International education strategy: annual report 2024 to 2025

Ministerial Foreword

I am pleased to introduce Scotland’s International Education Strategy (IES) Annual Report for 2024/25 which provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the progress and highlight achievements in implementing the strategy’s priority actions since publication in February 2024. The strategy was developed with partners in Scotland’s Higher and Further Education sectors, including Universities Scotland, Colleges Scotland and the British Council, and this collaboration has continued throughout the year, for which I am extremely grateful.

Together with our partners, we have made significant progress in the first year of the IES. The Come to Study: Find Scotland campaign, which was co-created by Brand Scotland and Universities Scotland Branding Group, has been launched, promoting Scotland as a study destination to prospective international students across the globe. We have also launched Scotland’s Migration Service (SMS), providing an online information and advice resource for people who have moved (or want to move) to Scotland, international students and graduates, Scotland-based employers and inward investors. Scottish colleges and universities are delivering projects through the Scottish Government-funded Scottish Education Exchange Programme (SEEP) enabling institutions to create and develop international partnerships, as well as through our International Collaboration Fund which supports connectivity between Scotland and European research partners and creates paths to European research funding.

Delivering the aims of the IES will continue to be a priority for the Scottish Government. As we enter into the second year of the IES, we will work with our partners, supported by the IES Governance Group, which I chair, to build strong international networks; to attract and welcome international students and staff; and to work closely with employers to promote the range of career opportunities available across regions and sectors of our country.

This report highlights progress achieved during 2024/25 and showcases the strength of collaboration in place. Importantly, we have also set out how we plan to build on this in 2025/26.