It’s more important than ever that #WeAreInternational

We are international. It’s in our DNA. It’s the very core of our mission and purpose in higher education – to bring people from different backgrounds, race and religion; beliefs, values and nationalities; together, to exchange views freely in open, respectful debate. That’s how we grow knowledge, broaden understanding, and transform lives – sending those lives out into the world to change it for the better. We. Are. International.

As the #WeAreInternational campaign hit 10 years old this year, Universities UK International (UUKi), together with partners including UKCISA, London Higher, BUILA, British Council and others, formally relaunched it in May. And with unwelcoming policy change for many groups of international students now confirmed by government, it was timely. We are seeing our welcome factor decline – especially in comparison with other study destinations – and we must counter this by telling positive stories of the many ways in which international students contribute to the UK.

I was one of the only people from my friendship group at age 18, in my local village in South Wales (Brynna, near Bridgend), to go to university. I felt very fortunate to have such an opportunity, including my ERASMUS placement in Sweden, and I especially believe the opportunity to be in an environment with people from all over the world has helped shape the person I am today. My own experience of how higher education has the power to transform lives is one of many reasons I am very passionate about working in this sector, and I was delighted to see many universities from across the UK, including Wales, engage with the campaign on social media and share its core messages. We are united in ensuring UK universities are welcoming places for international students and their dependants to study, live and thrive.

A recent report published by Universities UK International (UUKi), the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Kaplan International in collaboration with London Economics, revealed that international students boost the Welsh economy by £1.43 billion. Even when accounting for dependants and other costs, international students are a huge net contributor to the UK economy.

Of course, the contribution of international students goes beyond economic benefits. They enrich our campuses and communities by bringing their cultures with them when they chose to study in the UK. Universities are rightly proud that students from across the world feel at home in their institutions. In one of the original #WeAreInternational campaign videos, several domestic and international students commented:

“Home for me, it’s the place where I feel safe and where I have my friends, and so that’s why I’m saying I have two homes. One home it’s UK, one home it’s Italy.”

“I came to the UK because of the opportunities and the fact that the degree allowed me to interact with so many different people from so many different cultures.”

“Without having to travel abroad, without having to be brave, I have some of the best people from around the world coming here (to the UK) and I get to learn off them.”

“Our students and staff come up with ideas that then become reality and make a difference to people around the world.”

This is all still relevant today. Whether it’s a doctor or nurse from another country, trained in a UK university and working in the NHS, providing you or your loved ones with lifesaving treatment; an international graduate developing the tech to detect breast cancer early; international students volunteering in university towns and cities during Covid; UK universities twinning with Ukrainian counterparts; the students working with academics and researchers on treatments to delay the onset of alzheimers; or the thousands of other examples of how international students, alumni and staff enrich our society and culture. We must find a way that cuts through with the public, to tell a story, together as a sector, of how international students make the UK, society and the world a better place - the story of how UK universities transform lives.

It’s more important than ever that #WeAreInternational. 

Follow the campaign on social media. 

Read more about the campaign.

Andrew Howells is assistant director for external affairs at Universities UK International.