Dr. Rahul Choudaha is a global higher education thought leader and expert specializing in mobility trends, decision-making, and the experiences of international students, as well as transnational education and international branch campuses. He has lived and worked in Washington, DC, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area, leading research and thought leadership initiatives at global organizations serving higher education institutions.
Most recently, he served as Professor and Chief Operating Officer of University of Aberdeen, Mumbai, where he is leading the launch of its India campus. Prior to this role, he was Head of Academic and Student Affairs at the Indian School of Business (ISB)—ranked among the global top 30 by the Financial Times—overseeing the delivery, and success of all academic programs.
During his 18 years in the US, he served as Managing Director of Higher Education Research Solutions at Morning Consult, a Washington, DC–based global research and data intelligence firm, leading strategic engagements and thought leadership for universities, nonprofits and commercial organizations in the higher education sector. Before that, he was Director of Industry Insights & Research Communications at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) in the Washington, DC area, the owner of the GMAT exam, where he advanced data-driven perspectives on global graduate management education. Earlier, he held senior roles as Executive Vice President of Global Engagement and Research at Studyportals in the San Francisco Bay Area. Choudaha also worked for over seven years at World Education Services (WES) in New York City, where he led research and strategic engagements and last held the role of Chief Knowledge Officer and Senior Director of Strategic Development.
Dr. Choudaha is extensively networked and widely recognized as a subject-matter expert on higher education. He has presented nearly 200 conference sessions, including keynotes/plenaries, and has been quoted over 300 times in global publications, including BBC, Bloomberg, Inside Higher Ed, NPR, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Financial Times, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Choudaha has served as a visiting scholar at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley, and Steinhardt, New York University. As an adjunct faculty member, Choudaha has taught at George Mason University and the University of Maryland Global Campus.
Dr. Choudaha holds a doctorate from the University of Denver, US, an MBA from IIM Mumbai, and a bachelor’s in engineering from Jabalpur Engineering College.
