The competition of attracting the largest cohort of international students has been a long-standing annual statistic, where, the US has taken up the top spot for several years, followed by the UK and Canada. However, with political, socio-economic and now public health changes, US top spot can be grabbed by another, or so says the President of UKCISA.
In his words, Lord Karan Bilimoria stated that a global race for international students, where in the UK can overtake the US in certain ways. He added that the UK should not stop at reaching a target of 600,000 international students a decade early.
While speaking to the media, Lord Bilimoria calls for reaching a million international students within the next decade, since the UK was capable of reaching the 600,000 international student numbers 10 years before the deadline.
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Speaking on the two countries, Bilimoria called both of them excellent, with their universities and institutions commonly ranked among the top institutions anywhere in the world consistently. He also highlighted the UKs recent introduction of post-study work opportunities which have been key in attracting prospective overseas students.
Lord Bilimoria also highlighted the growth of Indian students in theUK universities, further stating that the one-million-target will include even more. He also highlighted the transnational opportunities in India, implying that Birmingham could possibly build a campus in the future.
However, several other stakeholders have already come up with options for the UK to meet, since meeting its recruitment goals earlier this year.
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Jo Johnson, former UK Minister of State for Universities, emphasised the importance of sustaining the gains that have been made instead of reaching for further growth. During a Westminster Higher Education Forum policy conference on 8th Feb, stated that the country needs to ensure we have a sustainable base from which to build, before pushing on to set new targets of international student enrolment.
Source: The Pie News
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