Skip to main content
Cambridge
  • Products and Services

    Products and Services

    • Products and Services

      Our innovative products and services for learners, authors and customers are based on world-class research and are relevant, exciting and inspiring.

    • Academic Research, Teaching and Learning
    • English Language Learning
    • English Language Assessment
    • International Education
    • Education resources for schools
    • Bibles
    • Educational Research & Network
    • OCR
    • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing
    • Cambridge CEM
    • Partnership for Education
    • Cambridge Dictionary
    • The Cambridge Mathematics Project
    • CogBooks
    • Bookshop
  • About Us

    About Us

    • About Us

      We unlock the potential of millions of people worldwide. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world.

    • What we do
    • Our story
    • People and planet
    • Diversity and inclusion
    • Annual Report
    • News and insights
    • Governance
    • Legal
    • Accessibility
    • Rights and permissions
    • Contact us
    • Media enquiries
  • Careers

    Careers

    • Careers

      No matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, you’ll feel proud to work here.

    • Careers
    • Jobs
    • Benefits
Change Language

Cambridge English Language Assessment

Main navigation

  • Products and Services

    Products and Services

    • Products and Services

      Our innovative products and services for learners, authors and customers are based on world-class research and are relevant, exciting and inspiring.

    • Academic Research, Teaching and Learning
    • English Language Learning
    • English Language Assessment
    • International Education
    • Education resources for schools
    • Bibles
    • Educational Research & Network
    • OCR
    • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing
    • Cambridge CEM
    • Partnership for Education
    • Cambridge Dictionary
    • The Cambridge Mathematics Project
    • CogBooks
    • Bookshop
  • About Us

    About Us

    • About Us

      We unlock the potential of millions of people worldwide. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world.

    • What we do
    • Our story
    • People and planet
    • Diversity and inclusion
    • Annual Report
    • News and insights
    • Governance
    • Legal
    • Accessibility
    • Rights and permissions
    • Contact us
    • Media enquiries
  • Careers

    Careers

    • Careers

      No matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, you’ll feel proud to work here.

    • Careers
    • Jobs
    • Benefits
Change Language
English Language Assessment
  • Home
  • Why choose us?

    Why choose us?

    • Learners

    • Who accepts our exams?
    • Visas and immigration
    • Study abroad
    • Cambridge English journeys
    • Organisations

    • English for higher education institutions
    • Our exams and tests
    • Verify results online
    • Setting your requirements
    • Exam security and quality
    • Employers
    • Research and Consultancy

    • English Research Group
    • English language consultancy
    • Impact monitoring and evaluation
  • Exams and tests

    Exams and tests

    • Cambridge English Qualifications Cambridge English Qualifications
    • Schools
    • For young learners:
    • Pre A1 Starters (YLE Starters)
    • A1 Movers (YLE Movers)
    • A2 Flyers (YLE Flyers)
    • Digital for young learners:
    • Pre A1 Starters Digital
    • A1 Movers Digital

    • A2 Key for Schools (KET)
    • B1 Preliminary for Schools (PET)
    • B2 First for Schools (FCE)
    • C1 Advanced (CAE)
    • C2 Proficiency (CPE)
    • General and Higher Education
    • A2 Key (KET)
    • B1 Preliminary (PET)
    • B2 First (FCE)
    • C1 Advanced (CAE)
    • C2 Proficiency (CPE)
    • Business
    • B1 Business Preliminary (BEC Preliminary)
    • B2 Business Vantage (BEC Vantage)
    • C1 Business Higher (BEC Higher)

    • IELTS IELTS
    • Linguaskill Linguaskill
    • Cambridge English Skills Test Cambridge English Skills Test
    • OET OET
    • MET MET
    • Useful links

    • Test your English
    • Cambridge English Placement Test
    • How to register
    • Find an exam centre
    • What to expect on exam day
    • Study English in the UK
    • See exam results online
    • Cambridge English Scale
    • International language standards explained
    • Information for preparation centres
    • Ways to take your Cambridge English Qualification
  • Learning English

    Learning English

    • Free activities
    • Exam preparation
    • Test your English
    • Parents and children
    • Games and social media
    • More resources
  • Teaching English

    Teaching English

    • Teaching qualifications
    • CELTA
    • DELTA
    • TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test)
    • Professional development
    • Cambridge English Teaching Framework
    • Cambridge English Trainer Framework
    • Become a Cambridge English Assessment Specialist
    • Resources for teachers
    • Webinars for teachers
    • Information for preparation centres
    • Find a teaching qualification centre
  • Blog
  • News
  • Events
  • Help

    Help

    • Lost certificates
    • Enquiries and appeals
    • Special requirements
    • Special considerations
    • Malpractice
    • Complaints
    • Corporate social responsibility
    • IELTS Help
  • Test your English
  • Find an exam centre
  • Who accepts our exams?
English Language Assessment

You are here:

  1. Cambridge English
  2. News
  3. UK university seminar on Brexit – Leading the way in international admissions and recruitment – Europe: Collaborate or compete?

UK university seminar on Brexit – Leading the way in international admissions and recruitment – Europe: Collaborate or compete?

02/11/2018

International students currently contribute £22.6 billion to the UK economy (Higher Education Policy Institute report) and the post-Brexit landscape for universities across the UK is one of uncertainty. This week, key stakeholders from across the UK and Europe came together to present their latest figures on the higher education sector and voice their concerns regarding international student enrolment post-Brexit at the Brexit – Leading the way in international admissions and recruitment – Europe: Collaborate or compete? seminar at the Royal Society of Chemistry in London.

Please see below a summary of the presentations given by industry experts from The European Association for International Education (EAIE), Universities UK International (UUKi), The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), UK NARIC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and University College London (UCL). Representatives from more than 60 universities were in attendance at the event organised by Cambridge Assessment English and UK NARIC.

In his opening address, Hervé Marc, Regional Director for Cambridge Assessment English in Europe and North Africa, welcomed delegates to the event, stating: "The will of students to receive a global education, their eagerness to study abroad...has never been so strong."

Keynote speaker, Michelle Stewart, Vice-President of The European Association for International Education (EAIE), addressed the topic of collaboration, commenting: “For universities, industry and commerce...success will depend on the ability to collaborate as much as possible. Organisations that have the best connections will be more likely to succeed – the key to success is relationships and that will be critical as we move forward.”

Michelle said, across the sector: “The one word we are all using at the moment is “uncertainty”.

“The main concern, at the moment, is what will happen to the students who have been coming to the UK from Europe. Demand from the EU will be determined by the visa and immigration regime and whether students will be classified as international with the same visa, fees and NHS charges.

“On research, exchange and recruitment of students there is a strong case for collaboration versus competition – attracting the best students and staff is competitive and, in the UK, that will require more collaboration internally – between the higher education sector in the UK and government agencies.”

UUKi update on Brexit

Anne-May Janssen, Head of European Engagement Universities UK International (UUKi), provided the latest update on Brexit from the UUKi. Addressing the topic of compete or collaborate, Anne-May said: “The main message we get from our European partners is that they want to continue to collaborate with us.”

Addressing post-exit settlement, Anne-May noted: “We want an immigration system that allows universities to attract the best and the brightest across the world; we want enhanced support for research collaboration and outward student mobility and we want to maintain the regulatory standards that we have with the EU currently.

“In the short-term our sector needs: a withdrawal agreement as quick as possible so that we have some certainty, [to set] student fees for 2020-202, informed immigration policy and information and full association to Horizon Europe and Erasmus .”

UUK Brexit research and HE update 23 October 2018

Repositioning strategic UK university partnerships and alliances post-Brexit - UCL

Ludovic Highman, Senior Research Associate at University College London (UCL), discussed the impact of Brexit on research opportunities and EU student and staff recruitment.

With more than 130,000 EU students in UK universities, EU students represent about 6% of the student population in the UK – and at doctoral level, about 13.3%, Ludovic said.

“China sends the most students to UK universities by far, followed by the US then Germany, France and Cyprus – these are huge ‘sending markets’ that are very important to the fabric and diversity of the student cohorts in the UK.

“The Russell Group universities in London, as well as Scottish universities, educate very significant numbers of EU students. Nearly 20% of Aberdeen University’s student cohort is made up by EU students and [for] Master’s programmes, more than half, sometimes 90%, of the class cohort are from the EU.”

Ludovic pointed to Brexit as a catalyst: "In terms of partnerships, it reminds UK higher education institutions that they need to engage with Europe in the same way they interact with other continents.”

Repositioning strategic UK university partnerships post Brexit  

Brexit and its impact on the recruitment and admission of EU HE applicants in the UK - UCAS

Carys Fisher, Senior Policy Executive, at The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), presented recent data from the UCAS application service. According to Carys, applications from EU students declined by 4.5% in the 2017 admissions cycle, which was the first full application round following the referendum, but that this recovered to a fall of 2% following acceptances.

Carys said: "We must not focus on Brexit in isolation, but in terms of the challenges and opportunities that exist within the sector at the moment.

“[When comparing data from 2001 to 2016] the UK has maintained its position in the market but other significant players have really started to come into that space. China and Russia are both evidencing strong growth, and while the UK is maintaining strength, it hasn’t grown in recent years,” she said.

Brexit and UCAS 

Developments in student interest in the UK and continental Europe – StudyPortals

Carmen Neghina and Rotem Deutsch, from StudyPortals, discussed student perceptions on higher education study destinations of choice as well as an increasing demand for online British degrees.

Carmen highlighted: "The demand for online British degrees is four times higher than existing supply – only 6% of the current programmes in the UK are online programmes but they generate 26% of page views, which means there’s strong student interest for online British degrees.” Interest for studying in other English speaking countries, including Canada and Australia, represented the most competition for UK universities – rather than Europe – with student numbers for both of these countries on the rise.

“When we asked students opting to study abroad which countries they were comparing the UK with [when choosing where to study], 50% said the US, 50% said Canada, and almost 40% said Australia. Student interest in the UK is decreasing, while interest in Canada is increasing.”

Carmen also warned, according to student perception: “The UK is seen as less safe, less affordable and with fewer employment opportunities.”

She ended with a call to action: “It’s time for action on the side of UK universities – Brexit is not what we should be focusing on but, rather, we should focus on the UK’s competitive edge in general.”

Developments in student interest in the UK and Europe  

Introducing the English Medium Instruction (EMI) Quality Mark – identifying quality providers, raising global standards in English Medium Instruction – UK NARIC

Paul Norris, Deputy Managing Director, UK NARIC, provided an overview of the EMI Quality Mark and discussed some of the quality issues that arise with English Medium Instruction provision.

Paul referenced an English medium instruction survey undertaken by Oxford University’s Julie Dearden – in which, out of 55 countries, 83% responded that there were not enough quality EMI teachers in those countries.

“This is really quite important – if the teachers themselves aren’t comfortable teaching in the English language, what kind of output do we get from those programmes? Paul asked delegates.

“If we’re looking at the future trend of EMI, I would suggest that the future lies in higher quality programmes, not necessarily higher quantity – in this context, UK NARIC is working with Oxford EMI to launch a new quality mark which will look at coherent approaches to EMI, quality of teaching and outcomes for students.”

EMI Quality Mark and how it is relevant to UK Universities 

University panel discussion: Collaborate or compete?

In the final session, panellists Frans Snijders, Director of International Office Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam and Rebecca Leech, Senior Admissions Officer, University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), addressed the big question of the day: does Europe want to collaborate or compete?

The panellists discussed their observations on the impact of the Brexit outcome on international students – Rebecca said, initially, the UCLAN recruitment team had expressed concerns: “European students voted with their feet – we saw a decrease in applications...EU students were worried about the fees increasing and visa difficulties...but applications are now growing again.

“Students who have historically come to the UK (from countries such as China and India) aren’t seeing Brexit as a barrier, but those in emerging study abroad nations need more reassurance that they will be welcome. At first European students felt they weren’t welcome, and this went hand in hand with changes with visas, fees...the UK probably didn’t present as a very welcoming destination and that’s what we need to work on now. There is a lot of work to do to raise the [UK’s] profile again as a leading nation in education.”

In their closing remarks, the panellists discussed their optimism for higher education in the UK, beyond March 2019.

“[Brexit] is making us sit up and realise students won’t come flooding through our doors every year – we’ve got to learn about best practice and, as a consortium of universities, we need to work much closer with partners in Europe,” Rebecca said.

Following the panel discussion, Chair Chris Lyons (UK NARIC) concluded with: “Uncertainty emerged as a theme [today]....but clearly the need to continue with collaboration and competition, which exists naturally in tandem, is likely to continue to be the case as we look to the future beyond Brexit.”

Commenting on the conference Hervé Marc said: “We organised this event to provide a forum for discussion of the issues faced by UK universities in attracting international students. The next few years will present serious challenges to international student mobility, but we are convinced that by maintaining an open, collaborative relationship with colleagues across continental Europe and beyond, UK universities can continue to make a major contribution to international education, as well as delivering outstanding educational and personal experiences for students from continental Europe and throughout the world.”


About Cambridge Assessment English: Cambridge Assessment English is an examination board providing tests and globally-recognised qualifications for learners and teachers of English in more than 130 countries. The international not-for-profit organisation is one of three exam boards which form the Cambridge Assessment Group – a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge.


  1. Horizon Europe is a planned 7-year European Union scientific research initiative meant to succeed the current Horizon 2020 program. The European Commission drafted and approved a plan for the Horizon Europe to raise EU science spending levels by 50% to approximately €100 billion over the years 2021-2027 
  2. The Erasmus Programme (EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) is a European Union (EU) student exchange programme established in 198 
  3. The world’s first quality rating scheme for Higher Education providers offering English Medium Instruction (EMI) degree programmes

On this site

  • Home
  • Why Cambridge English?
  • Exams and tests
  • Learning English
  • Teaching English
  • News
  • Events
  • Help
  • About us
  • Who accepts our exams?
  • Agents
  • Consultancy
  • Research
  • Contact us
  • ALTE logo
  • English Profile logo
  • Cambridge University Press & Assessment
  • BSI Logo

View Related Sites

  • Cambridge English main site
  • Cambridge English helpdesk
  • Cambridge English Schools
  • Cambridge English Online
  • Cambridge English for Centres
  • Preparation Centres Online
  • Results Verification Service
  • Occupational English Test
  • ALTE
  • English Profile
  • Cambridge University Press & Assessment
  • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing
  • Michigan Language Assessment
  • Cambridge Assessment Japan Foundation


© Cambridge University Press & Assessment

  • Terms & conditions
  • Data protection
  • Accessibility statement
  • Statement on modern slavery
  • Safeguarding policy
  • Sitemap
Back to top