IHEC holds “constructive and collaborative” talks with Universities Minister on the next UK International Education Strategy

The former Chair of the International Higher Education Commission (IHEC), the Rt Hon Chris Skidmore, and Commissioner Dr David Pilsbury have met with the Minister for Universities, the Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP to explore how 4 flagship recommendations from IHEC could support the Labour Government’s forthcoming International Education Strategy (IES 2025) and the wider agendas on immigration, industrial growth and devolution.

Based on the work of IHEC since 2023, issues highlighted by IHEC representatives iin the meeting included:

• From numbers to impact. Moving beyond headline recruitment targets to ensure that we have a quality and value led model that attracts “the right students” and showcases the UK’s soft power strengths.

• Whole government alignment. IHEC has called for closer co-operation between all relevant Government departments and particularly between DfE and the Home Office, underpinned by real time visa and outcomes data, to give the public confidence that international students “come, contribute and leave.”

Chris Skidmore and David Pilsbury presented four flagship initiatives to the Minister based on recommendations detailed in the IHEC Final Report:

1. Regional Higher Education Champions to better link universities with metro mayors and the local socio-economic context; this would more effectively share the benefits of overseas engagement and better align student flows and graduate talent with local growth plans
2. A “New Horizons” Transnational Education (TNE) Academy to build capacity and capability in the development and delivery of successful TNE initiatives, foster sharing of best practice and establish the expertise necessary to expand high quality, robustly costed and properly managed offshore delivery;
3. A Brand Awareness & Portfolio Development initiative emphasising quality, diversification and regional offers; this allows effective management of the portfolio and better links recruitment to the soft-power agenda and the UK as a research superpower
4. A Public Private Data Partnership & e Visa Analytics programme to deliver a quarterly International Student Impact Dashboard. Better more timely data drawn from a wider range of sources will enhance institutional decision making, maintain public confidence and enable evidence based policy

“I am delighted by the Minister’s commitment to a genuinely collaborative approach. Our conversation confirmed that IHEC’s evidence based roadmap—spanning diversification, regional growth, transnational education and world class data to provide transparency and confidence—aligns with the Government’s priorities on sustainable migration, a modern industrial strategy and devolved prosperity. We stand ready to work with Jacqui Smith and colleagues to turn shared ambition into action that benefits students, universities and communities right across the UK.”

Chris Skidmore, Chair of IHEC