PM launches strategy to boost UK education across the world

Citation

(2006), "PM launches strategy to boost UK education across the world", Education + Training, Vol. 48 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2006.00448gab.004

PM launches strategy to boost UK education across the world

The prime minister, Tony Blair, has unveiled two five-year initiatives to boost the UK’s role in international education. The second phase of the prime minister’s initiative for international education (PMI) aims to attract an additional 100,000 overseas students to study in the UK and encourage partnerships between universities and colleges in the UK and overseas. And the UK-India education-research initiative (UKIERI) seeks to improve educational and research links between India and the UK. Both programmes are backed up with more than £27 million in funding over the next two years from Government, the British Council, the education sector and businesses.

Mr Blair said: “These links highlight the growing internationalization of education at all levels. Increasingly, education is crossing national boundaries as it prepares our young people for careers in the global economy. I am passionate about raising standards in education in our country, but that means that we must be willing to learn from the best in the world. It means sharing experience and knowledge and being open to innovation and creativity from whatever direction it comes. It is not just about getting students to choose UK universities and colleges. It is about building sustainable partnerships between our universities and colleges and those of other countries. We want to see many more shared research projects, shared courses and joint degrees; we want to see more exchanges of students and academic staff; we want UK education to become genuinely international. Business also has a role to play, and I am particularly delighted to welcome BP, BAE Systems, GlaxoSmithKline and Shell on board as corporate champions for the new UK-India education and research initiative.” Lord Kinnock, who chairs the British Council, said: “International learning builds international understanding as well as opportunity, creativity and liberty. These initiatives will help the UK to build lasting relationships of mutual benefit with the people whose talents will shape our world in the twenty-first century.”

In a separate initiative, Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell announced an extra £1 million to build academic partnerships between the UK and Russia. The funding will be allocated through the Bridge (British degrees in Russia) programme, which was launched by the UK and Russian governments in 2003 to promote co-operation in higher education and partnerships between universities in the UK and Russia. The funding, jointly managed by the British Council and the National Training Foundation in Russia, will be focused on:

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  extending existing partnership schemes by providing an extra five full award schemes and ten continuing professional development (CPD) awards at postgraduate level during the next two years, with a particular focus on science and technology;

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  encouraging collaboration on such issues as quality assurance, teaching and learning methods, joint recognition of professional, technical and other qualifications, and financing for higher education; and

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  funding research co-operation.