International education strategy: annual report 2024 to 2025

Theme 1: Progress and Year 2 Priorities

Theme 1: To work with our universities and colleges to attract students, staff, and researchers from outside the UK; to help diversify our international student population; and support them to maximise their contribution to Scotland.

Destination Scotland

In 2024/25, Brand Scotland and Universities Scotland Branding Group worked with IES partners to co-create and deliver the first year of the Destination Scotland programme. Prioritising this activity reflected the challenges resulting from the UK’s exit from the EU; the UK Government’s immigration policy including the ban on dependents of students; and the fact that other nations are doing more to promote their countries as destinations to study and work. It was therefore essential that we worked collaboratively to increase our competitiveness and to highlight our distinct offer to prospective students and collaborators.

As part of this campaign, new creative assets were produced for the media partnerships, under the tagline, Come to Study. Find Scotland. Developed in consultation with the university sector, these assets are now being used by the sector and wider stakeholders to promote Scotland as a study destination.

Media partnerships with major study websites went live from early December 2024. These websites are central to prospective students’ decision making process, and will play a key role in attracting student talent to Scotland, particularly in the face of increasing competition from other countries offering degrees taught in English. It will also promote the strength of Scotland’s research sector acting as a draw to international talent, both to work and collaborate in Scotland.

Reinforcing Scotland’s positive and open outlook, the First Minister recorded a welcoming message for the 2024/25 international student cohort and this is available through Brand Scotland and partner social media channels.

Work continues as part of this programme: with the study pages of scotland.org being redeveloped and updated to create a more dynamic, engaging, and comprehensive ‘shop window’ resource for anyone considering studying, working or collaborating in Scotland. The re-development is informed by user research from Higher and Further Education partners and stakeholders, including international students currently studying in Scotland.

Connected Scotland

The Connected Scotland partnership, established in 2014, assists Scotland’s Higher and Further Education institutions to position themselves as world leaders in higher education, and to become international partners of choice in teaching, research and knowledge exchange. Through Connected Scotland events, we are able to promote Scotland, showcase the breadth and strength of our higher education system, and open doors for individual institutions regardless of the stage they are at in achieving their international ambitions.

In 2024/25, Connected Scotland delivered and participated in a number of successful international student recruitment events. This included supporting a networking reception for secondary school councillors at the annual International Career and College Counselling (IC3) Conference and Expo in India in August 2024. As a major recruitment conference aimed at the undergraduate market, Connected Scotland’s participation provided 11 Scottish universities with the opportunity to promote the benefits of studying in Scotland to over 2000 delegates in this target market.

The European Association for International Education (EAIE) was held in September 2024 in Toulouse. This is Europe’s comprehensive higher education event with over 6000 participants from across the world in attendance. Connected Scotland attended the event to showcase Scotland and our universities, with the aim of strengthening existing, and building new, relationships with partners from across the globe. This year, our ‘Study in Scotland’ stand was designed by 9 Scottish universities, Brand Scotland and Connected Scotland. To help build relationships, and introduce delegates to our Scottish hospitality, we hosted a reception which included tastings for whisky, Irn-bru, and shortbread, and gifted very popular Harris Tweed bookmarks and coasters, as ‘wee reminders’ of Scotland for attendees.

Alongside exhibitor stands, the conference had a packed agenda of plenary sessions, workshops, and networking activities that made up the hugely dynamic programme. We had the opportunity to visit other nation stands, building relationships and learning more about opportunities to grow ‘Brand Scotland’ around the world. EAIE offered a fantastic, inspiring and impressive platform to connect with partners and to engage with organisations, promoting Scottish higher education internationally. Glasgow will host the EAIE in 2026. Our attendance at the event in 2024 and 2025 will help inform our approach to being the host country, ensuring we maximise the impact of this fantastic opportunity.

Furthermore, Connected Scotland partners joined over 150 international scholars representing 50 countries gathered at Dundee's Victoria and Albert Museum for the annual Global Scholars event in October 2024, for a celebration of international education.

The day-long event began with an Employability Marketplace where Scholars had the opportunity to meet with 15 employers to explore career opportunities in Dundee and further afield, including HSBC, Tata Consultancy Services, The Challenges Group, and Dechomai. The Scholars had the chance to make new connections and to explore opportunities to build their careers in innovative Scottish and global industries.

During the evening reception at the museum, scholars were welcomed by senior education leaders and government representatives. Scottish Government's Trade & Investment Envoy for Higher Education, Professor Wendy Alexander highlighted that:

"International scholars are vital to Scotland's education environment, economy, and communities. UK graduates are among the most employable in the world, with three-quarters of international students progressing further, being promoted quicker, and earning more because of their UK education. It's been a wonderful event to celebrate Scotland's global scholars and to reiterate our commitment to welcoming and supporting international talent."

Going Global, organised by the British Council, brings together over 300 higher education leaders from 20 countries across Africa and the UK to debate the future of higher education and skills on the continent. The 2024 Conference was held in November in Abuja, Nigeria. Thirteen representatives from 11 Scottish institutions including the Universities of Edinburgh, St Andrews, University of West of Scotland, Dundee, and City of Glasgow College were in attendance. The delegation represents Scotland’s growing engagement with higher education and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) across the continent, showcasing their work on equitable partnerships, transnational education, and employment-focused skills development. This was highlighted through a special Connected Scotland reception with over 100 attendees including Scottish university/college representatives and alumni.

Chair of Connected Scotland and Pro-Vice Chancellor International at the University of Stirling, Professor Neville Wylie, spoke at the Scotland reception saying,

"Scotland's four-year degree structure, coupled with our post-study work opportunities through Scotland’s newly launched migration service, offers unique advantages for students from Africa. Our institutions are committed to building sustainable partnerships that deliver real impact for communities across the continent.”

Scottish Education Exchange Programme Test and Learn Year 2

Scottish institutions benefited greatly from Erasmus+ and our ambition remains to rejoin the programme. Recognising the current gaps in support for mobility, we have developed a pilot programme with IES partners.

The test and learn phase of the Scottish Education Exchange (SEEP) programme maps to the IES ambitions and key actions. It is underpinned by the following three broad principles:

• broadly maintain the Erasmus+ approach,
• aim to address key gaps between Turing and Erasmus+, in particular, to encourage the development of partnerships between institutions that could enable staff and inward exchanges (funded by the reciprocal countries), and;
• align outcomes of the project with Scottish Government education and skills priorities including supporting disadvantaged groups and delivering a skilled workforce to meet new market opportunities.

The programme is currently in year 2 of a Test and Learn project. Deliverables to date include:

• Collaborative projects involving 26 Scottish colleges and universities
• £835,000 of Scottish Government funding awarded to 56 projects
• Projects developed with over 100 international partners across 38 countries
• Re-engagement and active participation in European Strategic networks
• Development of transnational partnerships with target markets
• Projects providing pathways into sustainable funding and programmes such as Horizon Europe
• Student mobility projects targeting disadvantaged groups excluded from other mobility programmes
• Development of cross sector communities of practice

The Case Studies below – which have been provided by the institutions, illustrate how SEEP funding is being used to support the building and strengthening of TNE partnerships which create opportunities for Scottish institutions to provide their staff and students with more international experiences, while also showcasing Scotland’s institutions on the world stage.

Queen Margaret University ‘Every day’s a school day’: Transnational knowledge exchange to promote a whole school approach to health, well-being, and participation.

A transnational partnership was formed between Queen Margaret University (QMU), Scotland, UK, and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa, through an initial knowledge exchange visit, by QMU academics to UWC. The sharing of good practice in relation to the developmental trajectory of infants, children, and young people’s (ICYP’s) occupational lives in both contexts, to promote a whole school approach to health, well-being and participation took place.

The exchange visit allowed lecturers to:

• Reflect and review the existing occupational therapy curricula, in relation to its alignment to contextually relevant policy directives pertaining to a whole school approach to health and well-being of children, and young people (CYP), to ensure equal opportunities for participation.
• Strategically identify transnational, collaborative knowledge exchange opportunities pertaining to whole school approaches, in order to promote the delivery of efficient and effective services for ICYP.
• Consider our strategic partnerships with UWC, who has a strong track record of leading scholarly engagements rooted in social justice and decoloniality and has served as a catalyst for future knowledge exchange with European colleagues.

The three staff involved in this project felt it was an insightful opportunity to experience the work done by colleagues in the global South, which has sparked a keen interest and commitment to advancing the agenda for health promotion, community development, and unlocking the potential for ICYP in Scotland. UWC has been instrumental in advancing this agenda in South Africa and their experience provided rich opportunities for us to explore the contribution of occupational therapy to public health; Whole School Approaches that can be adapted for the Scottish context.

This initial visit allowed us to critically reflect on and consider what occupational therapy’s role is in bringing the Scottish Government’s ambitions for CYP’s health and well-being to life.

Some of the key reflections that have impacted the team involve the importance of hope, aspiration, collective endeavour, capitalising on community assets and access to diverse role models that has the potential to unlock the capabilities of ICYP and communities.

Photo: Three participants from Scotland and South Africa attending Queen Margaret University’s ‘Every day’s a school day’ event.

University of Edinburgh ‘Innovations in Mobility’ workshop, Brussels, February 2024

Using SEEP funding, the University of Edinburgh hosted an ‘Innovations in Mobility’ workshop in Brussels with seven European university alliances in attendance. The objective of this workshop was for these European alliances, all with a focus on student mobility, to share interesting approaches, concepts, and practices in relation to achieving the shared 50% student mobility target set by the European Commission.

The workshop was a rare, but perfect, opportunity for members from the different alliances to come together to address specific mobility challenges faced by the alliances and explore potential solutions. The University of Edinburgh, representing the Una Europa alliance, shared Una Europa’s approach to developing a coordinated approach to achieving this 50% target. Una Europa, with the University of Edinburgh at the helm, is currently undertaking a mobility prioritisation exercise so that partners can collectively agree on the top three key mobility priorities for the alliance. Having a set of priorities that have been collectively agreed upon will help the alliance determine where it should focus and invest its resources.

Workshop participants discussed both what types of mobility initiatives they were currently running as well as future aspirations they would like to implement. By funding this workshop, the Scottish Government not only supports activity to increase the number of students undertaking an international experience at university, crucial for today’s employment landscape, it also supports the University of Edinburgh’s continued collaboration and involvement with European alliances, allowing Scottish Universities to maintain an interest on the continent.

“This workshop is a fantastic opportunity for European alliances to share best practice in order to collectively increase student mobility, giving more Higher Education students opportunities to develop intercultural and critical thinking skills that they will desperately need as they enter the workforce.” – John, a workshop participant.

Photo: Participants attending the University of Edinburgh’s ‘Innovations in Mobility’ workshop in Brussels.

Scotland’s Migration Service

Scotland’s Migration Service is an online information and advice resource for people who have moved to Scotland, people who want to move to Scotland, international students and graduates, Scotland-based employers and inward investors.The service contributes to efforts to grow our economy, maximise our existing talent pool, and attract more individuals to Scotland to address skills shortages and demographic challenges.

Scotland’s Migration Service (SMS) provides free practical support to help users navigate the UK immigration system and maximise its use in order to meet relocation and/or business needs. In doing so, the service supports employers to recruit internationally and individuals to relocate and settle in Scotland.

Support is provided through a digital platform where users can access information that is relevant to their needs. Additional resources are also available, including webinars, how-to-guides, and free one-to-one advice appointments for users to discuss specific needs and next steps.

To deliver the service, we have partnered with the immigration law firm, Seraphus to support employers and inward investors, and with Citizens Advice Scotland to support migrants and international students/graduates. A third, digital, partner manages development of the digital platform on which users access support.

Ministers committed to launching Scotland’s Migration Service by the end of the 2023-24 financial year. To meet this commitment, the service was launched in two phases.

The first iteration of Scotland’s Migration Service launched in March 2024. It provided:

• High-level information on scotland.org for recent arrivals in Scotland and international students regarding visas and life in Scotland;
• High-level information on scotland.org for employers and investors on visas; and
• One-to-one free advice appointments for people who have lived in Scotland less than six months, international students in their final year at a Scottish university or college, Scotland-based employers, and inward investors.

An expanded service launched on 19 November 2024. It currently provides:

• Information on Scotland.org for people considering moving to Scotland and people who have temporary leave to remain in the UK. These cover a wide range of information to provide reception support to help people settle into their communities, and immigration support to help them successfully navigate the immigration system and the relocation journey. Support is also targeted at international students and graduates to provide advice on staying in Scotland post-qualifying.
• Information on a subdomain of Scotland.org (https://migrationservice.scotland.org/) to help Scotland-based employers hire and retain international workers and to help inward investors to identify the best immigration options to start or expand a business in Scotland. This includes access to live webinars, webinar recordings, guides, features, case studies and other resources.
• Access to free one-to-one appointments with qualified advisers for:

a) people who have a job offer in Scotland and want to move here;

b) people who have a close family member who lives in Scotland and want to join them;

c) people who studied at a Scottish college or university in the past five years and want to move back to Scotland

d) people who live in Scotland for less than two years;

e) people who live in Scotland and have limited leave to remain or enter in the UK;

f) people who live in Scotland and have a Student or Graduate visa;

g) Scotland-based employers who want to hire/retain international workers; and

h) inward investors who want to set up/expand a business in Scotland.

Theme 1: Summary

• Come to Study: Find Scotland campaign co-created and launched
• SEEP funding of £835,000 awarded to 56 projects, developed with over 100 international partners across 38 countries
• Full launch of Scotland’s Migration Service supporting migrants and employers

Theme 1: 2025/26 Priorities

Action 1:

We will work through Brand Scotland and Connected Scotland with our universities and colleges to promote a welcoming Scotland to prospective international students, staff, and researchers to enhance the sector’s profile at home and abroad, including with Scottish Government’s International Network.

Brand Scotland:

• Continued investment in digital marking co-created by Brand Scotland and IES partners.
• Expansion and alignment of the new creative assets across HE/FE and Toolkit development.
• Work with the sector to identify tactical opportunities to create social media content - taking advantage of newsworthy events and "good news" stories.
• Development of a regular stakeholder mailing list (including agents, British Council Reps, Alumni, Global Scots) to provide most up to date information on Studying in Scotland and dissemination of resources.
• Ensure that messaging covers each stage of the international student journey and captures the breadth of pathways and learning opportunities on offer.

Connected Scotland:

• Agree and implement a programme for 2025/26 that will showcase Scotland’s higher and further education and research opportunities in target countries.
• There will be a particular focus on enhancing engagement and participation in global conferences that support mobility, TNE, and employability of international students in Scotland.
• Co-ordinating a refresh of the Study in Scotland Brochure to align with new campaign materials.
• Begin preparations for the EAIE conference in Glasgow in 2026.

Action 2:

We will deliver a third year of the Scottish Education Exchange Programme (SEEP) Test and Learn project in 2025/26 and use the lessons learned to inform future years of the programme.

• Using the learning from Test and Learn years 1 & 2, in the development of any future programme.
• Use SEEP to support key objectives of the IES, for example TNE and education exports.

Action 3:

Following the launch of the SMS, we will continue to develop the service to provide further support to migrants and employers.

Continue developing Scotland’s Migration Service (SMS) to provide further support to migrants and employers to navigate the UK immigration system to meet their relocation and/or business needs.

• Continuously improve the content on offer and the functionality of Scotland.org and the SMS subdomain to maximise the service’s benefit to users.
• Take an evidence and data-driven approach to monitoring the success of SMS and determine prioritisation of continuous improvement efforts.
• Leverage all available promotional opportunities in order to raise awareness of the service and maximise the number of appointment bookings.

Action 4:

We will encourage and support international students to stay in Scotland post qualifying to work in Scotland’s growth sectors.

• Engage with HE and FE sectors on migration policy issues.
• Review international graduate outcome data sources and look to develop a bespoke set of graduate outcome data for international graduates of Scottish universities.
• Deliver a programme of employer engagement highlighting benefits of international students and workers.
• Establish links with community initiatives to help international students and graduates feel part of Scotland.