There are a number of major challenges to Imperial’s continued success on the global stage over the decades to come, including:
(i) The domestic and international funding, regulatory and competitive environment in which we are operating is both becoming more challenging and changing rapidly, with potentially major implications for the College and the university sector more widely.
(ii) UK visa policy raises questions about the College’s ability to continue to attract high quality international students at the level currently anticipated.
(iii) Economic problems within Europe and high UK fee levels will exert pressure on future EU R&D funding levels and may impact the attractiveness of the UK as a destination for students from elsewhere within the EU. There are also political risks around the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU.
(iv) Over the next decade economic, R&D and demographic trends coupled with the rapid development of new high quality institutions elsewhere in the world will likely mean an increasingly tough battle to attract the top talent (faculty and students) and research funding to the UK.
On the other hand, there are also potentially significant international opportunities emerging from the rapid structural changes taking place in the world economy.
Defining the College’s international strategy
Dr Simon Buckle, Pro Rector (International Affairs), highlighted a number of strategic questions facing the College including:
- To what extent is greater coherence in our international engagement necessary to deliver the College’s overall mission and secure the (human and financial) resources required in future?
- How relevant are the range of business models already employed by other universities in their international strategies?
- What is the right balance between Home, EU and International students?
A variety of different models are employed by top universities in their international engagements and discussion at the Away Day focused on which could be employed by Imperial in its international strategy. Senior staff considered how different approaches, ranging from overseas offices to strategic alliances, might contribute to Imperial’s core mission in research, teaching and translation.
Discussion Summary
The following key themes arose during discussion:
The international composition of the student population
- Imperial currently has a very international student body(non-UK/EU students currently make up 30% of the student body), which contributes significantly to the College’s culture and its international profile.
- There was a question raised over whether overseas students are in all cases fully integrated into the student population. A more comprehensive induction and orientation period for international students was suggested as one possible approach to addressing this issue.
- The importance of taking a proactive approach when recruiting international students was emphasised. It was suggested that the engagement of senior academic staff in overseas recruitment could be important in continuing to attract students and staff of the highest calibre. The location of Imperial in London – a magnet city – is clearly attractive to prospective students.
The College’s reputation
- The College relies heavily on its reputation for excellence in research and teaching for the recruitment of top-quality students and staff from across the world. The College’s reputation also influences student employability.
- It was noted that the Imperial College London brand is not as strong in some parts of the world as others. There was discussion about whether Imperial’s reputation could be amplified through a physical presence overseas, but participants were wary of the significant risks attached to the approach.
Alumni networks
- Imperial currently has a network of over 160,000 alumni worldwide, and developing links with alumni overseas is a very important strand of the College’s international engagement activities.
- Alumni networks can be useful for providing internship and mentoring opportunities for Imperial students.
Building international collaborations
- It was noted that any strategic relationship with a university overseas should add value to the College’s core academic mission in education, research and translation.
- The College’s joint medical school with Nanyang Techonological University in Singapore was given as an example of how value can be gained from international collaboration, whereby more can be achieved through institutions working together than would be possible apart. The Singapore medical school brings particular value to the College’s education activities, through the development of innovative teaching approaches that could be used on courses in London. The School provides a useful model to learn from in relation to thinking about future international engagements.
- There was support for a ‘bottom-up’ approach to international engagements, whereby the College gives members of the academic community the freedom to explore relationships on a one-to-one level, which can lead to strong collaborative links. At the same time, these one-to-one collaborations need to be supported by the College if they have the potential to grow into a strategic opportunity, such the Singapore medical school.
Read the presentation given by Dr Simon Buckle, Pro Rector for International Affairs