Last week we kickstarted our Autumn events season with Sir Steve Smith as guest speaker at our quarterly in-person Education Working Group session.
This was an incredible opportunity to hear from Sir Steve, the UK Government’s International Education Champion, on the latest developments of the British Government’s International Education Strategy as well as his thoughts on future direction and focus countries.
The International Education Strategy is a very strong statement of intent, aiming to strengthen the United Kingdom's position as a global education powerhouse while fostering international collaboration and partnerships. This comprehensive strategy, first introduced in March 2019, outlines a roadmap for the UK's engagement in the international education arena.
During the session Sir Steve updated us on the progress of the strategy so far, particularly focusing on increasing international student mobility and strengthening education exports.
One of the cornerstones of the strategy is to increase the number of international students studying in the UK. In the strategy, the Government aspires to attract at least 600,000 international students to British universities, an ambitious goal that in fact has already been achieved.
Education is not just about enhancing knowledge: it's also a significant export for the UK. The strategy acknowledges this by aiming to increase the export of education services and products. By developing and exporting British curriculum, educational technology and consultancy services, the UK can tap into new markets and contribute more to our own economy in Britain. The Government’s target is to achieve £35bn in education exports by 2030, of which £25.6bn was already achieved by the end of 2021, with £19.6bn representing exports in Higher Education only.
During the session, Sir Steve also outlined the Department’s priority countries for education - India, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia - and updated us on the current engagements and future market opportunities, as well as discussions taking place at Government-to-Government level. He highlighted the Department’s interest in expanding the list of priority countries in the coming year, to include more of South Asia and Central and South America.
Looking forward, we were pleased to observe a huge interest from Government level in developing the UK’s international offering in Technical and Vocational Education and Training, EdTech, learning analytics and partnerships.
The Government’s vision extends beyond traditional education to embrace the value of international research and innovation collaborations. It is encouraging UK organisations to collaborate with institutions worldwide on research projects to enable the sharing of knowledge and expertise. Such partnerships not only enhance the quality of research internationally, but also promote the UK’s diplomatic and economic ties with a wide range of countries. This is well recognised by the Government.
As part of the work of our Education Working Group, we will continue to monitor closely the International Education Strategy and engage with key government stakeholders. For more information on joining the Working Group, please reach out to Luisa Edves at le@britishexpertise.org
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