Attended by international students from around the world, the event, arranged by student events organiser, Student Welcome, greeted the students and welcomed them to the city with special guest performers and addresses from university representatives.

“There’s always been an appreciation for international students”

The event coincided with recently released research from London & Partners, which found that in 2013/14, 106,795 international students studied at higher education institutions in London – an increase of 1.6% on the previous academic year.

Event organiser Tristan Bailey said he created the welcome reception because he thought there was “something missing in the welcome procedure”.

“Universities do a fantastic job at welcoming students at a local university level,” he told The PIE News.

“But there was never really anything official on behalf of the city to acknowledge the international student presence. So, this was set up to do just that.”

The event saw performances by student violinist, Julia Pusker, and finalist from the UK TV show, The Voice, Emmanuel Nwamadi, as well as a prize draw.

Pat Loughrey, warden of Goldsmiths, University of London, also welcomed the attendees, emphasising the importance of studying abroad.

“You are in a global world,” he told the students. “To live in a global world, you need to have a global education.”

“International students in London make up 23% of all international students in the UK,” the report states.

Furthermore, over one in four students enrolled at London’s higher education institutions are from outside the UK. China, the US and India are the three leading international source markets.

“The city’s higher education sector has a strong international focus,” the report adds. “And in many London institutions, international students account for over 30% of the population.”

The report also highlighted that international students in London contributed £2.99bn to the economy in 2013/14 – an 18% increase from the 2009/10 academic year.

“There’s always been an appreciation for international students, it’s impossible for anyone to overlook their importance,” said Bailey.

“But I think there has been an element of taking them for granted a little bit and the waves of negativity that are surrounding the immigration process at the moment, have in some ways begun to open people’s eyes.”