King’s College London: Welcoming Indian Students For 200 years

In the heart of London, the King’s College has been a centre of academic excellence since 1829. The college that boasts 14 Nobel Prize winners-alumni of the college and institutions associated with it-also has a significant number of Indian students.

In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal (FPJ), Adam Fagan, the vice president of education at King’s College, highlighted the experience of Indian students on its campus, and the collaboration plans of the college and also shared some crucial tips for aspiring students.

FPJ: From which country does King’s College get its largest international student community?

Fagan: We get most of our students from China and then India. Our Indian student community does incredibly well and is very successful. Indian students have been coming to King’s for nearly 200 years. We welcomed our first Indian students when we were in the late 19th century.

FPJ: Can you tell us more about the Indian student community at King’s?

Fagan: They come to us because there’s such a developed, settled community here in London. And being in London as an Indian national is just so easy. There are old difficulties that come up, but the vast majority of students settle in very well.

Many of our students describe the experience as being something like home abroad. That is the best way of describing the situation. They do very well academically. There’s no problem when it comes to language as well. We also tend to recruit brilliant students.

FPJ: What according to you contributed to the steady growth of Indian students at King’s College?

Fagan: We are absolutely at the top of all the tables. Our business school that we established about less than a decade ago, has seen major growth by becoming one of the leading business schools. This has also contributed to the increase in demand.

One more thing to consider is the range of programmes – degree programmes that we offer. We also provide very good combined honours degrees, and I think that appeals, particularly at the postgraduate level.

We have a vice-chancellor who’s Indian. King’s also has a strong Indian alumni network, so most of it is also word of mouth.

FPJ: Which are the most popular courses among Indian students?

Fagan: There is not one course in our university that doesn’t have an Indian student. However, courses like business management, international relations, engineering, natural sciences and law have most of the Indian students. Psychology is also one course that is quickly gaining interest.

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FPJ: Is the King’s planning for collaborations or initiatives to increase the number of Indian students further?

Fagan: We regularly visit India to build partnerships with the top Indian universities, because they’re the ones that send us their graduates. What we will do more is research collaborations. It helps us because it ensures that people in India are aware of the strength of our brand and our research.

FPJ: Has the recent visa restrictions impacted enrollment numbers?

The current visa changes have to do with dependents, and very few of our Indian students bring dependents with them. They tend to be young single people.

I don’t think that the visa changes are a good idea. But I honestly don’t think it affects. It has some affect on our postgraduate performance and PhD students because often they are older. African students are likely to be most affected.

FPJ: Does King’s provide accommodation facilities to all its students?

Fagan: Yes, every single applicant gets accommodation services. You’re guaranteed accommodation if you apply as an undergraduate or postgraduate student in the first year. Students just have to apply by a certain date. Even if an Indian student decides to live in private accommodation, we offer lots of support through our accommodation services to advise on managing and accessing the best quality at the best price.

FPJ: How are the placement opportunities at King’s?

Fagan: We can’t ever ensure a job offer for a student and we’re very clear about that right from the start. However, we do introduce students to business, law, and entertainment sectors. This is because of our location, which is in the heart of London.

We are also going to launch a big initiative in this department, known as King’s Edge which will help a student right from the start. Whether it’s extracurricular courses, or one wants to learn data coding, a language, or want to do an internship, we will provide support in everything.

We see it as a sort of wraparound for students and the degree. Even if a student has got an idea for a start-up, we can also help support that by introducing students to employers or funders. We do all of this, but what we’re trying to do is bring it together and scale it considerably.

FPJ: What suggestions do you have for aspiring students?

Fagan: We are primarily a selecting university, not a recruiting university, which means the grade tariff is very high. The other important thing is your personal statement and enthusiasm. However, what really matters is that your results are high. That being said, students should not give up, because it’s always worth applying.

The second piece of advice is don’t be put off by the UK and London in particular. It is a very good place to study and London in particular has been welcoming Indian students for 200 years.