World News | New expert panel offers better UK visa advice for overseas students

LONDON, 17th February (PTI) A new committee of education sector experts has been formed in the UK to help formulate a new international education strategy that takes into account the many merits of the country’s overseas students, of whom Indians make up the largest nationality.

The International Higher Education Council (IHEC), chaired by former UK Universities Minister and MP Chris Skidmore, follows recent reports that the UK government plans to scale back the post-study work visa route and take other established after the crackdown. Student Immigration Statistics.

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The focus of the new committee, launched this week, will be to highlight the value of overseas students to the UK economy and society, and to make recommendations for a new “International Education Strategy 2.0”, which provides visas to compete with other global higher education destinations.

“As far as India and the UK are concerned, we are at an extremely critical juncture where we need to develop a futuristic partnership that focuses on the strengths and requirements of each country as equal partners,” said Sanam, founder and chairman of the National Alliance Alora said. The Indian Students and Alumni Association (NISAU), UK, has been appointed as one of the committee members of the new group.

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“In the UK, for example, we face serious challenges finding skilled talent in fields ranging from hospitality to healthcare. A strengthened immigration system that matches talent needs can create opportunities for Indian graduates studying in the UK to find meaningful work,” she said .

Arora sits on committee alongside other leading education sector experts, including former Universities Ministers – Lord Jo Johnson and Lord David Willetts – as well as eminent academics such as Professor Shitij Kapur, President and Principal of King’s College London.

NISAU UK has been working for a number of years on postgraduate route visas for international students to stay at the end of their degree and gain work experience, and the organization wants to ensure that the two-way benefits of such schemes are fully recognised.

“From our own research and experience with Indian students, we know that most Indian students want to stay in the UK for a number of years in search of meaningful work experience before eventually returning home. This presents a great opportunity for mutual benefit,” says Arora .

“The short to medium term skills gap in the UK can be filled by providing a streamlined education and employment system for Indians studying here. Upon returning to India, these well-trained graduates will contribute to their home countries by bringing in global best practice.” Significant contribution. We want to drive this innovative skills and education-based partnership in the India-UK corridor,” she added.

The number of Indian students choosing to come to the UK has multiplied since the introduction of the postgraduate route, with nearly 120,000 Indians on study visas when they enrolled in the last academic year.

“International students are vital to the UK’s social and economic success and ensure we remain an outward-looking and globally engaged nation relevant to today’s world,” said Skidmore, chair of the new panel, the first international The man behind the education strategy has set a target to increase the number of international students in the UK.

“With the implementation of a new strategy, there needs to be greater awareness that we must adopt a more nuanced and sustainable approach to international education – one that not only treats students as numbers on a spreadsheet, but provides the best possible outcomes for each individual. way to better outcomes…other countries are leapfrogging the UK with more attractive post-study work visas and we need to realize that international students are part of the solution, not a question of the UK’s future success,” he said.

Indians surpassed Chinese as the largest group of foreign students last year, according to the latest statistics from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), and a new postgraduate visa route to be introduced in July 2021 allows up to two years of post-study and work to India. Most of them are people, and the visas obtained account for 41%.

Some recent reports suggest that Home Secretary Suella Braverman is considering a crackdown on the route that cuts post-study job opportunities.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)