Six months before even receiving his admission offer from Lancaster University Management School, Sanjay Goel began ensuring his daughter Dhwani, now nine, and son Armaan, five, would be mentally prepared for him being away from home for the best part of a year.

In September, Mr Goel, a 39-year-old engineer from Delhi, joined a cohort of 77 on the UK school’s one-year MBA programme. He is looking forward to returning home for two weeks in December, to see his wife Pixie and their children, but says he is “very comfortable” with his decision to travel so far to achieve his ambitions.