where the medium of instruction is mostly different from one’s mother tongue in India or abroad, the student faces significant hurdles while climbing the ladder of academic mobility. Drawing on the mobility patterns and experiences of Indian students in Europe, this paper identifies two types of cultural alienation faced by these students: a) the pre-migration disconnects from the Indian Education System and b) the post-arrival sense of detachment emerging from their inability to communicate in the local European language and other barriers. The paper seeks to identify core social stratification variables that impact the process of internationalisation of higher education in India. The fundamental research question around which the paper revolves is ‘How does the pre-migration cultural capital of Indian students shape their preparedness for academic mobility and incorporation of cosmopolitan values required for a multicultural environment'?

Marginson’s (2007) usage of the term ‘global private goods’ for the degrees obtained by international students highlights the commodification of transnational education. The paper attempts to contribute to the sociological and internationalisation literature by exploring the increasing alienation with the knowledge system amidst educational capitalism in a neoliberal era. The theoretical framework analyses academic mobility at the intersection of Alfred Schutz's idea of ‘phantasy at a future time’ (1962) and Edward Said’s concept of Imaginative Geographies (1978). ’ For a nuanced understanding of the discourses of internationalisation in India, the chapter mainly undertakes the works of Simon Marginson, Philip Altbach, NV Varghese, Ying wang, and Hugo Bowles. 

The paper has adopted a qualitative methodology that includes primary data from 30 Indian students studying in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and other European countries. The data is collected through a Google Form questionnaire that was put on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. The study draws on data collected through non-probability sampling and snowball sampling. A thematic approach and Narrative Analysis has been employed by the paper to analyse the data for the identification of patterns and codes. After engaging in the literature review from the thinkers and theories, the paper further includes secondary data from Indian government reports, UIS data from UNESCO, surveys and other articles elaborating on the experiences of Indian students in European universities

As a result of the narrative analysis, the findings suggest that Indian students in Western and Northern Europe face fewer adjustment issues than those living in Eastern and Central Europe. The alienation starts from the inability to understand the local language, resulting in their exclusion from various academic and non-academic activities. The networking styles of these students in India with their seniors and professors, their medium of schooling, and their parents’ occupation suggest a deep connection of their exposure to their cultural and social capital.

Altbach, Philip & Knight, Jane. (2007). The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities. Journal of Studies in International Education. 11. 290-305. 10.1177/1028315307303542. Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. Trans. R. Nice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Bowles, H., & Murphy, A. C. (2020). English-medium instruction and the internationalization of universities. In Springer eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47860-5 Marginson, S. (2007). The public/private divide in higher education: A global revision. Higher education, 53, 307-333.