SAU: Education, Immigration, and International Student Exchange w/ Rajika Bhandari

Rajika Bhandari has spent over 25 years studying international education programs and student mobility. She’s served as Director of Research and Strategy for The Institute of International Education, received an IIE Centennial Medal while serving on the US National Commission for UNESCO, and has had her work and words featured in The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Guardian, and other major publications. On top of all that, Rajika is an adjunct professor at Teachers College in Columbia University. In this episode, we focus on the link between education and immigration. Rajika discusses the motivation behind students coming to the US, and how it tends to vary between European and Asian international students. She reflects on the relationship between international relations and student flows from various countries, on the massive economic impact of international students, and on brain drain and brain circulation. Lastly, Rajika reflects on her own journey as an international student that came to the United States and what it was like to put that story in her new book, America Calling.