Rajika Bhandari

Rajika Bhandari, Ph.D., is a scholar-practitioner in international higher education and the Principal of Rajika Bhandari Advisors, an international education research and strategy firm that partners with nonprofits, multilateral organizations, and higher education institutions around the world. Quoted frequently in the global press, Dr. Bhandari is also a widely published author and speaker on issues of international students and international education; the global competition for talent; skilled immigrants; and educational and cultural diplomacy. She is the author of the award-winning book, America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility, described as a "must read for anyone on a U.S. campus," and the host of the World Wise podcast on education, culture, and migration. An expert on U.S.-India higher education exchanges and partnerships, she is the co-founder of South Asia-IEN, the South Asia International Education Network. She previously spent over a decade at IIE where she led the Institute's research, evaluation and thought leadership portfolio, including the Open Doors project. She has also served on the US National Commission to UNESCO, and as an adjunct professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. In 2024, Dr. Bhandari was appointed to the National Academy for International Education, a mission-driven learned society of distinguished practitioners and thought-leaders actively engaged in shaping international higher education. She currently serves on the boards of ISEP and ECE. A product of international education herself, she was educated at the University of Delhi in India and North Carolina State University in the U.S. Learn more about her work at: www.rajikabhandari.com.