Tag: TNE

  • a different vision of TNE

    a different vision of TNE

    Across the UK, universities are scrambling to expand their transnational education (TNE) footprints. In the wake of declining international student enrolments at home and a domestic funding model under acute strain, offshore delivery has re-emerged as a strategic hedge.

    New projects are announced almost weekly, typically centred on business, computing, and other classroom-based disciplines with low capital requirements and modest regulatory complexity. Much of this expansion is pragmatic, responsive, and seen as necessary by its proponents.

    But the speed and shape of this growth obscures an uncomfortable truth: the UK has mainly defaulted to a narrow model of TNE, one optimised for rapid expansion rather than academic depth, high stakes provision or long-term national capacity building. As a result, the sector’s diversification strategies increasingly look alike – thinly spread, opportunistic, and largely confined to low-risk subject areas.

    A recent visit to Bahrain has reminded me that international higher education can look very different. Just over an hour’s flight from London, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has developed a form of TNE that stands in almost complete contrast to the dominant UK: high investment, clinically intensive, deeply embedded in national systems, and aligned to strategic workforce needs.

    RCSI Bahrain opened in 2004 and is now a fully-fledged medical university with purpose-built clinical and educational facilities, deep partnerships across Bahrain’s health system, and a student and graduate community that plays a meaningful role in the country’s healthcare workforce. This is not a flying-faculty project, not a joint diploma model, and not an exercise in offshore classroom leasing. It is an institution.

    A global footprint with real depth

    What struck me is how long RCSI has been doing this, and how quietly. While most UK universities are only now building or acquiring capacity for offshore growth, RCSI has been operating overseas for nearly three decades. Its Malaysia campus, originally Penang Medical College, dates back to 1996. Postgraduate leadership and healthcare management education has been delivered in Dubai since 2005.

    More recently, new activity has emerged in Saudi Arabia. These ventures are not opportunistic or defensive responses to market turbulence; they form part of a long-term strategy grounded in health-system needs and in a clear institutional mission.

    Importantly, all of this activity sits within the high-stakes world of medical and clinical education, probably the most heavily regulated and risk-sensitive domain in the entire global HE landscape. Where many institutions are pursuing TNE in the subjects that are cheapest to deliver and fastest to scale, RCSI operates in the areas that are most demanding to deliver offshore. That difference matters.

    An unexpectedly diverse and high-calibre student body

    But the real revelation in Bahrain was the students. The academic calibre is extremely high, and the student body is more diverse than I had assumed. The majority come from Bahrain and the wider Gulf region, with many drawn by the RCSI brand, its teaching hospitals, and its international pathways. What surprised me is that almost 10% of the cohort is North American.

    For students from the United States and Canada, choosing to study medicine in Bahrain is a bold step. Yet the rationale is compelling: a prestigious medical qualification that is portable, internationally recognised, and delivered to global standards but without the enormous financial and time of the traditional US route into medicine.

    The real revelation in Bahrain was the students. The academic calibre is extremely high, and the student body is more diverse than I had assumed

    In North America, students must complete a four-year bachelor’s degree before being eligible to enter medical school. This adds both significant direct cost and four additional years of living expenses and lost earning potential. Only then do they begin a four-year MD program, with total medical-school tuition routinely exceeding US $300,000 – and that’s before accommodation, insurance or clinical fees.

    RCSI Bahrain, by contrast, follows the Irish and British model of direct entry from high school, enabling students to start medical training immediately and progress through a continuous five- or six-year program. This eliminates the cost of a prior undergraduate degree and reduces opportunity cost by allowing students to enter clinical practice years earlier.

    The result is a stark difference in the total cost of becoming a doctor. RCSI Bahrain offers a rigorous medical program with strong clinical exposure, international accreditation pathways and a clear route back into North American licensing systems at a significantly lower overall cost. For many families, it represents a rational and high-value alternative to the US model, not a compromise.

    The TNE contrast: scale vs substance

    Set against this, the current UK TNE boom looks very different. Offshore campuses and partnerships are proliferating rapidly, but they overwhelmingly target business and management programs – disciplines with low regulatory barriers, minimal specialised infrastructure needs, and high domestic and international demand.

    There is nothing inherently wrong with this; diversification is essential, and partnering overseas can strengthen institutional resilience and relevance. But it does highlight a structural truth: most TNE models are designed for scale, not depth. They minimise risk by limiting investment, and they expand access by lowering the cost base.

    By contrast, RCSI Bahrain shows what international engagement can look like when it is mission-driven, academically demanding, and built over decades. It demonstrates that global footprints do not need to be thin, transactional, or opportunistic. They can be embedded, trusted, and strategically aligned with national health-workforce needs.

    A reminder for the sector

    RCSI Bahrain is not a model that every university can or should replicate. Offshore medical education requires capital, regulatory alignment, institutional patience and mission clarity. But it is a powerful counterexample at a moment when the UK is thinking urgently, and sometimes narrowly, about what TNE is for.

    The sector conversation about TNE often focuses on volume, compliance, and partnership mechanics

    If our offshore activity is driven primarily by income diversification and speed to market, we risk building global footprints that are wide but shallow. The sector conversation about TNE often focuses on volume, compliance, and partnership mechanics. What is missing is a discussion about purpose, discipline mix, national contribution, and the kinds of international engagement that strengthen institutional identity rather than dilute it.

    RCSI Bahrain shows that TNE can be academically demanding, strategically aligned and socially impactful. It demonstrates that an overseas campus can contribute to national capacity building, not just institutional revenue; that clinical programs can be delivered to global standards offshore; and that international students, including those from North America, will travel for quality and value.

    As the UK sector rethinks its international strategies, we would do well to look beyond the models that are easiest to scale, and towards those, like RCSI’s, that are deepest, most durable, and most aligned to mission.

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  • Podcast: Student protest, TNE, Tory conference

    Podcast: Student protest, TNE, Tory conference

    This week on the podcast as pro-Palestinian student protests mark the anniversary of October 7, an intervention from Keir Starmer sparks a national debate on campus safety, antisemitism, and free speech.

    Plus the Prime Minister is leading a trade delegation to India alongside sector leaders, we explore the growing opportunities in transnational education and ask whether UK universities are ready for a TNE surge – and at Conservative Party Conference, Kemi Badenoch announces plans to slash student numbers and redirect funding.

    With Jess Lister, Director (Education) at Public First, Liz Hutchinson, Chief Executive at London Higher, James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and hosted by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.

    OfS rebalances the free speech/harassment see-saw on antisemitism

    Conservatives have a poor quality higher education policy

    A TNE policy primer for anyone seeking new funding streams

    You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, Deezer, RadioPublic, Podchaser, Castbox, Player FM, Stitcher, TuneIn, Luminary or via your favourite app with the RSS feed.

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  • A TNE policy primer for anyone seeking new funding streams

    A TNE policy primer for anyone seeking new funding streams

    Keir Starmer’s trade mission to India this week sees the Prime Minister accompanied by 14 vice chancellors and other university representatives.

    They have joined the delegation, according to Number 10,

    in recognition of the explosion in demand for higher education in India – with 70 million places needed by 2035, which has created a huge opportunity for UK universities seeking new funding streams.

    The last couple of years have seen a loosening of restrictions on overseas campuses in India and a corresponding piling in from universities in the UK, US, Australia and elsewhere, in particular within the new Edu City development in Navi Mumbai. On the UK side, Southampton, Surrey, York, Aberdeen, Bristol and Liverpool have either opened a new campus or received the go-ahead from India’s University Grants Commission to move forward with plans for one, whether in the new education hub area or elsewhere.

    The government seems keen to trumpet UK higher education’s growing overseas presence as an economic win for the country and the institutions involved. It has also shrewdly observed that some UK universities are indeed “seeking new funding streams.” The future looks bright for TNE then – right?

    Overdue refreshments

    There’s a school of thought which says the government’s long-delayed international education strategy refresh will lean into transnational education, although exactly what this would entail is unclear – probably more trade delegations and better intertwining of the sector’s efforts with wider diplomatic work, rather than anything as flashy as a student number target.

    Jacqui Smith suggested this would be the case in remarks to the House of Lords back in December – admittedly this was when the updated strategy was due to arrive in “early spring”:

    If we look, for example, at the value of transnational education, where UK universities have sites in or relationships with other countries, we see a growing sector, and these are all areas that we will want to look at in the international education strategy.

    This way of thinking is perhaps stimulated by the unlikelihood of Labour’s vision for the strategy being particularly bullish in any other area. A new international student number target is surely off the cards, and while there may be aspirations around overall education export totals, such a large slice of this comes from international students’ fees and living expenses that it’s tricky to be realistic about increases if numbers don’t return to growth.

    About the only thing we do know at this point about the new strategy is that it will be co-led by the Foreign Office as well as DfE and the Department for Business and Trade (the Home Office still doesn’t seem to be closely involved with the strategy – history suggests that it will suddenly have thoughts at a later date).

    And while the UK trade strategy, launched just before the summer, made only passing reference to education, more recently the business department has continued funding for the QAA to address “regulatory barriers to the growth of UK higher education in priority nations.”

    Doing things leanly

    The future regulatory environment has begun to look more promising too, with new Office for Students chair Edward Peck telling the education committee back in March that increased scrutiny of TNE would not be a priority:

    I think there may be ways of doing things more leanly, which is why I want to explore the legal framework, as I noted. There may be some things that at the moment just are not a priority. The one that has been raised with me by the sector is the interest in more regulatory activity around transnational education. I would want to explore with the OfS why that was thought to be a priority at this moment, given everything else that is going on.

    The regulator’s draft free speech guidance had left the territorial extent of the new requirements somewhat vague, leading to some pointed consultation responses from sector representatives as to why they should very much not apply elsewhere in the world. But the finalised guidance in June 2025 put it bluntly:

    HERA does not require providers or constituent institutions to take steps to secure freedom of speech in respect of their activities outside England.

    Plus earlier this year OfS (and Medr) announced that providers would not be required to submit individualised TNE learner data to the HESA student record “until further notice”, backtracking on earlier plans intended to provide a better understanding of the quality and standards of TNE provision and thus assist the regulator to “more effectively protect the interests of these students.” The regulatory outlook for TNE looks light-touch for the foreseeable future.

    The Industry and Regulators Committee inquiry into OfS was told that the regulator’s falling-out with the QAA was putting at risk future transnational education partnerships involving English providers. But the recent glut of new campuses and programmes seems to bely these fears.

    Sovereign glut

    To pick out a few recent examples, the last year or so has seen new overseas campuses (opening or announced) involving Exeter in Egypt, Lancaster in Indonesia, Keele and York in Greece, and all the ones in India mentioned above. There is plenty more action besides – and plenty of TNE which doesn’t follow the more eye-catching branch campus model.

    Around 20 per cent of UG and PGT students registered for a higher education award are now based overseas in one form or another of TNE. We’re rapidly approaching the inflection point where there are more TNE students in UK higher education than there are international students travelling over here (in fact we may have already passed this important moment, we just don’t have timely enough data to tell us).

    Despite the occasional fears that there are reputational skeletons lurking in the overseas activities of UK universities, the media spotlight is rarely turned their way. We get the occasional scare story when the Telegraph is told the student numbers involved, or occasional deeper digging when an overseas partner becomes too involved in geopolitics – but these are relatively few and far between, as opposed to the incessant drumbeat of negative coverage for many other higher education issues.

    At the risk of breaking the unwritten Wonkhe rule of not writing up imagined HE futures for the second time in a week, you can see a world 20 years hence in which transnational higher education has gone from strength to strength, with UK universities having continued to grow their overseas offer, and the proportion of higher education students whose awards come from institutions outside their country of study ticking ever upwards.

    The UK can benefit from its huge pool of expertise in getting programmes off the ground – and plenty of experience in what can go wrong, if it’s able to learn from it. If the government leans in, the regulators stay largely unengaged, and the press generally continues to ignore the detail of what happens elsewhere in the world – it feels plausible.

    Rescue me

    But there are clearly challenges. Jisc’s new survey of staff and student digital experiences in TNE is a rare window into actual teaching and learning environments at a decent scale (more than 5,000 responses from a wide variety of countries and provision types).

    Staff and students alike reported fairly widespread problems logging into university systems, accessing e-books, journals and software, and restrictions to certain apps or websites. One-third of teaching staff said that unreliable wifi negatively affects student learning – a “significant proportion” of TNE students were found to be paying cellular data costs to access learning resources via smartphones. Of the teaching staff surveyed, only 32 per cent said that most or all students had an understanding of acceptable use of generative AI.

    It’s not all directly about tech either. Students highlighted unclear marking criteria, especially for those learning online, and some mentioned a lack of feedback. The report has two examples (both in China) of students being placed in “potential danger” from the government due to political content of their past or present assignments. There’s an example of synchronous content from the UK being packaged up as an asynchronous programme for learners abroad in a way that hardly screams high quality.

    Some of the issues that emerge are simply around the challenges of delivering university study which is ever more designed around access to tech in places which suffer from moderate to high digital poverty. But others – and it’s these you’d be interested in if prognosticating about future trends in TNE – revolve more around the extent to which the world is becoming more or less technologically, and intellectually, open. You wouldn’t want to bet the farm on models of learning which suppose that internet access internationally is going to become more open, or that the same countries’ companies will continue to enjoy the same access to developing markets that they have over the last decade or so.

    The problems aren’t all insurmountable – the Jisc report emphasises the opportunities of transnational licensing agreements and the importance of the sector setting up publisher agreements in a way that doesn’t forget that it has thousands of students in different domiciles.

    If regulators began to take a closer interest in TNE student experience (and other topics such as assessment and feedback, or academic freedom), the report spells out some areas where there would be a greater impetus for action. Though many of these issues have not really been effectively tackled for UK-based students either.

    Travelling long haul

    Practicalities of staff and student experiences aside, there are plenty of sensible reasons why TNE isn’t a policy solution to the UK higher education sector’s wider funding challenges, a claim the government seems to be flirting with in its trade deal boosterism.

    The chance to relitigate the question of how much it costs to deliver higher education, and at what fee, to students studying in their home country is an enticing one, given how the various UK governments have boxed universities in from doing so here. There may be more margin available in some instances – but there are certainly plenty of examples of institutions losing more than they put in, even if they are not public-spirited enough to fess up and enhance everyone else’s understanding of what not to do.

    The long-term stability of programmes is unclear too. The risk of big geopolitical upheaval changing the landscape in one fell swoop is fairly well-trodden ground at this point (even if it still gets ignored in planning) but smaller policy changes – take Malaysia’s recently instituted tax on international students as but one example – can also make the difference between viability and non-viability. Another clear direction of travel in global TNE is competition: countries who have typically been hosts pivoting into setting up their own initiatives. Transnational education might be ubiquitous in global HE in 2050, but this doesn’t translate to UK institutions necessarily enjoying an ever-upward trajectory.

    The other point that gets largely overlooked is what this hypothetical boom in TNE looks like across the sector – it’s surely unrealistic to see all, or even most, universities with mature transnational offers a couple of decades hence, in the same way that other export industries don’t have a plethora of successful UK actors on the world stage. A more compelling prediction would be a relatively modest number of institutions getting TNE “right” for the longer-term, leaving the others to focus on all that stuff the government wants but doesn’t fund: more civic and local focus, the (re)building of links to local economies and businesses, an ever more ambitious role in enabling opportunity in the UK on a shoestring.

    So TNE might well be an enormous part of UK higher education’s future – but you’d have to predict that for many individual universities it will certainly not be, however much the government might want to trumpet its potential role as a new funding stream. This complicates any efforts to use it as a policy plug for a sector taking on water.

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  • Who’s listening to the TNE student experience?

    Who’s listening to the TNE student experience?

    Transnational education (TNE) is an increasingly prominent feature in the UK higher education landscape. The sector now has more than 600,000 TNE students, who study outside the UK for awards made by UK providers. Growth in the number and diversity of TNE students shows no sign of stopping. This has implications for institutional strategy and for the UK’s global reputation. At the same time, it asks us to consider the quality of the TNE student experience.

    The 2024 HEPI report recommends practical ways to increase public understanding of the TNE student experience. These include: wider engagement with the Quality Assurance Agency’s Quality Enhancement of Transnational Education (QE-TNE) scheme; and greater use of external surveys of TNE students. Jisc’s new report focuses on the digital experience of TNE students and staff.

    Things rarely stay still for very long in the TNE world. What has changed in the six months between the two reports, and what can we learn now?

    • In April, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (part of Jisc) published the latest aggregate offshore record. There were 621,065 UK TNE students in 2022-23, an increase of 8 per cent on the previous year. The total number of TNE students has grown every year since the current record was established in 2019-20. This trend looks set to continue, with India attracting particular recent attention. The government’s revised International Education Strategy is expected to have a renewed emphasis on TNE growth.
    • Meanwhile, at home, higher education providers face financial headwinds, combined with a potentially unfavourable policy environment for international students in the UK. Is TNE part of the answer? TNE projects are notoriously complex and have long lead-in times, making the direct impact on a provider’s bottom line hard to gauge. But many providers recognise the long-term strategic value of TNE projects, and are ready to invest even at a time of financial uncertainty for the sector.
    • April also saw a change of mind by two regulators: the Office for Students in England, and Medr in Wales. They jointly paused the development of TNE data sets based on individual student records, a requirement that would have been excessively burdensome on providers. Instead, there will be an expanded aggregate offshore record, such as was already planned in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the absence of more granular data, it is all the more important that we find ways to understand the quality of the TNE student experience.

    One aim of the HEPI report was to give a higher profile to TNE students in the policy agenda. This month’s Jisc report maintains the profile of TNE students by summarising the known digital challenges to global educational delivery from the perspective of 21 UK higher education providers. Digital is central to the success of all TNE students: whether learning in classrooms, dialling in or in asynchronous online modes of study. In every case, technology is woven throughout curriculum delivery and beyond. Jisc found that:

    • In aiming to deliver an equitable learning experience, we cannot assume that connectivity, digital resource access and prior digital experience in host countries is the same as in the UK
    • Intermittent access to the internet is common in many countries, often due to disrupted electricity supply. Technology infrastructure is especially vulnerable during times of extreme weather, natural disaster, civil unrest or war
    • Challenges associated with accessing digital resources and learning materials are common. They can be caused by software or publisher licensing restrictions, export control laws and/or host country restrictions
    • Significant fees can be charged for TNE student access to software or e-publications. This reflects how publishers define a student as ‘belonging’ to an institution
    • There are cultural differences in expectations related to how digital is used to support learning, teaching and assessment
    • Cultural differences also create challenges in understanding and adapting to UK academic norms associated with academic integrity, copyright, plagiarism, effective use of AI and assessment rubric
    • The digital skills and capabilities expected of HE students and staff can differ between countries and cultures

    The report also summarises how Jisc, Universities UK International, British Council and The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education are working together to support the sector to better understand the quality of the TNE student experience, and so support effective and successful global educational delivery.

    This month’s Jisc report is the first of two on the TNE student and staff digital experience. The second report will summarise the views of over 4,800 TNE students and 400 staff, across 50 instances of global delivery. It will be published in October 2025 and launched at the Universities UK International TNE conference.

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  • Coventry given green light to open campus in GIFT City

    Coventry given green light to open campus in GIFT City

    The institution revealed its ambition to open the campus in December, when it launched an Indian hub in New Delhi to support the institute’s admissions, recruitment, and partnerships in the region.

    Approval for the £1 billion expenditure on the campus was announced at the London Stock Exchange on April 9 at the 13th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD).

    GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) is a business district in the Indian state of Gujarat.

    “We are delighted that approval has been given to commence the set-up process for Coventry University GIFT City and know that many students will benefit from the high-quality education we can offer over the years to come,” said John Latham CBE, vice-chancellor of Coventry University and Group.

    Competition among international universities has risen significantly in the region, with more UK universities keen on expanding into GIFT City. In January, The University of Surrey unveiled plans to open a campus in the city, as did Queen’s University Belfast.

    We… know that many students will benefit from the high-quality education we can offer over the years to come
    John Latham, Coventry University

    Coventry’s new India campus is offering postgraduate programs such as international business management and business and finance. The university plans to add further courses in the near future.

    Alison Barrett, director of India at the British Council said: “It emphasises our shared commitment to the internationalisation of education, as highlighted in the National Education Policy 2020. Thousands of students will benefit from the high-quality education that the university can offer in the years to come.”

    The campus building is set open its doors this month.

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  • Greek TNE applications surge under new law

    Greek TNE applications surge under new law

    The applications from 11 British, one French and one Cypriot institution were submitted to the Greek Ministry of Education on March 31, after regulatory reform allowing international universities to establish fully accredited branch campuses in Greece.  

    Greek education minister Sophia Zacharaki welcomed the “historic reform”, which aims to meet the growing demand from Greek students for internationally recognised and accredited university degrees.  

    “[The reform] provides new choices to Greek college students, establishes Greece as an educational destination for thousands of foreign students,” said Zacharaki.

    She added that the reform would provide the opportunity for Greek scientists working abroad to return to Greece, transforming the country into “a hub of knowledge and innovation for the greater region of southeastern Europe”.  

    As well as attracting international students, the legislation aims to meet the “ever-increasing domestic demand” for higher education, halt the emigration of Greek young people and encourage the return of Greek academics and scientists.

    In 2024, more than 40,000 Greeks studied abroad, according to the government.

    And yet, the bill was met with fierce opposition during its parliamentary debate, sparking weeks of protests from domestic students and faculty who argued the legislation would undermine Greek state universities and devalue domestic degrees.  

    It’s advocates, however, maintain that healthy competition will uplift Greece’s higher education system, attract international investment and create new jobs.  

    “The government wants to modernise the Greek higher education landscape and create two systems, one state and one non-state that will interact creatively with each other,” said Study in Greece director, Theodoros Papaioannou, when the bill was passed.  

    Pending government approval, the majority of applicants plan to launch branch campus operations in October 2025, with nine institutions already partnered with Greek private colleges that operate as affiliates of European institutions.  

    For instance, York University’s existing partner, CITY College in Thessaloniki, will transition into the University of York Europe Campus, CITY U.L.E, operating as a non-state, non-for-profit university.

    Among the other UK applicants are the University of East London, the University of Greater Manchester, the University of Derby, London Metropolitan University, the University of West London and the University of Essex.

    [The branch campus] promises to elevate the educational landscape in Greece and offer students even more pathways for success

    Constantine Arcoumanis, Metropolitan College, Greece

    UEL’s institutional partner, Metropolitan College, Greece (MC), welcomed the collaboration, highlighting the benefit of Greek students obtaining accredited degrees from leading European universities.  

    “[The branch campus] promises to elevate the educational landscape in Greece and offer students even more pathways for success,” said MC academic board chairman Constantine Arcoumanis, adding he was “excited” about the proposals.  

    To ensure accessibility for domestic students, UEL said that many of its programs would be delivered in Greek, and that students would have access to UEL’s careers services and soft skills support, as well as study abroad, cultural exchange and learning resources.  

    The University of York’s campus, with locations in Thessaloniki and Athens, plans to establish a “leading hub for computer science studies”, initially offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees across the schools of business studies, sciences, and law and humanities.  

    In a video message, York’s vice-chancellor welcomed the Greek government’s decision and said that his branch campus aimed to “contribute to the advancement of higher education and to establish Greece as an international education hub”.

    Last month, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spotlighted York University’s interest in expanding operations to Greece: “Ranked 146th globally in 2025, York has been recognised for its excellence in research and teaching by official British institutions,” he told Greek media.

    Since Mitsotakis came to power in 2019, Greece has pursued the internationalisation of higher education, with the Prime Minister highlighting the need to combat Greece’s “brain drain”.

    In July 2022, the government changed the constitution to allow universities to offer bachelor programs taught in English.

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  • Adapting TNE to student needs key, say stakeholders

    Adapting TNE to student needs key, say stakeholders

    The PIE News, in partnership with Oxford International Education Group (OIEG) and Studyportals, hosted a briefing where panelists explored university strategies, government collaboration, and financial sustainability for a successful TNE model.

    As international universities compete to establish TNE partnerships in India, the University of Southampton stands out, with its Delhi branch campus set to open in August 2025.

    Kasia Cakala, director of education pathways development at OIEG, which is collaborating with Southampton on the project, noted how education providers must continuously adapt to evolving expectations of the TNE model.

    “Not only do universities have to be mindful of the models they take in this very challenging market, but private providers like us also need to pivot, change, and adapt to support universities in their urgent needs,” stated Cakala at the briefing.

    “With Southampton, the key was defining a proposition that was not only sustainable but also aligned with government priorities and the domestic student ecosystem.”

    Cakala emphasised that as students from countries like India become more savvy, knowing what they need and expecting more from institutions, universities must adopt a “sophisticated market research strategy” to define their proposition, particularly when presenting expansion plans to government bodies.

    Private providers like us need to pivot, change, and adapt to support universities in their urgent needs
    Kasia Cakala, OIEG

    In light of the changing expectations, Carlie Sage, associate director, partnerships, APAC, Studyportals, underscored the importance of understanding student behaviour and market trends in shaping international education strategies.

    “A lot of universities still make decisions without really understanding the environment they’re operating in,” stated Sage. 

     “There’s amazing data out there that can help institutions navigate shifts, understand demand, identify gaps, and see what’s happening in real time.”

    According to Aziz Boussofiane, director, Cormack Consultancy Group, while TNE models need to be financially sustainable, they also need to be beneficial for both the university and the host country in the long run. 

    “For host countries, success (in TNE) means increasing capacity with quality provision – and for universities, it must align with their mission and strategic objectives,” stated Boussofiane, while addressing the audience. 

    “There are different drivers and processes depending on the market, whether it’s India or Nigeria, [and] it’s often about increasing in-country capacity and improving the quality of local providers.”

    While TNE is widely embraced by leading universities in major study destinations, challenges persist in building scalable models due to varying international perceptions of quality and value, which impact recognition, as previously reported by The PIE. 

    According to Daniel Cragg, director of Nous, while TNE is just another challenge for institutions, which are already dealing with academic workforce stress, new pressures from AI, and evolving student needs, the appetite for partnerships has only been rising. 

    “The appetite for collaboration is growing – universities want to share risk, balance success, and be more in-market experts,” said Cragg.

    “In international education, it feels like there’s a black swan event every three to four years. But universities constantly adapt, innovate, and thrive.”

    While universities in the UK and Australia have pushed through major TNE expansions in recent years, institutions in countries like New Zealand, though interested, prioritise strengthening their reputation and research over physical expansion.

    “New Zealand is a small player in TNE, but our partnerships focus on reputation and research rather than bricks-and-mortar expansion overseas,” stated Meredith Smart, international director, Auckland University of Technology. 

    “There’s a strong connection between our ranking strategy and our partnership strategy – reputation matters.”

    As the New Zealand government aims to boost international recruitment from emerging markets while strengthening educational partnerships in countries like India and Vietnam, institutions like AUT see an opportunity, while also learning from the missteps of their peers.

    “We are in a strong growth focus. The government wants us to grow. They’re desperate to win the next election, and I think they feel that international education can boost the economy,” stated Smart. 

    “New Zealanders love international students, but that could change as numbers rise. We must actively demonstrate the value of internationalisation to our economy, industries, and diplomatic relations.”

    This point was further reiterated by Cragg, who highlighted how working with governments in policymaking is essential. 

    “Working with governments to shape future visa policies is essential to ensuring sustainable international student growth,” he said. 

    “The value of international education extends across different areas of government, not just within universities.”

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  • Education providers pivot to TNE in price-sensitive Pakistan

    Education providers pivot to TNE in price-sensitive Pakistan

    Speaking at The PIE Live Europe 2025, Stuart Smith, CEO of pathway provider NCUK, said Pakistan’s position as a growing yet price-sensitive market opens exciting opportunities for students to earn their qualifications before transitioning to a high-quality university in the UK or elsewhere. 

    “Financially, one of the biggest barriers for Pakistani students has been the cost of studying abroad. The pathway model helps address this by offering significant cost savings, allowing students to progress to high-quality universities,” Smith told delegates at the London conference.

    “One of the big advantages of our model is that students can come in on an NCUK qualification, spend one or two years at home making really important cost savings, and academically prepare for studying abroad, all in a comfortable environment.”

    According to Smith, the rise in interest in international qualifications among Pakistani students also means easier visa approvals for them. 

    Visa refusals and delays have forced many Pakistani students to miss their January intake at UK universities, with some even withdrawing their applications, as reported by The PIE News last year. 

    “For students studying in-country pathway programs, we’ve seen fewer visa refusals because they are better prepared for the visa process and qualify better for visa interviews,” Smith added. 

    Last year, Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission revised its TNE policy to provide greater clarity on requirements, operational models, and introduce guidelines for establishing offshore campuses of Pakistani higher education institutions. 

    The update also emphasised quality assurance and regulatory assessments. 

    “Instead of targeting a small number of students at a high price point, a more sustainable approach is to offer programs at a lower price to a larger student base,” stated Smith. 

    “That being said, there is a market for institutions at all price points. The key is to find the right strategy that balances accessibility with quality.”

    The HEC has previously cautioned students and parents in Pakistan about some of the violations made by Pakistani institutions in their TNE programmes. 

    Moreover, the HEC warned recognised domestic HEIs offering foreign qualifications in Pakistan to comply with the government’s TNE policy, stating that any violations would result in non-recognition of the student’s degree.

    According to Vanessa Potter, director of communications and external relations at the University of Essex, while enrolling large numbers of Pakistani students in TNE programmes remains challenging, the university has shifted its focus. It now puts more into collaborating with its Pakistani alumni, supporting research at local universities, and assisting academic staff in the country.

    “One area we’ve significantly expanded is PhD support for academic staff. We offer our partners substantial discounts on PhD programs, as we believe in supporting both the academy and our institutional collaborators,” stated Potter. 

    “Many universities we work with have one or two staff members engaged in these programs, either full-time or part-time under co-supervision arrangements with Pakistani universities.”

    Just last year, the University of Essex partnered with Beaconhouse International College to offer a variety of business, law, and technology courses to students in major Pakistani cities, including Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Lahore.

    Over the years, Pakistan’s investment in research and development has remained notably low, with expenditure dropping from 0.17% of GDP in 2019 to 0.16% in 2021. 

    This limited funding presents challenges for Pakistani universities in securing high global research rankings, keeping the country’s R & D investment well below international standards.

    Such challenges provide an opportunity for research collaboration for institutions like the University of Essex. 

    “There are pockets of excellent research in Pakistan, though they don’t always reflect in global rankings,” stated Potter. 

    “There is funding available – academic exchanges have already been supported, and the British Council in Pakistan has provided funding for specific initiatives. We are also working with them on scholarships in collaboration, while also receiving support from the British High Commission in Pakistan.”

    According to Potter, the university is also working with the HEC to support laboratory staff in universities.

    “It’s a specialised project, and while we are still looking to pay for it, we are committed to enhancing the development of lab staff in science departments in Pakistani universities.” 

    In recent years, Pakistan has emerged as a major TNE market, especially for the UK. 

    According to the revised TNE policy, HEIs with a strong reputation and ranked within the top 700 in the QS or THE world university rankings, or those classified as Fachhochschule, will be eligible to offer their degree programs in Pakistan.

    Some institutions make the mistake of treating local Pakistani-origin agents differently from international aggregators. This is a clear discrimination
    Atif Khan, University of Hertfordshire

    With the launch of its new initiative, ‘Udaan Pakistan,’ aimed at revitalising the country’s economy, Atif Khan, country director at the University of Hertfordshire, believes that Pakistan has a strategic vision for economic growth over the next five to 10 years. 

    This, in turn, could drive a rising demand for international qualifications among students, he said. 

    “Any universities keen to come to Pakistan – this is the time. Demand will not finish, it will grow,” stated Khan. 

    “Currently, Pakistan has 55 recognised TNE programs, with over 15,000 students engaged. Of these, around 12,000 are involved in UK-affiliated programs, meaning nearly 80% of TNE students in Pakistan are already planning to transition to the UK for their postgraduate studies.”

    On the recruitment front, Khan anticipates a rise in study visas from Pakistan to major international study destinations, noting that the UK issued 35,000 student visas by 2024, an increase of 13% from the previous year.

    But he highlighted how some of the practices adopted by UK universities in the country are discriminatory in nature and need to be fixed.

    “When it comes to selecting recruitment agents, universities need a sustained strategy. They must work with the right agents, ensuring strong compliance and regular training sessions. The market is evolving rapidly,” stated Khan. 

    “Some institutions make the mistake of treating local Pakistani-origin agents differently from international aggregators. This is a clear discrimination. If universities continue down this path, they risk attracting lower-quality students.”

    Furthermore, Potter emphasised that while Pakistan’s economic challenges may prevent an exponential rise in student numbers, universities that offer strong career support and employability prospects could continue to attract Pakistani students.

    “I think being able to articulate clearly how you can support students with jobs, and how having a degree from a particular type of university subject might help that career long term, does help students understand the welcoming environment,” she said.

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  • UK-Egypt mission sparks new era of higher education partnerships

    UK-Egypt mission sparks new era of higher education partnerships

    From 16-18 February 2025, a high-level delegation from the UK visited Egyptian universities: Ain Shams University, and European Universities in Egypt (EUE); with a planned visit to New Cairo Technological University, to explore possible collaborations between the two countries.

    “Over the course of three enriching days, the education team in Egypt led a higher education mission that was launched in the New Administrative Capital, under the patronage of the Minister of Higher Education through the Supreme Council of Universities and the Egyptian Bureau for Cultural and Educational Affairs in London in collaboration with the British Council in Egypt, and the support of the British Embassy,” Heba ElZein, director of education at the British Council in Egypt told The PIE.

    The delegation comprised representatives from prestigious UK universities, including Sheffield Hallam University, Loughborough University, the University of Essex, the University of East Anglia, the University of Exeter, and the University of Chester.

    Universities UK International representatives were also in attendance, with Anouf El-Daher, policy officer for Africa and Middle East at UUKi, presenting at the British Embassy in Cairo and British Council Egypt, highlighting the value of international collaboration and the potential for long-term, mutually beneficial, EU-Egypt education relationships.

    “Over three days, we visited higher education institutions across Egypt, gaining valuable insights into the local landscape and exploring opportunities for deeper collaboration. This mission allowed us to engage with key stakeholders, understand the evolving higher education landscape in Egypt, and witness the impact of UK-Egypt partnerships firsthand,” a LinkedIn post from UUKi read.

    Over the course of three enriching days, the education team in Egypt led a higher education mission that was launched in the New Administrative Capital
    Heba ElZein, British Council

    The mission offered numerous networking opportunities, as well as joint meetings for Egyptian universities wishing to cooperate and discuss opportunities with their British counterparts.

    The delegation’s primary focus was to foster academic exchange, establish international university branch campus opportunities, and strengthen research collaborations. One of the most significant outcomes of the visit was the signing of multiple Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between UK and Egyptian universities.

    During that high-profile participation, three MoUs were signed between the University of Essex and Ain Shams University, the University of East Anglia and Ain Shams University, and the University of Sheffield Hallam and the British University in Egypt.

    These agreements are expected to facilitate joint programs, faculty exchanges, and shared research initiatives in the coming years.

    Students in Egypt show a strong interest in TNE as the UK-affiliated programs offer tuition fees from £800 to £13,500, depending on the partnership model. And due to economic and currency challenges, Egyptians are increasingly likely to opt to study in Egypt on a TNE model, as well as inbound students to the country, primarily from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, and Iraq.

    Thus, with a population of around 111 million, and a youthful median age of 24.3, Egypt leads the MENA region in TNE enrolments with 27,865 students in 2022-2023, making it the 5th largest UK TNE host country globally.

    Egypt has emerged as a leading host of UK transnational education students in the MENA region, and the UK remains Egypt’s largest partner in higher education.

    This delegation’s visit is part of a broader initiative to further deepen these ties and provide Egyptian students with greater access to high-quality British education.

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  • I’ll be attending the virtual The PIE Live TNE & Tech event from March 22-26, 2021 #PIELive21

    I’ll be attending the virtual The PIE Live TNE & Tech event from March 22-26, 2021 #PIELive21

    I’m very excited to be attending the upcoming The PIE Live TNE & Tech event March 22-26, 2021.

    I’m a big fan of the work of our colleagues at The PIE News in advancing international education. Information and registration is available at https://thepielive.com/tneandtech/en/page/thepielive. If you are unable to attend The PIE Live you can follow the backchannel on Twitter via #PIELive21.


    Note: I received free registration for this event but I receive no other compensation.

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