Since 10/2023: Future Fellow at the University of Surrey
Since 04/2021: Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge
Since 09/2020 - 3/2021: Research Fellow, University of Surrey, UK
07/2019 - 08/2020: Research Fellow, University College London, Institute of Education, UK
02/2019 - 06/2019: Research Fellow, University of Surrey, UK
Since 01/2019: Associate at the GIGA Institute for Asian Studies
11/2017 - 12/2018: Visiting Fellow at the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies
02/2016 - 10/2017: Associate Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies
08/2015 - 01/2016: Visiting Fellow, GIGA Institute of Asian Studies
Education: PhD in Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge, UK; MPhil in Social Anthropological Analysis, University of Cambridge, UK; BA in Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Mount Carmel College, Bangalore University, India
This article explores the increasing migration of Indian engineers to Germany for postgraduate studies. Interviews with 42 students reveal that affordable education in Germany offers a viable escape from India's challenging job market, enabling them to pursue professional goals through work experience in German engineering firms.
In recent years, social media has transformed how prospective international students access and imagine study abroad. One particularly striking development is the rise of a new kind of study abroad advisor: international students and graduates who have built large followings on social media through the content they create on studying abroad, drawing on their first-hand experiences.
This paper examines new forms of study-abroad expertise on social media and their role in mediating Indian student mobility to Germany. The paper draws on a digital ethnography of ‘Study in Germany’ Facebook and WhatsApp groups and YouTube channels, as well as interviews with the YouTubers, Student Guides, and Indian students in Germany. Illustrator Katie Chappell created a graphic record on the paper.
The capacities of aspirant student migrants to negotiate the process of going abroad is closely linked to their economic, social, and cultural resources. Based on fieldwork in India and Nepal, we explore the contested role of commercial education consultants in supporting aspirant student migrants to access study abroad.
