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British Universities Want More Students from the Middle East

British universities want more Middle Eastern students as they try to increase international numbers to keep their second in the world ranking as a study destination.

In a 2021 report, Universities United Kingdom International (UUKi) said Britain’s position was vulnerable, as Australia, Canada and Germany, among other countries, were increasing their numbers of international students faster than the U.K. The United States remains by far the world’s most popular destination for international students.

Anton Muscatelli, principal of the University of Glasgow and former chairman of the Russell Group, which represents the United Kingdom’s 24 leading research-intensive universities, predicted three years ago that British students would be outnumbered by international students at several top universities. However, Muscatelli said increasing the number of international students was the only way British universities could respond to the sudden fall of income from leaving the European Union and stopping European students’ freedom of movement.

Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, has warned that British students would feel increasingly uncomfortable at universities dominated by Chinese and Indian students. He added that since immigration rules have been changed to allow overseas students to work after they have finished their degrees, the job prospects of British students would also be affected.

British universities nevertheless gave 605,130 places to international students in 2020/21, an increase of nearly 10 percent from the year before, according to figures from  the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Three-quarters of those students (452,225) were from outside the European Union.

Chinese students were the largest number at 143,820, or 32 percent of all non-E.U. international students, followed by 84,555 Indian students and 21,305 Nigerians. Students from the Arab world numbered only about 30,000, with numbers from Saudi Arabia and Iraq having fallen since 2010.

Efforts to Attract More Saudi Students

Saudi Arabia sends the largest number of students from the Arab world to the United Kingdom, at 8,825, but more than six times as many Saudi students have been going to the United States since 2010.

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute and a former government adviser, believes the United Kingdom’s deep links with the Middle East are something the country should be able to build on.

“The government has been clear, our world leading universities, which thrive on being global institutions, will always be open to international students.”

Steve Smith, a special representative to Saudi Arabia for education

The UUKi has been interviewing Saudi students to discover how the United Kingdom could attract more of them. One interviewee cited the cost of living in Britain as a factor. The stipends that students receive as part of their Saudi government scholarships are paid in riyals, which go further in the United States, the student said. Saudis also had a clearer perception of what life was like in the U.S. because its celebrities and influencers were more visible on social media.

Another Saudi student said that before arriving, the United Kingdom had appeared unwelcoming and he had not realised it was such a diverse society. “I did not know before I went that Islam is widespread in the U.K. There are lots of people from everywhere. It would be helpful to know this before we come. This would make our decision easier.”

Saudi students’ comments prompted the UUKi to recommend a social media campaign highlighting the United Kingdom’s diversity, and Britain’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) has launched a free app called Myriad so international students can explore education opportunities in the U.K.

Steve Smith, a special representative to Saudi Arabia for education, also visited Riyadh last year and spoke to Saudi students who had been to British universities.

Loss of Revenue During the Pandemic

Britain’s Institute of Fiscal Studies calculated in July 2020 that British universities were facing losses of up to £19 billion pounds (then worth about $23.5 billion) because of the drop in overseas students caused by the pandemic. Even so, the number of students from the Middle East has been steadily rising.

British students have their university fees capped at £9,250 per annum, whereas foreign students can be charged from £10,000 to over £38,000 per annum.

The new outreach to Arab students seems to be having an effect. The number of Saudi students in the United Kingdom increased by 29 percent in 2020/21. Sixteen percent more students from the United Arab Emirates were accepted on undergraduate courses, and there were 18 percent more Omanis.

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute and a former government adviser, believes the United Kingdom’s deep links with the Middle East are something the country should be able to build on.

Almost half the international students in the U.K. are full-time graduate students. The most popular courses are business and administration, social studies, studies allied to medicine, and the creative arts.

Universities with Large International Enrolments

According to HESA figures for 2020/21, the latest available, University College London has the highest number of international students from outside the European Union, 17,945. It was followed by the University of Manchester with 14,465 and the University of Edinburgh with 11,855.

One of the top 10 British universities for international students is the University of Sheffield, in Yorkshire. Nearly 800 of Sheffield’s 30,000 students have Arabic as their first language.

Malcolm Butler, the university’s Director of Global Engagement, told Al-Fanar Media that typical courses chosen by Arab students were clinical dentistry for students from Saudi Arabia, civil engineering for Kuwaitis, computer sciences for students from the United Arab Emirates, robotic engineering for Egyptians, chemistry for Libyans, and law for Qataris.

 “We’ve seen increased interest from students in the Middle East and North Africa across a wide range of subjects and study levels. Architecture, engineering, law and science subjects are just a few proving to be popular with students from these countries.”

“I did not know before I went that Islam is widespread in the U.K. There are lots of people from everywhere. It would be helpful to know this before we come. This would make our decision easier.”

A Saudi student’s response in a UUKi survey

“Our award-winning Students’ Union is also home to over 300 different student societies, including the Arab Society and the Persian Society,” he said.

Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at King’s College London, which has Britain’s fourth-highest number of international students, said the rising number of international students from outside Europe at his university was a reflection of the “Brexit effect” on the immigration system.  Britain’s departure from the European Union in 2020

Steven Smith remains optimistic that the number of Middle Eastern students in the United Kingdom will continue to rise. “The coronavirus pandemic has profoundly impacted how education across the world is delivered and experienced,” he told “The National,” a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates.

Many providers moved towards online delivery, and travel restrictions impacted international students’ access to British institutions, he said. “But the government has been clear, our world leading universities, which thrive on being global institutions, will always be open to international students.”

Also see Al-Fanar Media’s online Scholarships database, a resource for helping Arab students and refugees find the best local and international scholarships.

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