What next for the ‘living bridge’?
Reflections on the annual India UK Education conference
By Ruth Arnold, Executive Director of External Affairs at Study Group
The eminent mathematician on the stage began with first principles. “Education,” he said, “is about discovering and amplifying the learning that is the drumbeat of your life. The task of a teacher and a university is to take this knowledge and to apply it in the world.”
The 21st Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi Professor Dinesh Singh — a recipient of one of the highest civilian awards of the Republic of India — was addressing the annual UK India Achievers conference which brings together vice-chancellors from India and the UK, government ministers, directors of global engagement and recruitment, higher education sector bodies, and of course Indian students and alumni themselves. A former international student himself, Dr Singh reminded the audience that a journey of education may take us far from where we began, not only in our pursuit of understanding but also geographically.
A new era in international education
In 2023, Indian students overtook those from China as the largest group of international students in British universities. In addition to the quality of British education, the main driver of change was the Graduate Route post-study work scheme, particularly attractive to students from India.
And yet figures released at the end of 2024 by the UK Office for National Statistics showed a 20.4 per cent drop in Indian student numbers – down from 139,914 to 111,329. A combination of worrying policy rhetoric and concerns about cost and employment damaged confidence with deeply negative consequences for British universities. It was a wakeup call for many.
In a rapidly changing multi-polar world, international education is also changing. The educational path between India and the UK is no longer a one-way flow, and Indian students are no passive recipients of what is decided for them. Nothing can be taken for granted.
Longstanding India UK collaboration in research is increasingly accompanied by multi-location degrees delivered in partnership, the establishment of branch campuses and the growth of ‘transnational education’ in many forms. International students are not only at the table, their choices, needs and aspirations are reshaping the education they receive.
And beyond the walls of universities there is a growing global understanding that the strategic and economic success of nations relies on attracting and nurturing human capacity, and with it an ability to offer opportunities for that potential to thrive.
Speaking truth to power
The India UK Education conference, and the parliamentary events and awards ceremony that accompany it, is firmly established as a unique annual forum to address exactly these kinds of issues. The National Indian Students and Alumni Union uses its convening power and extraordinary network of relationships to bring together organisations and individuals with a stake in the future of educational partnership to understand the opportunities and risks that lie ahead, and to shape what comes next. The atmosphere is challenging but optimistic.
In a clear sign of the growing importance of these issues, UK Ministers for both Immigration and Trade addressed attendees in Parliament and on the conference stage. Official statements were met with a reminder of what was at stake. “We must be relentless in our search for talent. The best and the brightest choose countries where they feel welcome. If we don’t provide that, students will go elsewhere. Securing the graduate route is a minimum.”
And this is a moment of high stakes for the UK in particular. Ministers and educators share an aim to make the next iteration of the UK International Education Strategy due to be published this Spring the most ambitious in the world — one which welcomes talent, drives growth and innovation, and supports global graduate employability.
Yet none of this takes place in isolation. Nationalism is increasing and economies are challenged, both driving regional provision. Students have greater choice than ever before, and they rightly ask tough questions before committing time and investment. And trust in the compliance which underpins access to study is challenged — there were repeated warnings that the sector must be vigilant in ensuring ethical practices if confidence is to be maintained, and that effective co-regulation is vital.
The strength of ‘the living bridge’
Yet beyond the policies and politics are people, and it is the centrality of the student experience which makes the India UK Education conference so refreshing and grounded in reality. And it is the students and graduates who make up what is often referred to as a ‘living bridge’ between India and the UK who personify what is no longer a relationship of Empire but of possibility.
The evidence of their success is all around us. The preeminent scientific body in the world, the Royal Society, was until recently led by the Indian Nobel laureate Sir Venki Ramakrishnan. The Covid-19 vaccine developed in an international lab in Oxford was manufactured in India in life-saving collaboration powered by deep educational partnership and trust. From literature and law to science and tech, the extraordinary talent and spirit of Indian students and alumni are a force for global good.
I began my own conference session by congratulating one of the organisers who had just achieved her PhD in London. Having studied childhood epilepsy, she is now focusing her research on the prevention of the Alzheimer’s disease which impacts societies across the world. The conference was also an uplifting reminder that it is a privilege to shape education with those who make such an important contribution — inspiring change-makers everyone. I could not be more grateful for all they bring to their own country, to mine and to the world.
Ruth Arnold is executive director of external affairs at Study Group. She chaired the 2025 India UK Education conference sessions on Quality International Recruitment and on Employability, is a member of the judging panel for the Indian Achievers Awards, and a longstanding special advisor to the UK National Indian Students and Alumni Union.