How a London university is bringing its PhDs to the global south – without adding to the brain drain

By partnering with universities in the global south, Soas teaching will become available to PhD students without leaving their countries Photograph: Alex Rumford/PR IMAGE

The opportunity to study with Soas University of London is about to be extended to even more students via an innovative scheme that will bring greater choice to higher education.

Starting this September, Adam Habib, the director of Soas, has set up partnerships between Soas, which focuses on the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and a handful of universities in the global south to offer joint PhDs. These will use a mixture of online, blended or face-to-face teaching so that students can remain in their countries of residence but benefit from Soas teaching.