Katie Duncan

The UK's NUS has called for more financial security for international students hit by hardship following new research released earlier this month that revealed over two-thirds of institutions did not have a separate fund or procedure for students affected by external crises. The report calls for more coordinated institution-wide responses and for a national hardship fund scheme to be piloted.

The UK Home Office's decision to suspend the licences of 57 private colleges and circumvent international recruitment at three universities has sent shockwaves through the industry. Universities Minister, David Willetts, underlined this is "reputation-reinforcing" action as many impacted colleges are contesting the suspension.

International students entering higher education institutions in Spain no longer need to pass the country’s competitive entrance exam. Instead universities will now be responsible for creating their own admissions exams in a move that should open up Spanish HE to more global students from 2015.

Beijing Foreign Studies University (BSFU), the first university in China to specialise in foreign languages, held an international education forum at the end of last month to mark the opening a new school of International Education specialising in foundation courses to prepare Chinese students to go abroad.

ELS Education Services (ELS) has partnered with SRM University (SRM) in Chennai to launch its first ever language centre in India, which becomes its seventh international pathway programme worldwide. The move marks an interesting new development for ELS, which has declared interest in further developing operations in India.

The University of Birmingham has won the Outstanding International Strategy award out of six shortlisted institutions for its work in Brazil during 2012-2013 and for having "the most innovative internationalisation policy”, at the THE Leadership and Management Awards (THELMAS) in London.

Leading Italian language provider StudioItalia is capitialising on the demand to learn about Italy’s fashion industry by opening its second school in Milan this month offering traditional language classes and culture-specific courses.

The UK’s Universities & Science Minister David Willetts has today announced in a written statement that £8m was paid in maintenance loans to potentially bogus EU students at Alternative Providers (APs) and is threatening legal action against private colleges found to be involved.

The Portuguese government has begun a project to accredit private portuguese langauge schools through Instituto Camões. It will give accredited Portuguese as a foreign language (PLE) permission to use its logo on promotional material, promote them on its website and provide best practices guides for teachers.

Three leading Dublin universities have collaborated with the Emerald Cultural Institute (ECI) to offer pathway programmes that, upon completion, will guarantee students access to complete their undergraduate studies at Dublin City University, the National University of Ireland Maynooth and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.