A £40bn target, and where the government expects it to come from
The government’s new international education strategy sets a target of £40 billion a year in education exports by 2030, and the notable part is where that growth is meant to come from: transnational education, English language teaching, skills and edtech rather than more international students arriving in the UK. It confirms what the visa figures already implied — recruitment is no longer the growth plan, which leaves university finances exposed.
What the loans are meant to cover, in the government’s own figures
The Student Loans Company has published its guidance on living cost funding for 2026/27 alongside the current year, setting out what is available depending on where you live and study. It is the document to check your own budget against, because the maintenance loan is calculated from assumptions about rent and living costs that are worth seeing stated. Budgeting covers the gap between the two.
Student Loans Company, 20 January
The UAE removed UK universities over radicalisation concerns
The United Arab Emirates has cut UK institutions from its scholarship funding list, citing concerns about radicalisation, following a list published by its higher education ministry in June. Students already on those scholarships face the same question as the Ghanaian cohort this month: whether the funder’s decision leaves their fees unpaid and their sponsorship at risk.
A tumble dryer fire empties a hall at Salford
Students were evacuated from University of Salford accommodation after a fire that reportedly started in a tumble dryer. Laundry rooms are the most common source of fires in halls, and the two things that matter are not overloading a dryer and not running one overnight or while out — the second is in most accommodation contracts and is ignored routinely.