Morning, Friday, 5th March 2027
Online
This conference will consider next steps for UK transnational education. Areas for discussion include priorities for sustainable growth in overseas provision, developing partnerships that meet institutional and host-country needs, decisions on markets and models for expansion, and managing financial, regulatory and geopolitical risk while maintaining quality and confidence in UK awards.
The International Education Strategy & prospects for TNE growth
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss ways forward as the International Education Strategy 2026 moves into implementation, including the sector action plans developed through the Education Sector Action Group and the Government’s ambition to increase UK education exports to £40bn annually by 2030.
With TNE student numbers now exceeding the number of international students studying in the UK, delegates will consider what further expansion of TNE may mean in practice for UK providers and their international partners, including responding to demand from overseas governments, institutions, students and employers, addressing barriers to new provision and partnership, and strengthening recognition and the value of UK qualifications in different national contexts.
Institutional strategy, investment & partnership governance
The planned agenda will assess what informs institutional decision-making on where and how to develop TNE, including partnership and delivery models, the investment and capacity required for expansion, and approaches to pricing, affordability and financial sustainability. Governance and due diligence across partnerships will be discussed, including the allocation of responsibilities between awarding and delivery partners, adapting provision to local regulatory, educational and labour-market requirements, and approaches strengthening graduate outcomes and employability Delegates will consider criteria for determining when provision is capable of sustainable growth or when restructuring or exit may be appropriate, particularly given wider financial pressures on UK higher education and their implications for institutions’ international activity.
Quality, student protection, data & wider international engagement
Further sessions will examine approaches to maintaining quality and protecting students as provision expands, including the operation of the UK TNE Quality Scheme, accountability for UK awards, academic and student support, and arrangements for partnership failure, exit and teach-out. Delegates will assess the implications the expanded collection of TNE data for institutional decision-making, oversight and understanding student outcomes, as well as approaches to academic freedom, cyber and data risk, AI-enabled and digital delivery, and operating across differing national regulatory environments.
We also expect discussion on how TNE fits alongside wider international mobility, research and institutional collaboration, including the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027, with participation in the next programme from 2028 yet to be agreed.
Overview of areas for discussion
- portfolio economics, investment & model selection:
- full-costing TNE provision - revenue sharing, taxation, foreign exchange, staffing, travel, technology and partnership-management costs
- break-even assumptions, financial return and minimum viable cohorts
- model selection and development - validation, franchise, joint and dual degrees, online and hybrid delivery and international campuses
- capital requirements, institutional control, capacity for growth and criteria for expansion, restructuring or exit
- partnership governance, accountability & resilience:
- partner due diligence - financial resilience, ownership, governance, regulatory standing and delivery capability - allocating academic, operational and financial responsibilities
- escalation, suspension and exit - planning for partner failure, teach-out, student transfer, records and certification - responsibility for funding continuity arrangements
- quality, student experience & local relevance:
- operation of QAA’s UK TNE Quality Scheme - enhancement, partnership learning, regulatory intelligence and contextualisation - relationship with UK regulators’ oversight of TNE
- equivalent opportunities for TNE students - academic and wellbeing support, learning resources, careers, complaints and representation
- adapting curricula to local educational and labour-market contexts while maintaining award standards
- data, assurance & measuring outcomes:
- expanded Aggregate Offshore Record from 2026/27 - utilising more detailed information on provision, partnerships, subjects studied and qualifications achieved
- informing oversight and institutional decision-making - implications of the pause in individualised TNE student data
- joining academic, financial and operational intelligence - measuring graduate outcomes, local impact and the economic contribution of provision
- market entry, regulation & partnership development:
- market readiness - student demand, affordability, regulatory approval, qualification recognition and local competition
- developing viable provision in response to policy and market openings - engaging overseas governments, regulators and quality bodies
- barriers to market access and delivery - diversification beyond established markets - exposure to regulatory, political, currency and demand risk
- government and sector support for overseas provision - sector action plans, the British Council, overseas posts and export finance - what providers and partners need to enter and sustain markets
- international risk, digital delivery & institutional safeguards:
- academic freedom and foreign-interference risk - protecting staff, students and institutional decision-making while maintaining legitimate international engagement
- cyber security, cross-border data and digital delivery - platform access, data location, intellectual property, AI, staff capability, academic integrity and differing national regulatory requirements
- wider international engagement:
- TNE alongside student mobility, research and international collaboration - Erasmus+ association in 2027 - longer-term arrangements from 2028
