Opinion… from the Editor, 13.03.25

Tertiary news: In response to current challenges facing the UK tertiary sector and shining a light on the power of partnerships, Swansea University in Wales is expanding its course offerings in partnership with QA Higher Education to deliver flexible degree programs in London this year, marking the start of a long-term partnership to deliver a range of the University’s programs in QA Higher Education campuses across major cities in England, QA said.

Meanwhile, the Welsh government has announced it is investing a further UK£500,000 to support international student recruitment and promotional activities of universities in the country. The investment (which is part of a wider funding pledge by the Welsh government) highlights how vital internationalization is to the tertiary education sector’s future and sustainability, with international students contributing so much socially, culturally, financially and economically. Europe, North America, India and Vietnam have been identified as priority markets by the Global Wales program.

Sticking with the tertiary sector, the number of international students applying to study in Malaysia grew last year, according to data from government body Education Malaysia. Undergraduate study was particularly popular, accounting for almost half of all applications and with the largest year-on-year growth. This study destination typically attracts mainly Asian markets but the data shows some interesting increases from African nationals last year. The report also highlighted a significant increase in the number of overseas universities setting up branch campuses to tap into intra-Asia demand.

After Singapore and Hong Kong, Malaysia was also flagged as one of the preferred destinations for Chinese students seeking short-term study experiences in the secondary sector. Other insights from a webinar hosted by education research company BONARD included a shift towards academic-focused programs among Chinese students and how agents remain a primary pathway of recruitment for the Chinese market in this field.

Nicola Hancox, Editor of StudyTravel Magazine

Language sector: Malaysia, alongside Dubai and the Philippines, was flagged as a rival ELT destination during the Young Learners English UK Annual Conference last week, and one that could appeal to more price sensitive sender markets going forward.

Showing its commitment to encourage more students to study there, Tourism Malaysia recently launched its Edu+ initiative aimed at young learners (aged 16 and under) to combine short-term educational programs with tourism. The scheme is currently targeting Japanese students only, but there are plans to roll it out to other markets including Korea, China, Russia and Vietnam which could eat into some of the UK’s young learner sources. See StudyTravel Magazine’s March Direction feature for more on growing non-native- English-speaking markets.

Findings from English UK ’s Quarterly Intelligence Cohort (QUIC) scheme were also presented during the YL event in London and highlighted the growing importance of the junior segment for UK ELT overall (juniors accounted for 45 per cent of student weeks in Q3 – the highest ratio ever recorded).

Entering the UK junior market just this week is UKG Language, a new ELT brand and division of UK Guardians , an AEGIS Gold Standard guardianship provider. Located in the historic market town of Ringwood, the school is offering a junior summer camp plus year-round group bookings, mini-stays, holiday revision camps and more!

As for secondary sector news, Mill Hill Education has announced a merger with Heathfield School, a secondary day and boarding school for girls in Ascot, adding to its growing portfolio of UK and international schools, while a UK independent boarding school that closed during the pandemic has reopened under new ownership.

Elsewhere this week, we’ve had a report by a2 International Education Fairs outlining outbound trends among Turkish students, including a preference for affordable higher education in European destinations and Studyportals B.V. acquiring student enrolment and community platform for higher education Uni-Life.