Mainland Europe seizes edge in global student race

{"text":[[{"start":6.16,"text":"Continental European universities are winning over international students as tougher immigration restrictions in the UK and US redraw the market for education and divert overseas applicants."}],[{"start":17.44,"text":"Foreign students in the past drawn to universities in “Anglosphere” countries are looking to rival institutions in mainland Europe, as rising hostility to immigrants and a perception that students are reducing the availability of affordable accommodation have led to more restrictive visa rules."}],[{"start":33.74,"text":"The pattern reflects rising disincentives in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, nations that have traditionally dominated in attracting students from around the world, and growth in the provision and appeal of courses offered elsewhere. US President Donald Trump’s policies and broader attacks on elite higher education have also sparked some to look elsewhere."}],[{"start":53.32,"text":"“The UK’s leading universities retain enormous global brand recognition, research strength and academic prestige,” said Pedro Oliveira, dean of Nova School of Business and Economics in Portugal. “[But] I see the emergence of a more competitive European higher-education market.”"}],[{"start":70.84,"text":"Some continental schools also benefit from lifestyle advantages, being located in historical cities, near beaches or other places with perceived high quality of life. Nova is next to one of Portugal’s most popular beaches for surfing, while IE University in the Spanish capital Madrid has one of the tallest academic buildings in the world serving as its campus."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":91.48,"text":"Enrolment of foreign students was down in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK, while up elsewhere in Europe, according to a Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey of 254 institutions from 36 countries conducted this spring. But the UK still has a larger international student population than each of its European neighbours."}],[{"start":110.18,"text":"Separate data from the consultancy Studyportals, one of the largest platforms for students exploring their options, shows a 20 per cent growth in interest over the past 12 months for international students searching for study in Portugal on their website, 18 per cent in Italy and 11 per cent in Spain. That compares with an 8 per cent rise for the UK, which still holds a larger total share."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":132.32,"text":"Max Morley was an undergraduate in Manchester, but when he decided to study for a Master’s degree, he opted for IE in Madrid over alternatives in the UK."}],[{"start":140.48,"text":"“One of the main reasons was a much greater feeling of internationalism,” he said of the diversity of the students at the Spanish university. “It’s a shame British students are nowhere near as connected to the European continent.”"}],[{"start":153.48,"text":"One factor luring students to European countries’ universities is cost. The lower tuition is most significant for those from the US, where elite institutions charge “sticker prices” for degrees of as much as $100,000 a year, discounted (primarily for their own citizens) for those from poorer families."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":172.64,"text":"Many European universities charge non-EU citizens well below UK levels, where tuition is often three or more times as high as for domestic students."}],[{"start":181.96,"text":"When she was considering a Master’s in environmental science, Lily Eva Elisha, ultimately opted for ETH in Zurich at a fraction of the cost of Cambridge in the UK, as well as Duke and Columbia in her native US. “It was an investment that made sense financially,” she said."}],[{"start":198.52,"text":"Last year, 45 per cent of the 27,000 students at the Swiss university came from outside the country, including a small but gradually increasing number of US and UK students at postgraduate level. It charges SFr4,380 (£4,000) per year to non-citizens."}],[{"start":215.7,"text":"Günther Dissertori, the rector, said ETH has always looked abroad to attract high-quality faculty and students and stresses the low charges that reflect its substantial government funding rather than reliance on fee income."}],[{"start":229.54,"text":"He also pointed to its strong position in international university rankings, the growth of innovative applied courses, and the fact that all its postgraduate courses are taught in English. “That removes an incredibly important firewall,” he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":243.12,"text":"Other EU universities have also enhanced their international appeal by embracing English. Studyportals data shows a fivefold increase over the past decade in university courses taught in English in European countries other than the UK and Ireland, rising to 25,000 this year. Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain are the top providers, but with strong growth from a low base in Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia."}],[{"start":267.88,"text":"Brexit throttled the flow to UK universities of EU students, who were suddenly required to pay higher tuition fees and who no longer had such easy access to the country’s job market on graduating."}],[{"start":278.66,"text":"The same restrictions apply to UK students contemplating study in the EU, with the exception of Ireland, where universities including Trinity College Dublin report a rise in demand from UK students. Its fees are cheaper than in the UK, and it offers easier access to its national labour market."}],[{"start":298.26,"text":"Grace Moody-Stuart, director of consultancy at the Good Schools Guide, pointed to an additional “Oxbridge effect” encouraging some fee-paying British school students to look to institutions abroad such as Bocconi University in Italy. She said, “There is an expectation it will be more challenging to apply from a private school” to Oxford and Cambridge, as they seek to prioritise applications from traditionally under-represented groups."}],[{"start":324.16,"text":"But she cautioned that “it’s the odd few students who consider that each year, and the odd one who actually goes” — partly reflecting the complexity of navigating EU and US university admissions. That concentrates the likelihood to a relatively small number of private schools with specialist careers advisers."}],[{"start":342.76,"text":"Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, president of IE University, highlighted the growth of English language courses and a more cosmopolitan outlook in the EU. “Britain’s stock of international students remains far larger than that of any single continental system. What has turned over the past decade is not the total. It is the flow and the supply. The UK’s losses are recoverable in principle. Its competitors’ gains are not reversible in practice.”"}],[{"start":370.36,"text":"Data visualisation by Martin Stabe"}],[{"start":376.16,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788159233_8199.mp3"}