The UK government has reaffirmed its commitment to reach 600,000 international higher education students and UK£35 billion in export value for international education in an updated International Education Strategy, and has outlined priority markets and projects to enhance the student experience.
As part of the revised strategy – published jointly by the Department for Education and the Department for International Trade – the government also announced further details of the new Turing scheme for outbound mobility launching this year.

Commenting on the revised strategy, Universities Minister, Michelle Donelan, said, “In these unprecedented times, having a proactive global education agenda is more important than ever so we can build back better from the pandemic. Our world-class education is a vital part of our economy and society, and we want to support universities, schools, colleges and all aspects of the education sector to thrive across the globe.” pandemic. Our world-class education is a vital part of our economy and society, and we want to support universities, schools, colleges and all aspects of the education sector to thrive across the globe.” education is a vital part of our economy and society, and we want to support universities, schools, colleges and all aspects of the education sector to thrive across the globe.”

The International Education Strategy was first published at the beginning of 2019, and has now been revised to measure progress against original goals and provide an update in light of several legislative changes and Covid-19.

Despite the impact of the pandemic, the government has maintained the strategy goals to host 600,000 overseas students in universities by 2030 and for international education exports to reach UK£35 billion in value.

As recently reported, the UK hosted a record 556,625 international students at universities in 2019/20 – prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, according to the latest Higher Education Statistics Agency report.

Overall education exports (including transnational education) reached a value of UK£23.3 billion in 2018, with £15.97 billion attributed to higher education, UK£1.79 billion to ELT, and UK£1 billion to independent schools. The Department for Education used StudyTravel Magazine’s Global Market Report for estimates of the worldwide ELT business and the UK’s market share within it.

The targets represent annual growth of four per cent in exports and two per cent in international university students, the Departments said.