Powering the engine: the non-financial contribution of international postgraduate students to the UK

The report identifies key findings and actionable recommendations for the UK government, universities and UUKi.

• International postgraduate research (PGR) students make up 7% of the total UK international student population, but account for 41% of the total postgraduate research student body in UK higher institutions. 
• International PGR students can be found at 149 different providers across the UK but 50% of international PGR students are clustered at 14 research-intensive universities.
• In 2016/17, 47,395 international PGR students were studying in the UK. As of 2021/22 this number had declined to 46,350. 
• International PGRs study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subject areas by a ratio of 3:2. The largest subject group was engineering and technology, with 18% of international PGR students completing their research in a related field. 
• International PGR students make significant contributions to the UK’s research strength across the globe. There is widespread consensus within the sector that international PGR students are delivering positive outcomes for universities as teachers, researchers, collaborators, and advocates for the UK higher education system.  
• The lack of any deliberate government strategies to attract, retain, and maximise the benefits of international PGR students is a missed opportunity to enhance the UK’s research base, given the benefits these students bring. 
• There is no evidence that international PGR students are displacing home PGR students. 
• The lack of data held on the impacts of international PGR students by funders, universities, and other agencies, is a significant barrier to evidence-based policy making. 
• There should be a significant rethink in university and government data collation, a review of visa policy relating to international PGR students, and reconsideration of whether incidental programme costs and university pricing strategies are effectively attracting and retaining international PGR students.
   

1. Coordinating effort: The government should convene a time-limited expert group to consider how to maximise the impact of international PGR students within current government science ambitions.
2. Data collection: Universities should update their systems to collect international PGR student outputs and publishers should investigate whether routinely categorising their outputs is practical or possible.
3. Alumni schemes: Universities should establish international PGR alumni schemes as a means of further benefitting from the insights of this group and routinely collating case studies.
4. Graduate contributions: UUKi should work with the sector to ensure PGR student outcomes are coherently captured.
5. Visa policies during study: The government should review the practicalities of an exemption to working time limits where an international PGR student is employed by their own university in a role adjacent to their study. 
6. Post study work visa policy (i): The government should continually review whether the post-study visa landscape is internationally competitive and effectively retaining international PGR students.
7. Post study work visa policy (ii): Government should collate more detailed visa data including which qualifications students obtaining Graduate route visas have achieved.
8. Competition (i): Government should urgently review whether the collation of incidental costs to study, and mandated up front payments, including visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge are inhibiting the attraction of international PGR students.
9. Competition (ii): Universities should consider whether their own pricing strategies are aligned to their wider objectives of attracting and retaining international PGR students as collaborators and researchers.