It is difficult to ignore the intertwined nature of the commercialised UK higher education model and its reliance on international student fee income. One in four students enrolled in higher education courses in the UK in 2023-24 is of non-UK origin. This is an increase from just over one in five in 2019-20. A total of over £10 billion of universities’ student fee income is raised from non-UK students.
Recent reports that Sheffield Hallam University stymied an academic’s research as a result of pressure from China has thrust the influence that foreign nations may have on UK universities into the spotlight.
