In the previous academic year of 2023-24, the University of Birmingham welcomed more than 1000 Indian students, and it anticipates even higher enrolment numbers for the current academic year.
“There is strong interest among students across India in studying in Birmingham,” Adam Tickell, vice-chancellor of the university told the Times of India during a recent visit to New Delhi. He added that UK’s graduate visa route for international students continues to be a big draw for Indians.
“The possibility of remaining in the UK, for two years, with the graduate visa, to look for employment after studying (three years for PhD students) has no doubt made a significant difference to the number of Indian students choosing to come to the UK. Also, we don’t expect any changes to this visa to be announced soon and those students who are applying to study in the UK this year will continue to benefit from it,” Tickell said.
He added that the graduate visa route has made a big difference for many Indian students who were finding jobs with good salaries in skills shortage sectors. “Employment with good salaries will open pathways to other visa categories such as skilled workers for Indian students who want to live in the UK after their education,” he said.
Changes in dependent visa rules for international students had not had much of an impact on Indian students at the University of Birmingham. “The demographic of students coming to study with us is masters and undergraduate courses and we haven’t seen any impact from the change in dependent visa rules at all. The changes in the dependent visa rules do not affect PhD students,” Tickell said.
Graduate visa route remains big draw for Indian students in UK, says VC of Birmingham university. However, changes in immigration laws globally including in Australia, Canada and the UK, have had an impact on Indian students planning to study overseas, he said.
“We sympathise with bright and entrepreneurial Indian students who want to study overseas but have recently been feeling confused with changes in visa and immigration rules globally. However, the interest remains very high in the top-quality British universities such as Birmingham where the brightest in the planet come to study,” he said.
The University of Birmingham offers a range of employment advice and placement services to students and is the third most targeted university by the top 100 graduate employers in the UK.
“We also have a strong relationship with British companies in India who find our graduates very attractive to recruit,” Tickell said.
