Bis research paper number 128 The wider benefits of international higher education in the uk

Figure 2
New non-EU international student enrolments to UK universities according to 
level of study (HESA, 2012). 
There is also considerable variation in demand for subjects and levels according to the 
source country. For example, while the greatest demand from Indian students is for one-
year Master’s degree programmes, particularly in business, finance and IT-related topics, 
US students are concentrated in social sciences and humanities, including at doctoral 
level. Individual country preferences thus also need to be understood and segmented, 
rather than being considered purely at an aggregate level. 
2.5 Government interventions in UK international education 
Growth in international student participation in the UK was further enhanced through the 
1992 Education Act, which abolished the binary line and helped the former polytechnics by 
according them university status. This allowed them to enter the international student 
market with a similar offering to that of the other UK universities. 
Prime Minister Tony Blair was sufficiently taken by the apparent benefits that international 
students might bring to the UK that he agreed to invest in international HE. The 1999 
Prime Minister’s Initiative (PMI) funded projects targeted to lead to an increase in 
enrolments in both the HE and the FE sectors and establishment of the Education UK 
brand, including marketing campaigns in identified priority countries (MORI, 2003). Parallel 
investment programmes were taking place in some other countries including NUFFIC 
Netherlands, AEI Australia, Education New Zealand, Campus France, DAAD Germany 
and Education USA. Many other countries have also begun to grow their activities and 
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The Wider Benefits of International Higher Education in the UK 
provide support for national campaigns – from China and Malaysia to Mauritius and 
Panama. 
The PMI 2 programme in 2006 continued funding and gave impetus to developing new 
forms of international partnership, including supporting the increasing UK interest in 
transnational education (DTZ, 2011). The recent announcement by BIS to lead on 
development and delivery of the Education UK brand
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is to be welcomed, as are the 
various support activities being delivered by the British Council internationally.