May 13, 2022

Brand London to Project itself as the Top Student Destination?

D During a round table conference of 25 of London’s Higher Education Institutions in Westminster, Chris Skidmore’s words set the tone for London to become the world’s best student destination. Addressing the crowd, the former minister used the phrase, “Where London leads; I have no doubt the rest of the country will follow.”

The meeting was organised by London Higher and Oxford International Education Group to chalk out a plan called ‘Brand London’, projecting the city as a top destination for students.

…where London leads; I have no doubt the rest of the country will follow…

The aim of the meeting was to promote brand London to international students. With competitions from New Zealand, the USA, Canada, and other top nations, London has to step up if it wanted to be a top student destination. At the meeting, insight from IDP Connect and Nous Group were presented to attendees. A positive sign was that the UK national target of 600,000 international students attending British universities were met 10 years ahead of its target. Insights have attributed this to neighbouring country border closures and a reinstated policy lever of a post-study work visa in 2021.

However, speakers at the meeting urged members not to take these positive signs lightly. One of the speakers, Mr Skidmore called for a more modern approach to international education. He said, “I believe that we need to not only create a new international education strategy, with new revised and ambitious targets, but in doing so we should also seek to establish regional international education strategies with regional education champions to aid their delivery.” Another speaker, David Pilsbury, chief development officer at Oxford International Education Group, worried that the national parliament was “not listening” to the needs of the hour. He also expressed the need for a “common vision and framework amongst all stakeholders to bring in industry support from the private sector” reflective of a world leading study destination.

While London still remains a top destination for international students, warning signs include poor scores for London universities on the WhatUni platform. A shocking statistic is that no London university featured in the top twenty satisfaction scores pre-pandemic in 2019. With Scotland, Australia, and other first-world countries gaining popularity with students, brand London has a lot to do to improve its brand. However, with the launch of the London international education strategy, universities in London are hopeful that London will become the top destination for students globally.

Posted in News and tagged News, Brand London, London’s Higher Education Institutions, London International Education Strategy
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