Anuj Bidve was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead in Greater Manchester.
The Greater Manchester Police said the victim was studying at Lancaster University. His parents in India have been informed of the incident.
"This appears to be an unprovoked attack and we can't establish a motive at this time. We are investigating every possible aspect and we are in the early stages of the investigation but we are not ruling anything out," Chief Superintendent Kevin Mulligan, divisional commander for Salford, was quoted as saying in reports.