Encouraging more students to leave the UK to study abroad should be a key component of the country¡¯s coming new international education strategy, experts have said, after declines in participation in recent years.

A reveals that students who participate in international mobility programmes are more likely to achieve first-class degrees, secure professional-level jobs, and earn higher graduate salaries.

However, the report, based on Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) data, also finds participation rates have fallen from 9 per cent of the 2018-19 cohort to?only 4 per cent by 2021-22.

This drop is attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic, post-Brexit visa and immigration rules, and changes in external funding in the report, which was developed with support from the Northern Consortium and Jisc.

51³Ô¹Ï

The government is expected to release a refreshed strategy this summer, six years on from the previous iteration launched by the Conservatives which set a target of welcoming 600,000 international students.

UUKi called for outward student mobility to be a key component of the new strategy because it would ¡°create a more holistic approach and highlight the benefits of higher education internationalisation for UK students¡±.

51³Ô¹Ï

It said that two-way mobility ¡°signals reciprocity and adds credibility¡± in discussions around the value of inward international student mobility.

Jamie Arrowsmith, director of UUKi, said the report¡¯s findings suggest that international mobility is more relevant than ever.

¡°In providing a new generation of students with the skills needed for a globalised workforce, mobility fosters new ways of thinking, helps build personal and professional networks, and enhances employability.

¡°This is why every effort must be made to rebuild and grow mobility participation within the new policy and funding landscape.¡±

51³Ô¹Ï

The report finds that languages students had the highest mobility rate of all subject areas, with 24 per cent going abroad. The lowest mobility rates were found in education and teaching (1 per cent), and subjects allied to medicine (1 per cent).

UUKi also finds that the benefits of studying abroad were even more pronounced for students from several less advantaged and underrepresented backgrounds.

Malcolm Butler, chair of Northern Consortium, said the report clearly illustrates that the benefits of international mobility are diverse and that they are achieved over distinct periods.

¡°We are pleased to see that, despite the overall decline in student mobility, widening access has managed to increase and we applaud all of the many institutions who have worked to ensure that widening participation is progressed.¡±

51³Ô¹Ï

Despite Brexit, the vast majority of the most recent cohort of students (72 per cent) went to Europe ¨C up from 55 per cent in 2017-18 ¨C with Spain and France the most frequent destinations.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com