Dan Thomas

The last two German states charging university tuition fees are to stop, in a move reinforcing Germany's low-cost appeal as a study destination. However, some say the move will make little difference to international student decision making and is anyway unaffordable. Bavaria will make the change this summer and Lower Saxony in spring 2014.

British PM David Cameron signed a number of education agreements with Kazakhstan last week, extending opportunities for UK providers. UK Trade and Investment said that the oil-rich country offered opportunities in vocational education and skills development.

A leaked memo reveals UK PM David Cameron is keen to develop an industrial strategy around education exports, which could include universities actively helping international graduates to find a job; swifter routes to citizenship; more foreign universities in the UK and extending access to the secondary school system to internationals.

The international pathways operator ELS has launched its first centre in Europe through a partnership with SKEMA Business School in France, and says it now plans to expand on the continent. The company now wants to explore further partnerships in France, as well as Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

International students could have to pay £200 a year on top of their visa fees to use Britain’s free healthcare system, under proposals unveiled by the health secretary today. Other levies are planned plus a NHS immigrant tracking system; critics warn they could deter migrant visitors and pose a public health risk.

The British government is to launch its first ever national campaign to increase outbound student mobility, The PIE News can reveal. The Outward Student Mobility Programme, which will be run by Universities UK's International Unit, starts next month and will try to tackle Britain's historically low level of study abroad.

International educators have criticised a decision by the chancellor, George Osborne, to raise the cost of a student visa by up to 10% every year for the next two years, saying it will create more barriers to studying in the UK. They also worry that the rises will not be matched by an improvement in services, despite widespread criticism of processing delays last year.

English language students contributed more than €135 million to the Maltese economy in 2012, in a sign that fears of a slowdown in demand on the island have been overplayed. Most students came from the EU but growth is climbing from Asia and Africa.

I believe the main mistake schools make is not thinking enough about the peculiarities of the Russian market. That’s why it’s better to take advice from the agents who work directly with students and who know them very well.

The UK’s universities minister, David Willetts, has told The PIE News he wants to attract more foreign students to the UK, days after the Home Office revealed it will pilot a cash bond scheme for some high-risk visitor visa holders. The VC of the University of Exeter said that the minister was serious about increasing numbers but his hands were tied by his party.