A renewed strategy presents a significant opportunity for the UK to enhance and protect its reputation as a leading education destination, but threats remain that must be addressed. Sector leaders gathered at the QS Reimagine Education Summit in London to address the challenges in UK higher education and propose policy and rhetoric reforms.
“We’re in an extremely interesting but difficult policy environment for international education,” said Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International.
An increasing shift away from the ‘big four‘, and increased regional mobility is “not surprising” when you look at the policy context, he said, noting governments that are veering widely on welcoming international students and maintaining a closed-door approach.
But Arrowsmith sees an opportunity for the UK. “We have a government that is naturally inclined to support universities and welcome international students,” he said.
In her first days in the role Bridget Phillipson, secretary of state for education, issued a welcome message to international students studying in the UK and those considering the UK as a study destination.
Many have noted this change in rhetoric, but not a change in policy, with Labour showing no signs of reversing the Conservatives’ decision to ban almost all student dependants from coming to the UK.
But there is a political reality to face. Public finances in the UK remain a concern, with migration and immigration continuing to dominate public policy discussions. This leaves the government with little room to manoeuvre, explained Arrowsmith.
In September 2024, UUK set out its ‘Blueprint for change’, in which it outlined the need for a more coordinated and strategic approach to international higher education and research.
“We’ve had separate strategies for education, for research, for our role in international development that rarely talked to each other and rarely talked about universities as institutions,” noted Arrowsmith.
Another recommendation of the report focuses on sustainable, well-managed growth in international recruitment. “The feast or famine approach is not helpful to anyone,” he noted.
“The government and sector have reciprocal roles and complementary roles and responsibilities. From government, we need policy stability, we need a welcoming environment and we need investment. Our responsibility as a sector has to be to ensure that we take compliance issues really seriously.”
Our responsibility as a sector has to be to ensure that we take compliance issues really seriously
Jamie Arrowsmith, UUKi
While some are grateful for a period of relative stability, others are looking for more progressive measures to improve the UK sector.
“I don’t want stability, I want instability,” said Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, noting progressive and positive shake-ups that could be brought in such as an EU youth mobility scheme inclusive of the UK or improved post-study work rights.
For Hillman, it’s crucial for the sector to reach a consensus on its priorities and how they can support the government in driving economic growth – whether that means reversing the dependant rule, reducing visa fees, or refining postgraduate work opportunities. The sector must be ready with clear answers when the government eventually seeks its input.
After a period of uncertainty for the UK’s Graduate Route, which underwent a review by the Migration Advisory Committee under the previous Conservative government, its future remains secure for now.
For Amy Baker, CEO of The PIE, the focus has shifted to ensuring the Graduate Route truly benefits international students.
The sector must strengthen collaboration with employers to highlight the benefits of hiring international students, said Baker, calling for “more cohesive action” to ensure that international graduates secure meaningful employment.
The sentiment was backed by panellist Diana Beech, CEO of London Higher, who said that London Higher’s own research surveying London Business Group members showed an unwillingness among some to hire international students due to them finding the Graduate Route “too complex”.
“I do think an educational piece is needed at a business group level,” said Beech, who suggested that regional mayors have a part to play in this.
Beyond this, Baker is hearing from agents of a need for clearer communication about what happens after the Graduate Route, in relation to the Skilled Worker visa.
For new entrants – which includes those switching from the Graduate Route visa – the salary threshold is set at £30,960 per year, which is 20% lower than the general threshold, something Baker believes UK stakeholders should be making graduates aware of.
“I don’t think we are articulating enough that you can use that new entrant route to access Skilled Worker visa and access to our labour market,” she said at the London event.
Despite this, the recently increased salary threshold sparked concerns from employers. The MAC review’s report into the Graduate Route itself said: “We expect the share of people moving from the Graduate Route to long-term work visas in the UK to decline due to significant increases in salary thresholds on the Skilled Worker route.”
MAC pointed out that of the Graduate visa holders who started the route between July 2021 to December 2021 and switched into the Skilled Worker route, approximately 40% would not have met the new salary thresholds. The logic follows that if progressing students fail to find well-paid graduate roles, then the appeal of a post-study work visa will decline.
Elsewhere, panellists reinforced the notion that India and Africa will be huge areas of opportunity for the UK going forward, in terms of recruitment, delivery and partnerships, due to their young populations.
Today, India is home to 120 million 10-14-year-olds, according to recent HolonIQ data. Meanwhile, at the recent Going Global conference held in Nigeria, conversations focused on Africa’s enormous proportion of young people, with around 70% of people living in the continent estimated to be aged under 30.
During the conference discussion, Beech highlighted the importance of sustainability and climate action, emphasising how the UK sector should integrate these priorities into the international education landscape.
“We know speaking to young people, the children of today will be the students of tomorrow, that they are really concerned about the environmental impact. They expect campuses when they’re visiting to be built with sustainable materials, they must have sustainable practices to go with it,” said Beech.
“How can we make international education enterprise more sustainable?” she posed, suggesting further exploring of formats such as placement years in-country and increasing ways to embrace the hybrid model.
“Experimentation is key. I’m not saying there is a right or a wrong way, but how can we be working in the best interest of our planet?”
