UK has been one of the most popular study destinations in the world including the USA, Canada, and Australia. London is one of the most popular cities in the UK for international students
Higher education institutions across London are collaboratively pushing the government for a range of initiatives that they say are needed to increase the city’s attractiveness to international student markets.
In the newly-released International Education Strategy for London, led by London Higher, stakeholders across the UK capital have presented recommendations to “maximize London’s pulling power in the international education market”.
It will, in turn, contribute to the growth of the entire UK economy, the partners behind the document said.
The lead recommendation is to establish a dedicated International Education Champion for London who will work alongside the UK’s International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith, who was appointed in 2020.
“London often acts as a gateway to international students and researchers wanting to engage with British higher education and is home to a diverse range of globally renowned higher education institutions,” Diana Beech, CEO of the representative body for over 40 universities and higher education colleges, said in a statement.
Other recommendations include piloting a new single-pathway student visa that will “incentivize” undergraduate international students to progress more easily to postgraduate qualifications.
It also calls on the UK government to deliver “targeted, regional-specific” information for international postgraduate students to “increase the conversion rate into postgraduate research to support London’s R&D capabilities”.
Large, research-intensive institutions should focus on new markets where students can be “harnessed” to stay on to study through to PhD-level, it reads.
Modern, technical, vocational, and professional institutions should expand international postgraduate research populations with more industry-facing PhDs including work placements, it adds.
Student Exchange Portal recommends that similar work is carried out throughout the globe by various other cities such as Paris, Berlin, Toronto, Sydney, etc. so that more international students can have high-quality study opportunities across the globe.