Zista EdVentures

As student mobility patterns evolve, institutions are increasingly looking beyond traditional recruitment destinations to diversify international enrolments and access new growth markets.

The inaugural edition of Emerging Study Destinations, part of the Zista Virtual Corridor Series 2026, offers universities an opportunity to engage with STEM-focused undergraduate and postgraduate students from India and Sri Lanka who are actively exploring international study options beyond the traditional destinations.

This virtual recruitment event is designed for institutions seeking to:
✓ Strengthen visibility across South Asia
✓ Diversify international student enrolments
✓ Engage with highly motivated STEM-focused students
✓ Build awareness in emerging study destination markets

📅 10 September 2026
🌐 Virtual Recruitment Event

In an increasingly competitive recruitment landscape, sustainable market growth requires more than visibility. It requires meaningful engagement with the right students, at the right stage of their decision-making journey.

India is not one student market. It is many.
Student decisions are shaped by a mix of affordability, career aspirations, programme preferences, parental influence, and destination perceptions. The challenge? These factors vary significantly across regions, cities, and student segments.
For institutions recruiting in India, a one-size-fits-all approach is becoming increasingly ineffective.

Successful recruitment requires:
✔ Understanding regional nuances
✔ Localized engagement strategies
✔ Targeted communication
✔ Strong school & counsellor networks
✔ Continuous market intelligence

The future of recruitment in India belongs to institutions that understand student behaviour, not just geography.

How is your institution adapting its strategy to India's diverse student markets?

Many recruitment teams track enquiries, applications, and enrolments.

But some of the most valuable insights often sit between those stages.

Student intent, engagement patterns, decision timelines, and conversion touchpoints can reveal far more about recruitment performance than volume metrics alone.

As student recruitment becomes increasingly complex, institutions are placing greater emphasis on understanding why students move through the funnel and not just how many do.

What's the #1 metric in your recruitment strategy?

For 15 editions, the expo has connected aspiring artists, designers, architects, filmmakers, animators, and creative innovators with leading institutions from around the world.

We're delighted to welcome institutions including , , , , .university.de , , , , , , , , and .

📍 Pune | Mumbai | Delhi | Bengaluru
📅 21–25 August 2026

As we celebrate this milestone edition, we look forward to creating new opportunities, meaningful conversations, and valuable connections between students and institutions across India's creative education ecosystem.
If your institution would like to be part of the 15th edition, we'd be delighted to connect.

The Art, Design & Creative Technology education landscape in India has witnessed phenomenal growth over the last four years. As India’s first dedicated engagement platform focused on this segment, the Global Art & Design Education Expo has played a meaningful role in creating greater awareness, exposure, and conversations around creative education and emerging career pathways.

We are pleased to release the latest edition of our Global Art, Design & Creative Technology Market Analysis & Opportunity Report.

Developed through insights gathered over three years of engagement across our Global Art & Design Education Expos and School Tours, the report provides strategic perspectives on:

• Evolving student aspirations and creative career pathways
• Study destination preferences and international mobility trends
• Programme discovery and student decision-making behaviours
• Emerging opportunities across India and key growth markets
• Strategic recommendations for recruitment, outreach, engagement, and market development

The report has been designed as a strategic resource for institutions, industry stakeholders, education leaders, policy professionals, and organizations seeking deeper insight into one of the fastest-evolving segments within global education.

We are pleased to share these insights with the wider education and creative industries community and contribute to broader conversations around the future of creative education, talent mobility, and global student engagement.

To request a copy of the report, visit: https://www.zistaedventures.com/market-insights-art-design-india/

A week of conversations, connections, and catching up with partners from across the world.

Last week, our CEO, Mitali Rawool, attended NAFSA 2026, connecting with university leaders, institutional partners, and international education professionals from across the globe.

One of the strongest takeaways from the week was the resilience and optimism that continue to define the international education community. Across conversations, there was a shared recognition that while the landscape may evolve and challenges may arise, strong partnerships remain central to progress.

We're grateful for the conversations, insights, and new connections made throughout the week. Here's to strengthening existing partnerships, building new ones, and advancing international education through meaningful collaboration.

May this festival of faith, gratitude, and togetherness bring peace, prosperity, and happiness to you and your loved ones. May your hearts be filled with kindness and your journeys ahead be filled with growth and success.

Wishing you a joyful and blessed Eid Al Adha.

Student engagement no longer begins when applications open.

By the time institutions launch intake campaigns, many students have already spent months discovering universities, researching destinations, exploring career pathways, and forming perceptions online.

Today’s students are building perceptions long before they are ready to apply.

They are:
• Exploring student stories and digital experiences
• Researching university culture and outcomes
• Following institutions across social platforms
• Looking for authenticity, relatability, and emotional connection

This shift is reshaping how institutions approach student engagement.

At Zista Digital, we believe students remember institutions that make them feel seen, informed, and connected throughout their journey.

Because by the time applications open, many perceptions have already been formed.

How is your institution engaging students before applications begin?

We’re pleased to welcome Dhuri as Associate Director, Events & Strategic Engagement at Zista EdVentures.

A seasoned professional in international education and strategic engagement, Kris brings over two decades of diverse industry experience and a deep passion for student development and global academic mobility.

Over the last ten years, he has worked extensively across South Asia, mentoring and guiding students from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh as they navigate higher education opportunities and future career pathways.

Prior to joining Zista EdVentures, Kris has represented globally renowned hospitality education institutions including Les Roches Global Hospitality Education, Glion Institute of Higher Education, and École Ducasse across campuses in Switzerland, Spain, the UK, France, and the UAE.

At Zista, Kris will lead the Zista Events vertical, driving impactful student engagement initiatives and strategic partnerships through our curated expos, school tours, counsellor engagement initiatives, and bespoke events across the region.

As Zista continues to strengthen its specialized engagement ecosystem across Hospitality, Design, STEM, Business, and emerging interdisciplinary sectors, we are excited to have Kris join the team and look forward to the experience, insight, and leadership he brings to this next phase of growth.

.miranda *taaaaa_91 .shah09