12/11/2015
Key decision-makers in higher education looked at the opportunities and challenges of recruiting overseas students into UK universities, at an event organised by Cambridge English.
Keynote speaker Dr Tania Lima from UK HE International Unit outlined the opportunities for Latin American students coming to study in the UK. She emphasised the importance for UK universities to play the long game when developing a strategy for recruitment and outlined opportunities associated with Brazil’s Science without Borders programme.
Blandine Bastié (Cambridge English), Tania Lima from UK HE International Unit and Petra Olsson (Cambridge English)
Blandine Bastié from Cambridge English said: ‘Recruiting overseas students with the necessary language skills is never easy, but with the right tools universities can develop a solid strategy. For example, we put years of research into the Cambridge English scale which provides recruiters with a single range for reporting the results of Cambridge English exams. This gives universities a clearer picture of students’ ability and it can really help them recruit students with the right skills. This is one of the reasons why almost all UK universities continue to accept Cambridge English exams.’
There were also updates from the UKVI, UCAS, UK NARIC and the University of Nottingham. Topics discussed included the growing foundation sector, international student satisfaction, Tier 4 visa regulation and the UKVI SELT list.