UK Announces Measures To Boost Study For International Students

Prime Minister Johnson announces new measures to help the education sector build back better from the pandemic.

New measures aimed at attracting more overseas students, boosting access to global student exchanges for thousands of people, and supporting international education partnerships have been announced today (6 February) by the Government.

Following the announcement in December of the new £110 million Turing program, a new website has gone live today with funding and eligibility details so that universities, colleges and schools to prepare for bids to open in Spring. The pioneering program will support students from across the UK and from all backgrounds to take advantage of the benefits of studying and working abroad from September 2021.

To help level up opportunities for more people, the program will look to target students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The updated International Education Strategy, led by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for International Trade (DIT), will work alongside the program, focused on supporting the education sector to build back better from the pandemic by boosting global growth opportunities.

This updated strategy reaffirms the Government’s commitment to increase the amount generated from education exports, such as fees and income from overseas students and English language teaching abroad, to £35bn a year, and sustainably recruit at least 600,000 international students to the UK by 2030.

It also outlines plans for a new international teaching qualification (iQTS) so teachers around the globe can train to world-leading domestic standards and support growing international demand for high quality teaching. It also highlights recent changes including streamlining application processes and boosting job prospects for international students.

In these unprecedented times, having a proactive global education agenda is more important than ever so we can build back better from the pandemic. Our world-class education is a vital part of our economy and society, and we want to support universities, schools, colleges and all aspects of the education sector to thrive across the globe. Said Universities Minister, Michelle Donelan

Schools, colleges and universities can now access details on the Turing program including funding rates and eligibility criteria to help them to prepare applications for the new program ahead of the applications window opening in the next few weeks.

The updated Strategy’s measures to boost the UK’s world-renowned education exports include:

• Launching a consultation for a new international teaching qualification, International Qualified Teacher Status (iQTS), to enable teachers around the world to train to domestic standards, supporting the sector to meet growing international demand for its high quality teacher training;
• Promoting UK teaching methods for supporting those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) internationally;
• Setting out priority countries for the International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith, to work with, promoting growth for exports and addressing any barriers in the global market.

UK education providers can take advantage of programs such as UK Export Finance’s General Export Facility, an export guarantee program that can be used by firms to help cover the everyday costs linked to exporting.

Further export support includes enhancing the international student experience from application to employment, connecting international demand for chartered body qualifications to UK education suppliers, and identifying specific Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) export opportunities for UK businesses.

Attracting inward investment will also form part of the sector recovery plans, with the government building on its promotion of the UK Education Technology sector and expanding into new sub-sectors, further stimulating foreign direct investment into all corners of the UK.

The International Education Strategy is supported by the Government’s ‘Education is GREAT’ trade promotion campaign, which represents the UK’s offer of education provision to prospective international students or trade partners in other countries. As part of the campaign, DIT has developed a virtual program to support the global recovery of the education sector’s international activity.

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