{"id":11623,"date":"2023-01-24T07:30:46","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T07:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=11623"},"modified":"2023-03-16T06:08:07","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T06:08:07","slug":"the-outlook-for-uk-china-education-partnerships-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/the-outlook-for-uk-china-education-partnerships-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"The outlook for UK-China education partnerships in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

China is still the largest source of international students for the UK, but with a challenging geopolitical situation and changing priorities for Chinese students, how can UK educational institutions future-proof their dealings with China?<\/h2>\n

The UK is home to some of the world\u2019s leading and most widely respected educational institutions, and this soft power advantage has led the country to become a top study destination for students from all over the world.<\/p>\n

With as many as 144,000 Chinese students currently pursuing higher education in the UK (32% of the total number of international students), they have become one of the country\u2019s largest international student cohorts, making significant contributions to the higher education sector and regional economies. Speaking to Times Higher Education<\/em>, Chris Skidmore MP, who is leading an International Education Commission to draw up goals and strategies for the sector, said that international students are \u201cvital to the social and economic success of the UK and ensuring we remain an outwardly focused and engaging nation that remains relevant to the modern international world\u201d.<\/p>\n

The importance of Chinese students to the UK\u2019s education sector is unlikely to change any time soon, but a number of new challenges \u2013 from the rising quality of Chinese universities to the tense geopolitical environment \u2013 mean that educational institutions need to consider how to make sure that their strategies are sustainable.<\/p>\n

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The current outlook for UK-China education partnerships<\/h4>\n

Thomas Clayburn, CBBC\u2019s Education Sector Lead, defines sustainable UK-China education strategies as long-term partnerships that produce mutually beneficial outcomes. The goal of these partnerships should be to benefit students whether they are studying in the UK or China (notably in terms of employability), to produce research that is globally beneficial and to strengthen the overall environment of UK-China collaboration.<\/p>\n

In recent years, UK universities have been looking for ways to diversify their transnational education (TNE) efforts in China<\/a>. In the past, many universities pursued \u20182+2\u2019 or \u20182+1\u2019 style partnerships with Chinese universities, where the students study for a couple of years in China before moving to the UK to complete their degree. Today, many universities have moved to fully in-country programmes, a model that has been further entrenched by the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the numbers show that the switch to this model has not reduced the number of Chinese students coming to the UK, and Clayburn points out that students who have studied in a TNE programme in-country still have a greater awareness of the UK education market and may be more likely to come to the UK to pursue a postgraduate degree.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n