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

1. Introduction 
The UK has a long tradition and tremendous reputation for being at the forefront of 
international higher education. The wide range of opportunities to undertake study and 
research in UK universities have always been attractive to international students, and 
many have returned to their home countries as UK alumni to achieve successful careers 
and highly prestigious positions, for example as Presidents, leaders of business and 
industry, designers and artists, writers, researchers, Nobel Laureates or social reformers.
Fifty years ago the number of international students in UK universities was relatively 
modest (just over 20,000 full-time students, according to the 1963 Robbins Report), mostly 
either from very wealthy families or scholarship recipients. However, in 2011/12 there were 
435,235 international students studying at UK universities and other higher education 
institutions (HEIs), according to latest data (HESA, 2012). Many will likely progress during 
their careers to become high achievers and some will be just as successful as their 
illustrious UK alumni predecessors. It is a given that higher education should make a 
positive difference to the student’s knowledge, abilities and confidence, and also to the 
wider society in which they live. All international higher education should additionally allow 
the student to grow and develop in terms of intercultural awareness and self-knowledge. 
Given the large absolute numbers now involved, provision of international higher education 
has become a significant economic activity for the higher education (HE) sector and for the 
UK as a whole (Conlon et al., 2011). There are potentially other substantial benefits to the 
UK, not least from the increasing scale and reach of the international networks that now 
comprise UK alumni (Miller, 2013). Understanding these benefits, as well as the benefits 
that the alumni themselves obtain from their UK HE experience, so as to value and nurture 
that potential goodwill, is in the national interest.
Such understanding will inform the HE sector and HE providers’ support both for current 
international students and also for alumni to sustain their interest in the UK. Given that 
‘word of mouth’ is an extremely important influence amongst students and others 
considering future study destinations (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002), how might the goodwill of 
UK alumni be best leveraged also to support future UK provision of international HE? 
This report offers evidence, chiefly based on the perceptions and attitudes of international 
alumni, for the wider benefits that arise from international higher education in the UK – 
benefits for the UK, for the alumni themselves and for the societies in which they now work 
and live. It focuses primarily on benefits beyond the direct financial benefit of fees paid and 
associated income (‘education exports’), and provides new insights through the eyes and 
experiences of alumni.
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The Wider Benefits of International Higher Education in the UK