Diversity is the currency of successful international recruitment plans. There are many other examples of how internal and external politics have impacted international student mobility and will continue to impact the movement of students from one country to another.
In a 31 January 2023 article by Nick Cuthbert, when higher education administrators were polled and asked to select their most pressing issues, 50.8% listed financial performance, followed by geopolitics and macro factors at 44.3%.
We do know that in February 2023, the Chinese Ministry of Education issued a directive stating that they would no longer recognise online degrees from overseas colleges. This impacts not only Chinese students enrolled in colleges and universities abroad, but also those students who have been studying online in China.
Visa restrictions for Ukrainians eased
According to the latest available figures, in 2019, there were more than 80,000 international students studying in Ukraine. This was no accident. Prior to the outbreak of the war, the higher education system in Ukraine was considered among the most affordable.
Since the invasion, the UK, Canada and Ireland have eased visa restrictions on Ukrainians and the EU has launched the Temporary Protection Directive which guarantees access to education and accommodation for refugees.
American and European universities have cancelled exchange programmes with Russian universities and requested their students leave Russia.
When 180 Russian rectors issued statements of support for the invasion of Ukraine, 80 UK universities suspended their memoranda of understanding with Russian universities and the EU broke relations with Russia regarding academic exchange.
India: ‘the next China’?
With decreasing numbers of Chinese students studying abroad, international deans and recruiters are searching for the next China. Many have turned to India.
The Indian government has recently passed higher education laws that support this increased attention. For example, in 2022, the UK and India signed an agreement officially recognising each other’s higher education qualifications. The 2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations is designed to create a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.
Foreign universities are now permitted to set up their international campuses in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, without having to follow Indian regulations.
Spreading the risk
Internal political decisions as well as country re-alignments and geopolitical tensions are impacting higher education decisions and international student mobility. International deans and recruiters, taking the long view, should not look for the next China or India, but should carefully select two or three countries to research and if appropriate, allocate staff and financial resources to selected countries.
Specific and concentrated planning is vital for successful recruitment strategies; fixed five-year strategic plans are not. Neither is ignoring countries’ internal politics. Our world is too interconnected and today’s apparent enrolment opportunities may not be valid tomorrow.
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