Explore the diverse educational opportunities available for students in London and other cities across the United Kingdom by watching our webinar.
Topic: Discovering Educational Opportunities
Guest Speaker: Sam Whiteside, Regional Manager for the Americas at the University of Central Lancashire
We usually wait about five minutes is that okay with all of you to have more attendees so we will start at 10:05 thank you okay hi good morning I think we can start hello everyone and I want to thank you for being in this third meet up for
Meetups of agents and counselors across the Americas thank you very much for joining uh we remind you that we have interpretation for you available in Spanish and Portuguese so please feel free to choose the language that you’re most comfortable with in the zoom link below and today we’re going to delve
Into London study options and any other regions in the United Kingdom uh we thank you very much for your presence I am liis Espinosa head of education and insights H for the Americans for the British Council and I will be your host for today’s session we also have the
Presence of Alexandre arenta president of Belta who will give us a kind words as an introduction Alexandre up to you please thank you Liz for the quick introduction uh thank you everybody for taking the time to be here with us today I would just like to express our gratitude from B
On this great partnership we have developed over the past few years with British Council British Council training we should get to remain you know uh up to dat to everything that’s out there to things and to everything you know needed to all always Cel with students the best way so you
Know this kind of initiative this kind of information session we can put together with you is always very important and welcome and I’m sure this helps us all of us you know get get better every day to always bring the best to our potential clients so I I
Believe it’s going to be a very interesting um very interesting session you know as you guys I believe you’re covering not only London but also other cities and regions in the UK so uh you know it’s always good for us as agents to understand this kind of comparison or
To get more information about everything that’s available all over the the UK so uh once again thank you and uh I’ll leave the the the door for you guys thank you very much Alexander okay so before we commence let us establish some protocols to ensure the smooth and
Productive flow of this online session so we kindly ask you to keep your microphones muted throughout the presentation to eliminate any background noise you can also turn off the video if that makes you more comfortable the video of the session is going to be recorded so it’s going to be available
In our YouTube uh channel for you to see it afterwards if you would like to and you will be able to access it pretty much any time we will share the link with you after this session a few days after activ engagement is encouraged so you may post questions and contribute to
The session using the chat uh the chat uh figure or during the session following the presentation of Sam we will also have an open Q&A session so you may raise your hand to post any questions directly to Sam or you may type your queries into the chat and we
Will facilitate their addressing to Sam once the session is finished and I will also be sharing with you during the presentation an attendance link so it would be really grateful for us and it would be great if you could please take some time to fill it in uh we are
Honored to actually have with us today s Sam whight he is sorry he is regional manager for the Americas at the University of Central Lancashire he is based in Preston in the northwest of the UK he is an experienced traveler having traveled to over 120 countries in a professional career is spanning almost
15 years having been at the University of Central laner for two and a half years Sam has had responsibility for the overseas campus recruitment in Cyprus and Regional responsibility for the Asia Pacific region uh Sam lives close to Preston with his wife and daughter and their other two Sphinx cats uh this
Session entitled unlocking educational opportunities London versus other cities will help you uh assess and actually uh counsel International students to make more informed decisions about where to pursue higher education studies in the United Kingdom and this session will aim to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the studying in London
The capital city with other cities across the country along the differences with the studying in England Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland and without any further delay I pass the microphone to Sam Sam thank you very much for joining us today thank you Lizzy for that introduction and thank you everyone for
Having me today to talk to you about my country my nation the United Kingdom and all of the opportunities that there are for international students to come and study with us and at our universities my contact details are on this opening slide if there is anything
That you would like to know beyond this presentation if there’s anything you would like to specifically know about our University as well you can check out our website I will do a brief introduction to our University as part of this presentation but as Lizzy said the focus today is to understand about
The different areas of the UK and the opportunities there are to study at our universities not just in London of course London is a very well-known City globally but there is so much more to the UK than that one city so in terms of the structure of this presentation I
Will introduce my University itself and then we will talk about the UK education system and then the different regions and to make this as succinct and as digestible as I can for you all I have split the UK up into various regions and I’ll explain more about those regions as
We get to them but we will of course talk about London and then we will look at Edinburgh and Scotland more specifically Cardiff and Wales more specifically Belfast and Northern Ireland more specifically and then we will look at the different regions that make up England because the bulk of our
Universities and we number somewhere in and around 150 universities across the UK the bulk of these are spread across England in various areas I do have a slide at the end which will have various information on good resources that can assist you in understanding more about
The UK and the information that you will receive today from this presentation does come from some of those resources they are such an important tool to assist in the counseling of international students about studying overseas here in the UK so just briefly to touch on my University the University of Central
Lanier we are in a completely different City to London Liz the mentioned the city of Preston the city of Preston where we are is a small City we are around 150,000 people in the city and the University of Central lanaset is the only University in the city we are one
Of the largest in the UK we’re coming close now to around 40,000 students and staff members total we do have an international student Community made up of students from over a hundred different countries around the world and at top of this as Lizzy mentioned my responsibility covers not
Only students from across both North and South America but also students from Southeast Asia so myself I’m involved in the international student recruitment of a very diverse set of international students we have been voted uh and ranked in the times in 2023 as the most affordable University
In the UK something that we are very proud of and we are in the top three universities in the UK for our mental health provision for students we also are a university that does take pride in our graduation successes and the City of Preston itself
Is considered in the UK as being one of the best university cities for graduates to stay and live in so when we are obviously focusing today on the UK and Preston there and ukan has played into some key statistics we are renowned for the quality of our
Education we know here in the UK we have different sets of University groups and the Russell group is an example of this a self- selected Association of 24 Public research universities 60% of all doctorates gained in the United Kingdom Come From Russell group universities and they account for 65% of all World
Leading fourstar research that’s conducted here in the UK UK degree awarding bodies which is our universities do set their own standards for their degrees and other qualifications that they award but since most degrees are partly or entirely publicly funded these are uh really rigorously reviewed externally to demonstrate their National threshold
Standard and the quality therefore has to be of a satisfactory level 58 current world leaders have been educated here in the UK that in itself demonstrates the quality of our education to support Global development these leaders include those from Bahrain Belgium brunai Denmark Egypt Ghana Iceland Japan Jordan Malaysia Monaco
Norway Philippines Singapore Switzerland and the United United Arab Emirates to name but a few so studying in another country of course does give students the chance to experience different cultures and broaden their Horizons the UK is a world-renowned tourist destination we are in fact the 10th biggest tourist
Destination but we have more than just that in terms of international student we do have a vast opportunity for students it’s around uh the the country as a whole the opportunity for them to explore beautiful countryside vibrant cities contemporary culture historical Traditions bigname Brands and unique Curiosities that I believe does entice
Them to come and study here when you look at our culture there are around two and a half thousand museums in the UK depending on what you include in that we have 33 UNESCO world heritage sites in the UK that includes natural heritage sites such as the Lake District that’s
Approximately 1 hour from where I am currently sitting here in the Northwest a beautiful part of the world you have the Giants caway a mythical location over in Northern Ireland edinburgh’s Old and New Towns the Palace of West Minister what you see on screen at the moment that’s where the famous clock Big
Ben resides that’s where our government sits the Tower of London and Stonehenge if you’re looking at the UK as a comparison to other countries I always think it’s worth noting the size of the UK we have a population that is close now to 7 million but we are 40
Times smaller than the United States of America so we are a rather densely populated country with a vast amount of opportunities for international students to explore studying in the UK for international students does present them with a chance to find I hope a tolerant Society with religious freedom food from
All over the world diverse student populations and an opportunity for them to build their personal and professional Network whilst studying here as you can see in 2023 approximately 600,000 International students called called the UK home that’s a 23.3% increase on the previous year showing the attraction that the UK has
For international students to study with us so I think that the best way when counseling students on deciding where they would be looking to study is to take into consideration the four c’s today we’re going to be focusing on City and campus but combine those two with course and content should
Be at the heart of counseling a student in their decision because students should be looking at different opportunities and considerations the proximity to Transportation links not just international airports but train stations bus stations how they’re going to travel around not only to study and work but to enjoy and explore our
Country how accessible is a campus is it far away from a town is it in the heart of a town or a city or are its buildings spread out across a vast area in a spoiling Metropolis what’s the cost of living in different locations across the UK and the opportunities for work and
Employment not just while studying but if students are looking when graduating to stay in the UK our students like myself someone I was born by the coast would naturally gravitate towards Coastal environments you might have students that have never lived by the coast that want to experience the coast
So what opportunities are there for studying near the seaside you might have students that come from small towns that want to experience Big City Life what options are there for them or are they someone who is looking for the extracurricular activities the social life The Great Outdoors are they wanting
Different activities to experience that might play into their decision making process when it comes to cities and locations we will talk about these today are they looking for large cities medium-sized cities or small cities what I should make clear to you is that there is no definitive ranking possible you
Can say that London is definitely the UK’s biggest city and really we would accept that there is only one city whose population exceeds or even gets close to 10 million a couple though are bobbing around the half a million Mark and some between half a million and a million if
You take their larger urban areas you can say that for example Manchester is bigger than Newcastle because of its urban area but is Manchester bigger than Birmingham this is where things start to become less clear because the expanse of Birmingham could be considered as larger as Manchester so we would definitely say
That London is a mega City second cities in the UK you’d class as Birmingham and Manchester major cities then after that are places like Glasgow leads Liverpool Newcastle and Sheffield and large cities are places like Belfast Bristol Nottingham Southampton Portsmouth and Leicester but the last category is in
Complete you could consider places like Cardiff Edinburgh Middlesboro even Brighton or Bournemouth as possibly having a claim to be in that list too I hope the maps and the regional diagrams here don’t confuse you you you’re not going to need to know all of these areas but I think it does help you
To see how the UK is split up similarly to most countries around the world the UK is broken down into large regions within those regions you will find counties and then within counties you will find smaller districts and so for the purpose of this presentation to make it as easily understandable as I
Possibly can for those of you obviously who are not from the UK and don’t understand our geography we will be looking at the UK in its different Regional entities but first we should consider and start off by looking at London our capital city so London the capital city sits in
The southeast of England so sometimes people might merge London with the Southeast region but because London is so fast and there are so many universities in there we would group London as one location London attracts thousands of students from not only the UK but abroad London’s population is
Hovering between 9 to 10 million it depends on the different demographic reports that you read it is one of our most important tourist destinations it’s Cosmopolitan by Nature a Melting Pot of cultures that shape its unique identity if you’re counseling students in trying to understand London what would be worth
Noting is that no two burs are the same so if you’re exploring an area such as Hackney that’s going to be vastly different to a burrow like Kensington there are 21 universities considered within the greater London area some of these will be very familiar to a global audience the London School
Of economics in Imperial College University College London Kings College London however London also has universities in it that aren’t named for a particular area such as Brunell University this is in West London in the area of Oxbridge very close to herro airport then you have middle sex
University middle sex is a county which is almost wholly Incorporated within the greater London area so when investigating opportunity ities in London it is worth having a look first at where these universities are located in the greater London area and as we’ve already mentioned taking into consideration those four seas London has
More universities than any other city in the UK what that means is that students are bound to find a course option subject that they are interested in accommodation that suits their needs access to various activities it’s really not impossible to run it’s not possible sorry to run out of things to do in
London there’s something for everyone both on weekends and throughout the week it’s also very well connected by international airports dotted around and in the city as well as the train connections not only across the UK but internationally connecting the UK with Mainland Europe so London of course is
So well known but there are so many other opportunities for studying around our nation so we’re going to head north Scotland is the northernmost country in the United Kingdom shares a border with the north of England alongside the mainland Scotland does have almost 800 Islands you’ve got the Hees off its West
Coast and the northern islands off the North Coast places such as ory and Shetland Scotland has a rich and varied history from its resistance to Roman Invaders In the first century BC to its independence referendum last held in 2014 from a university perspective for international students it’s world-renowned and does attract more
Than 50,000 students globally every year it has 18 institutions so there are a wealth of diverse expertise it’s actually well known that Scotland has produced some of the UK’s brightest mines Scotland itself since 1996 has been split into 32 Council areas and is home to Seven Cities in numerous smaller
Towns the main cities in Scotland are abedine Dundee Edinburgh its capital city Glasgow its largest city inv vaness per and Sterling again in Scotland very similar to London you do have universities that are named for cities so you have the University of Edinburgh the University of Glasgow you have the University of St
Andrews world famous the university that Prince William went to one of the members of our royal family you then have universities such as the University of straf cide which is named for a particular area you have Harriet watt University this is a university that is located in fact in Edinburgh itself so
We would let’s say first look at Edinburgh or most importantly we would look at Edinburgh three universities in Edinburgh Edinburgh napia University the University of Edinburgh and Harriet watt University Edinburgh the historic capital of Scotland famous for its internationally renowned cultural attractions art architecture museums and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival so it’s
The perfect mix of thriving City life but also vast green spaces art pivotal to edinburgh’s Identity head to the National gall of Scotland it’s a beautiful Museum you could spend days in the museum exploring the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art or The Fringe Arts Festival interspersed with the architectural
Landscape you do have plenty of green space so you can explore through the Royal botanic garden Princess Street Gardens for a break from the books or scale ARA seat at holwood Park that sits on the plug of an ancient volcano that really requires you to feel very
Energetic but does afford you with the best views over the city there are some very strong literary links to Scotland as well and fans of the Harry Potter franchise will be excited to know that JK Rowling did write a lot of her material while she was resident in Edinburgh and there are
Various tours that you can do around the city to explore the Harry Potter Heritage that resides there including inspiration for character names that you can find within the novels moving from Scotland we move to the next country that constitutes part of the United Kingdom that being the country of
Whales Wales has a vibrant culture really beautiful and remarkable landscape and a tradition of innovation and research that is really what draws more than 129,000 students to Wales each year it has a wealth of different universities eight in total across the whole country that offer an array of
Diverse courses and specialties it’s not hard to see why the country’s student population boasts around 130 different nationalities many are drawn to Wales as it’s generally considered a safe place to live cost of living is low compared to many other university towns and cities and the locals will quickly make
You feel at home it’s a very warm and welcoming Nation Wales is also split like Scotland and like England into numerous counties and Within These counties you’ll find several main cities and towns that include abber swith banger Bridgend Cardiff Newport Ponty pref Swansea and rexam and of course rexam
Has globally been put on the map with the football team and the documentary series welcome to rexam so there’s a lot of intrigue in Wales and particularly at re in rexam at the moment the landscape in Wales is something that students can really benefit from there are coastal walks and
Day hikes you’ve got three National Trails along with the cardigan Coastline and gawa Peninsula that can get you started the national park of snowdonia pmri National Park are also well worth a visit Cardiff the main city and the capital of Wales is in fact one of the
Smallest capital cities in all of the continent of Europe but it’s a vibrant City modern city on the south coast of the country well connected by a transport links through its airport and also its train lines into the rest of the UK okay you’ll find the Welsh Parliament building the sened an
Attractive Waterfront and a friendly and diverse place to study home to three universities in cardiv and a wide range of degrees you have Cardiff University Cardiff Metropolitan or the University of South Wales so there are opportunities to study in Cardiff but as you can see from the list I have here
Amongst those eight universities across the country you have places like abist Banger and Swansea in other parts of the country Cardiff has a great reputation for its sport football at the Cardiff City Stadium and International Rugby at the principality Stadium along with Cricket and ice hockey so there’s some
Great opportunities for getting involved there you also have the reputation in Cardiff of it being a Music City and in fact it has one of the world’s oldest record shops dating from the late 19th century Spillers records we then move on to the third of our countries that make up the United
Kingdom we have to head across the water across the Irish sea to Northern Island now don’t let the size of Northern Island fall you the smallest Nation within the United Kingdom it is a country that punches well above its weight you’ll quickly be swept up by its globally recognized natural landscape
That’s definitely not had any harm by being featured in The Game of Thrones franchise you can see why they chose the natural landscape of Northern Ireland to film in it has a great opportunity to explore from its capital city Belfast it’s probably where as a student you
Spend most of your time this is where the two universities in Northern isand are found the student population of Northern Island in general is around 60,000 and these students come from not only the UK but all across the world Belfast itself is won awards for its affordable living has good transport links again
International airports in fact two international airports of course it’s on the island of Ireland so you can travel down to the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland as well plenty of things to do not only just within the city but on the outskirts of the city as
Well you can head to the causeway Coast north of Belfast for the Giants Causeway walk you’ve got various castles to explore Forestry Parks like PRI andwood the KH fun Country Park and the cushon caves a 400 million year old treasure Belfast is a colorful Port City a
Vibrant Port City home to the Titanic Museum where the Titanic itself was constructed this is now in the famous Titanic quarter there’s amazing opportunities for food as well the city has two Michelin St restaurants as well as budget friendly locations to hang out we now move back over the Irish sea to
Explore the different regions of England with England Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland you have the various capital cities that are well known London edra Cardiff and Belfast we’re now going to move geographically around the UK starting in the northeast of England there are plenty of opportunities for students to
Do things in their downtime from eating World CL cast fish and chips for stargazing in the countryside the northeast of England is home to five universities in the main University towns of Durham Newcastle Middlesboro and Sunderland really this part of the world is great for the outdoors the coastline
In the countryside ker water and Forest parks are the best spots in the UK to watch the Stars secluded locations making them almost totally free of light pollution a great spot for wildlife watching as well the DAR Dales is also an idyllic landscape where you can walk
Cycle or ride on a horseback there are lots of castles that dot the north humand Coastline including anet castle and bambra Castle which has been made famous through the brilliant last Kingdom TV series that you can find on Netflix and there are many areas of outstanding natural beauty along this 30
Mile stretch of North England’s Coast uh the UK government has given its designation there to preserve and protect some of these most beautiful and wild locations we then Circle round to where I am based where I live where I work at my University the University of Central Lancashire that is the northwest of
England and there are a lot of different cities and conations large population areas that make up this part of the UK this part of England Manchester and Liverpool separated by around about a 30 mile stretch of road two big rivals and everything from art music and Sport to Industry dating back
Centuries these are the two biggest cities Manchester itself the greater Manchester area does incorporate other cities such as Bolton such as Salford there are universities in these locations that would be of note so Salford is within the greater Manchester area Bolton is on the outskirts a city
Not too far then you have smaller universities like myself at the University of Central Lancer like EDG Hill University that’s in between our city of Preston and Liverpool Lancaster which is not far from where I am just up the road about 20 minutes by train from Preston University of Chester not far
From Liverpool the University of Cumbria up there in the Lake District really the Northwest is a cultural Hub it’s where plenty of students are kept entertained they don’t just have to confine themselves to cities or towns that the universities are based in there are many hidden gems scattered across this region
Of course Manchester and Liverpool are two of the UK’s most vibrant creative centers they both ooze Innovation and creativity but you’ve got Chester that holds its own too place like story house being home to Arts Theater and Cinema performing art and visual art at salford’s Lowry Center we ourselves here
In Preston have the Paris art gallery we have uh the Preston North End football team one of the oldest football teams in the world with one of the oldest football stadiums in the world deepdale then you’ve got the natural beauty the Lake District UNESCO world heritage site one of the northwest’s most recognizable
Places where England’s highest peak scaffold Pike can be hiked or there are other walks such as Orest head or you can scramble up Hellen Brock hes is a nature reserve very close to the city of PR just on our Eastern outskirts and Northern Lanier does offer glorious outdoor escapes like fairy Glenn hendle
Hill and Beacon Feld country park within easy reach of many of these towns and cities you can also head over to the aisle of Man by ferry or plane Manchester and Liverpool both have international airports and Manchester has great connections with the rest of the country through its train station as
Does Preston on the west coast Mainline between Glasgow and Edinburgh and London Houston Station so very connected the Northwest is to the rest of the country heading over we are known in Lanier where I am as the red rose County we head east over the area known as the
Penines to the region of Yorkshire and the Huma Yorkshire being the white rose County Yorkshire is the largest county of the United Kingdom formerly known as the county of York and affectionately known as God’s own country it’s a culturally historically very important area known for its Roman and Viking
Invasions The War of the Roses and the Industrial Revolution on top of its history it has a breadth of natural landscapes to be explored again the area of Yorkshire is home to some rather large cities leads Sheffield and Bradford now Bradford and leads tend to get combined together um because they’re
Not too far apart Sheffield a bit further to the cth also another large city you will find that some of these cities like Leeds Sheffield have multiple universities there are 12 in total Across The Wider region Sheffield has Sheffield hallem and the University of Sheffield leads as you can see has
Leads ARS University leads Becket leads Trinity so there are a vast array of opportunities for students to pick a city here the largest towns and cities containing universities here are places like Bradford Huddersfield Leeds uh Sheffield and York the North York Moors a beautiful area of Natural Beauty
Made up of 1,400 miles of forests Hills mands and Coastline they has local Wildlife including deer and Badgers plenty of historic sites as well you can choose to walk or cycle through this breathtaking scenery you then got the Yorkshire Dale’s National Park and the nidale area of outstanding natural
Beauty Yorkshire has if you’re a foodie the highest number of Michelin star restaurants in the UK outside of London so the food scene here does reflect this great food highlights and local Cuisine and produce an array of international cuisine as well you’ll find popup food markets in the larger cities and the
Smaller towns Yorkshire is well known for its bread baking tradition and its tea although people here in laner might rival them for tea as well uh but there are lots of things to do to keep students busy in uni holidays and at weekends we then are moving our way down England
To the middle of the country split across the Midlands into the West Midlands and the East Midlands and and this is really the heart of England if you’re looking at the UK in general the heart of the UK or the middle let’s say the geographic middle of the UK would be
Lancashire and Yorkshire but the middle of England can be found across the West and East Midlands the West Midlands itself is a metropolitan County combined of auor it area and second most populous region outside of London as you can see Birmingham the largest city here considered the Second City of the UK
With over a million people it’s a very important Hub of Commerce and Industry strong local infrastructure makes it a very attractive destination for students and graduates the major towns and cities here would be Birmingham pentry Dudley Sandwell solal Stratford on aen the picture on screen is William Shakespeare’s bir place as an example
Waral and wolver Hampton so exploring the area if you were going to Stratford Upon A you’d find the Shakespeare Theater where the world famous raw Shakespeare company regularly performs classic work the West Midlands is home to a very large South Asian population so if you do like your food color
Culture is reflective of this here you can find one of the oldest Curry houses in Birmingham the Taj Mahal restaurant established in 1962 or walk around the baly triangle choose one one of their many other BTY houses that they have to offer you’ve got beautiful countryside the cotswalds is where you’ll find
Walking and cycling trails taking the beauty of the English Countryside if you’re an adrenaline Seeker this is also where you’ll find Alton Towers in Staffordshire this is one of our most well-known theme parks most of the universities here will be found in the larger cities so Aston University Birmingham City University the
University of Birmingham all found within Birmingham city itself wi the Hampton in wolver Hampton wari and Coventry both in Coventry so wari University is not actually within wari itself the the town of wari it is in the countryside of Campus University on the fringes of commentary between centry and
Wari so it’s worth exploring when you’re looking at maps of the UK where these universities are and then you have places like Keel and staffer University in The Wider area as well we move from the West Midland over into the East Midlands there’s not going
To be a test by the way on these different regions you will obviously be able to get this recording you’ll be able to revert back to the map at the beginning and these regions are defined there so it’ll be easy for you to plot out where these universities are so in
The East Midlands this is where again you’ve got towns mixed with exploring Countryside diversity Landscapes vibrant culture and fascinating history this is the region that invented the crisp or the potato chip which is obviously well loved not just by students by most of us I’m guessing uh there is a variety of different
Lifestyles on offer here so students from abroad can easily find a home in the East Midlands made up of six counties and the main cities to take note of would be Darby Leicester Lincoln Northampton and Nottingham again with these nine universities these are reflected in these cities so city of
Derby has the University of Derby City of Leicester has the University of Leicester the Unity of Northampton has the University of Northampton and Nottingham has North Nottingham University but also Nottingham Trent University L and dford are then within the area of the East Midlands not too far from these major cities it’ll be
Sport for Choice again with the outdoors here what we would say or what I I would look at is the fact that yes we have cities but around our cities you will find sprawling Countryside The Great Outdoors to explore even London does have large parks and areas of natural
Beauty that can be explored within this area you’ve got the Peak District National Park showood Forest where the famous Tales of Robin Hood come from and this is a statue of Robin Hood that you see here on screen you’ve also got some great valleys and walks or small towns
To explore like o or the Rutland water reservoir that can be explored by bike we’re then coming to a place that’s very close to my heart the part of the UK that I am from where I was born and raised the east of England more specifically I’m from the county of
Suffk which is one of the six counties that make up the east of England it’s a fairly large area in fact it includes the counties of Bedford Shar Cambridge sh Essex Hartford Norfolk and suffk and living in this area being so close to the coast as these counties are is
Special an experience that students really can take full advantage of one of the UK’s most picturesque regions renounced for its beaches countes side Landscapes and Charming Villages so there’s lots of opportunities for international students to have Adventures here Beyond its natural beauty they’re also looking I would guess at the highly regarded
Institutions as this region is home to one of our most famous the University of Cambridge major cities and towns in the east of England include Bedford Cambridge Colchester Ipswich Norwich Luton Peterborough and cend on sea eight universities across this region Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Cambridge these are in Cambridge itself
Anglia Ruskin does have some satellite campuses to be aware of you’ve got Norwich University of the art and the University of East Anglia these are both in Norwich the UEA itself is a campus University just on the outskirts of Norwich on the western side of the city
But still very easily uh accessible to get to Norwich City Center Norwich is a very small City it’s a city that I spent my formative years to high school visited the UEA many times on field trips and the like uh it’s a place that’s very close to my heart as I say
Having come from the suffk coastline suffk now my County does have its own University this is the University of suffk and that’s based in the town of ipswitch so what you might notice here in the east of England when you’re researching and you’re looking at these universities that they don’t here apart
From the University of Cambridge relate to a city in their title so Ang Ruskin university is in fact based predominantly within Cambridge the University of bedfordshire predominantly in Luton the University of East Anglia predominantly in Norwich the University of Essex split between Colchester and Chelmsford both in the county of Essex
University of hartfordshire you’re moving over into the west of the region and the University of suffk predominantly in the town of ipswitch so it’s worth noting that in these nuances of naming conventions of universities the east of England’s Cathedrals and museums I would say offer a real window
Into our historic culture we are now infusing that with modern architecture places like the Salsbury Center of Visual Arts which is based at the UEA in Norwich was actually a filming location in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in one of the Avengers movies so it gained a bit of international recognition in
Hollywood there as well opportunities for performances and festivals that occur year round we have in suffk for example latitude Festival uh suffk is the county that Ed Sheran calls home it’s on a global scale very famous musical artist and you find a lot of influence from suffk that comes over
Into his music and in fact quite a few of his music videos are filmed in our beautiful countryside there are endless Coastal and Beach walks to be had miles of Countryside Nori is home to the area of natural beauty that is the north broads a series of inland waterways uh
Where you can take boats out for the day and find beautiful pubs and restaurants along the banks of the rivers to explore as well we are then circling uh London now so the east of England sort of in is the northeastern part bordering London we’re now heading to the southeast of London
An area that does as I previously mentioned get mixed in with London from time to time and this is a very vast area and a a hugely popular area of the country as well it’s also which might be a benefit to students that do like the warmer climbs although I’m saying that
Currently when it’s we’re hovering around zero where I am sat this is the region of the UK that sees the most Sunshine per year it has Charming towns vast coastlines and Rolling Hills here I don’t believe it would take long for students to get comfortable it’s one of
The UK’s most densely populated regions due proximity to London it therefore does make it a very attractive and ideal location for students wanting to be near the major Capital City without actually having to live in it the major towns and cities that comprise the southeast of England are places like Brighton
Canterbury chitester DOA which is where you can get feries over to Mainland Europe Oxford of course internationally renowned and famous for its University Portsmouth Redd Southampton and Winchester some of the most notable festivals that we have occur in the south east of England food festivals music festivals boat festivals tall ship
Festivals due to the maritime history of cities like Southampton and Portsmouth you’ve got amazing Theater comedy uh Premier League football currently in places like Bournemouth and Brighton you’ve got great opportunities for Cricket in places like Southampton at Hampshire Cricut ground so there is a lot to do in this area you’ll see 18
Universities call this area home a mixture of city-based universities like the University of Southampton or the University of Portsmouth of course the University of Oxford as we mentioned but County based universities like the University of Kent or the University of Buckingham or the University of Bedford
Sh as examples so there are a array of different study opportunities for students here we then move to our final region of England moving from sici England heading down into the Southwest where there are a small number of establishments here across a large geographic area South West England is in fact the largest
Geographical area of the UK but it has one of the smallest populations between 5 and six million it is home to some of the most enchanting Coastline in the UK particular as you head down into Devon and Cornwall from places like St Ives up into Dorset sandy beaches and it’s also
Known for its archaeological attractions of the Jurassic Coast where you can find various fossils and rock formations along that part of our Coastline it’s made up of a diverse range of major towns and cities that include B Bristol exitor Gloster Plymouth Salsbury Truro and the smaller city in the the UK Wells
Its impressive Cathedral is what has earned it its City status there is lots to do here in this part of the world and it does have a bit of an international flavor to it it’s home particularly Bristol to the gorilla uh graffiti artist Banky it’s home to isard Kingdom brunell’s Clifton
Suspension bridge a thriving art scene where you can absorb yourself in the old and new Devon you’ve got exor and Plymouth known for their night life live music comedy and club nights Karma Pursuits can be found at the Tate in St Ives you’ve got the opportunity to have
Long wats along the Southwest coast path Devon and Cornwall durle door uh into Dorset we and Forest as well also opportunities for surfing and paddle boarding the further down you get into cormal with its Rocky bays and Coes it’s a beautiful part of the world so we’ve successfully now navigated our
Way around the UK and my advice to you before we talk here about resources that can assist you in your counseling would be to take each of the regions and have a look geographically in where these towns and cities and these universities are located especially if students are
May be looking at coming over to explore the UK and experience universities we’re not a huge country so you can travel around it quite easily meaning you can explore various universities in a condensed period of time remember to take into consideration the four C’s of course content campus and City when
Advising students on the best way to come to their short list of universities they would like to explore resources that I would advise most of the information that you have received from me today has come from the complete University guide it’s a really help ful resource not only for
Counselors but for students various blogs about the benefits of living in certain cities where you can see the universities in cities and regions by their rank on League tables if that is a consideration students wish to take uh account of you have things like the British Council with Lizzy and her team
Great resource for you to get more information UK our admissions uh service our government website does have good information on how you know visas are sort out opportunities for post study work UK Cesar is the council for international student affairs things like Times Higher Education as mentioned ukan my University number one most
Affordable University according to the times and things like prospects have guides to help students and graduates with information on their uh opportunities imagery that we’ve used today here in this presentation comes courtesy of adobe stock again I do find that students today as well would be
Worth going on to social media and maybe following advising them to follow accounts of various universities that they would be interested in because universities nowadays will use the likes of Instagram and Tik Tok to Showcase not only their University life but their campus life their city life and their
Regional life really helps students to have a feel for the University a lot of it it will be student-led content but also if students are set on a particular particular University have a look at what social media that area has that county that City visit Britain or visit
Wales or visit England visit Scotland and so on the tourist board websites so that students really can understand more about the history the culture the Heritage because University life uh as I was told by an international student at my university is not just about a ranking from an international student
Perspective it’s about so much more more it’s about the environment they’re studying in it’s about the life that they’re going to lead here whether they come for one year or they stay here for three four five six years being comfortable being in a place they’re
Going to call home and feel at home is really important so doing that research would really benefit them I hope that’s been helpful for you today I know it’s a lot of information to take in we may be a small nation but we have a lot to offer and I am more
Than happy to answer questions I’ve today made sure that I don’t put too much of my personal opinion in as I’ve not lived in all of these areas of the UK I’ve lived in a few uh this has been a factual representation of our nation and I hope it has been useful for
You thank you very much Sam uh well first of all thank you for the presentation and I would really like to thank you for the effort that you put into and I would agree with you I think the most important for us agents and counselors when you’re advising students
To go into the UK is to look Beyond ranking especially for cost reasons for uh the needs of the student and particularly the field of the study that they are interested in that is something that um Sam has mentioned and is really really important for you as counselors
As agents to keep in mind when you’re advising students and parents and answering questions to those people that are planning to go on to the United Kingdom so thank you again Sam and now it’s time to open the floor for questions and ANW sessions so I encourage all of you to
Participate it’s either by uh raising your hand to ask questions directly either to Sam or to me if I could help you in any way or by typing your queries into the Q&A session uh some and me are here to address your concerns provide you with Clarity on different regions of
The United Kingdom as a study destination and uh let’s try to make this opportunity the most to learn and engage in a meaningful dialogue uh we have one Sam uh that I’m not sure if you would be able to answer uh but are all of the universities this is from
Fabiana um are all of the universities that you mentioned ready to work with International agencies so it it’s not something I could answer directly Lizzy what would say is that UK universities do understand the role that International agencies and recruitment agents play in supporting recruitment goals and Ambitions each University will
Have its own International strategy have strengths that will benefit different population bases around the world and so it might be worthwhile Fabiana has asked this question might be worthwhile if a particular agency specializes in a certain field let’s say it’s engineering having a look at what universities by the resources we listed
So again things like the good University guide you can list universities by ranking in a specific subject so if an agency was a specialist in engineering students and placing engineering students they could look at what the top ranked universities were in the UK for engineering or have a look at the
Industry in a particular region of the UK where is a good region for arts and media I could tell you that the northwest of England has one of the largest advertising sectors in the UK so you have the creative hubs of Manchester and Liverpool that can support a student
Population for placement and also a graduate population for job opportunities so if an agent specialized in students who do art and media Visual Arts Performing Arts they might consider that regionally that would be a good place to send students to so it’s worth doing that research I know again that
The UK government does have some useful information on how agents can work with UK bodies and organizations it would be worth checking out those as there are various regulations to take into consideration and UK universities are looking at working to a framework uh with Agents from overseas to ensure
Various compliances quality of students and obviously something that is mutual beneficial to all so I couldn’t tell you if universities are specifically looking to work with agents but it’s not to say you know that we don’t see the value in in agents and the support we gain from
Them thank you Sam and I could if I could probably add a bit onto that Fabiana I think um it’s very important what uh Sam has just mentioned so I think it would be very good for you as agencies or as counselors to actually approach the universities that you uh
See that they have more demand from your students because every single student has different needs uh what we do sometimes as a British Council is when we attend this International Affairs or when we attend events uh also through our online training you also enter a database in which universities back in
The United Kingdom can actually access your details so that could be another point of visibility for you as agent so I will explain a little bit towards the end of this uh session but thank you very much Fabiana uh we have one more we have a few questions on the chat um I
Don’t know if you can this one Again Sam um how easy is to get a visa for students um in the UK yes so again Lizzy I I I’ll be as diplomatic as I can with my general UK haton so first of all students have to generally meet entry requirement
Standards and offer standards that any University will provide them in order to be in receipt of the cast the confirmation of acceptance to studies which starts the Visa process so that’s the first thing for any counselor to know a student can’t just apply and get a Visa without having met conditions
Whether they be academical Financial or both that different universities will have set those students second of all the gov.uk website that I showcased on the resource area has a lot of very useful information on the Visa process and requirements so I would encourage counselors if you’re not familiar with
The process that resource the gov.uk resource for student visas you can quite easily type into any search engine uh UK student visa gov.uk and it should bring you to those pages we’ll be able to talk you through uh the different rules and regulations I will say that regulations
Do change and we here in the UK are going through a process at the moment where uh we may uh well we have to have a general election this year so there could potentially be a government change so that website link is always going to be your best source of information
Because it is the most updated not individual University websites uh not student blogs and things like that the gov.uk website is your main point of reference for any Visa regulations and updates which includes things like visas for families that I noticed that question did also add in so these
Regulations did change last year um regarding family members and dependent Visas so the gov.uk website I’ll reiterate that again is your best source of accurate information thank you Sam and it’s something also that I would recommend to to agents and counselors is to keep track of the constant changes visas unfortunately something that
Continuously changes as s has mentioned uh as probably most most of you are aware there is now restriction on family and relatives for Masters students so it’s important to have this in mind uh we offered a webinar as well if you go back to our YouTube channel British
Council Americas we did have a session on ukv and visas updates back in November October November last year so that would be very helpful we’re planning to have at least once a year a session for you uh to update you on the changes of visas and everything else and
I think that is related to the question that SAR has uh which is most students ask about job opportunities as International students in the United Kingdom after finishing their studies what can we answer to that before I pass on the word to to Sam or the mic to to
Sam uh we have a session that is coming up in the few in the next months actually on job opportunities and especially uh what are the options that you you could actually talk to your students about staying in the UK as uh after their studies and again it’s
Important to keep track of the changes in visas this is something that has been mentioned that possibly possibly there is going to be um uh a review of The Graduate Visa so please if there is any changes we will we will let you know but uh some I don’t know if there is
Something else that you would like to mention on job opportunities for international students in the UK after finishing their studies yeah what I would say Lizzy uh from a university perspective as well it can be very subject specific so for example I can speak with confidence about our University the University of Central
Lancashire we have a medical school and any International medical student when they go through their five years uh or six years of medical school training to become a junior doctor when they enter their fifth year they are entitled to to apply to the UK’s National Health Service Foundation program now to put
That into sort of Americanized language that’s like a res residency um so this is the first true job as a professional doctor Professional Medical uh individual that a student would have international students are considered exactly the same as homebased UK students in this medical profession so they go through exact same application
Process as a UK based student and they have the support of their medical school particularly here at University of Central Lancashire we have our transition leads that help those medical students in their decision their application because as you’ve seen today the UK is a vast area and when it comes
To medical provision there are opportunities across the entire United Kingdom whether a student wishes to work as a doctor in a big city like London or in a rural location such such as the islands and Highlands of Scotland so it can be very sector specific the types of opportunities that are available our
Health Service uh is very diverse with students having gone from International environments through our training programs and into our health service or they’ve come here got their medical degree and then gone either home or to another country to practice their profession so I would just add in there
Is the that thing again of counselors looking at What professions are your students wanting to go into what course areas uh are they seeking because here in the UK we are a diverse country we do have industry we do have arts media those type of subjects we have health
Care um we pretty we have everything let’s let’s say that but are there going to be jobs available in every sector it may be more competitive in some versus others thank you very much Sam and I think that’s related as well to go Carla was mentioning Carla
Fuentes firstly Sam thank you very much for this detailed Journey Through the United Kingdom it was an incredibly helpful to learn about every aspect from your experience what happens to International students from Latin America after completing their studies in the UK do they return to their home
Countries or are there cases where they stay in the UK now working due to employment opportunities I think again dep on career choice Central anier with latam it’s an area that we have started to explore since last year so we ourselves haven’t had as many students from the region as
We would like I would love I would love lots of students to come to ukan from Latin America I think we would be a great opportunity uh for them with our course profile and everything like that um what my experience so far I would say of working with agencies and
International schools in in Latin America is I haven’t yet seen a a huge desire from students to want to stay in the United Kingdom I have seen with the students that have applied to us wanting to come and upskill themselves primarily in say master’s degree programs because they already have an undergraduate
Degree from a university in the region whether it be Mexico or Honduras or Panama or so on and they want to come to the UK get a master’s degree because they’ve been working in their profession for a couple of years after graduating and they want to go to the next step
That’s my personal experience so far from a very small pool of applicants uh and students again it’s going to be very different across different universities in the UK the Latin American student population I don’t have the figure uh on on the top of my head at the moment but
For example that figure in the UK would be a lot lower than the figure of students that say come from the South Asian region so India Sri Lanka Nepal or areas of subsaharan Africa such as Nigeria things can be dictated by the Visa policy as we’ve already mentioned
Which is having an effect negatively on some countries because those students are looking for those opportunities other countries for example students aren’t looking to stay in the UK so I think it’s it’s very dependent uh upon the needs of the student I can’t really speak with too much more um information
Because I don’t have it uh liy I don’t know from your side of you know from briti councilor’s experience what you yeah I think uh probably something else to add uh to Carla is I think it’s very important probably to understand the background and especially as Sam was
Mentioning the degree that they are stud stud their interest what we have seen in British Council and what I have seen as my own experience as a postgrad student in the United Kingdom is it’s very important for an international students to actually rely on the international advisors that universities have each
University has an international advisor that helps with visas they help with career advice they help with a lot of things so it’s something that us agents should probably say to students that are going to the United Kingdom is something that they should be really really close in their universities of of um studies
In the United Kingdom um it’s not that easy to stay as as a Latin American student that I have to be honest there are options and we have seen a lot of students that have stayed either through the medical profession as some was mentioning some professions are easier
Than others and I think that is an important thing to consider is what field of study you’re going to be doing in the United Kingdom what path of progression you would like to do uh many students scla what we have seen is that they have also been going as a master’s
Student and then they progress into a PhD and then they extend their their stay as that as another student visa um so it it’s very we cannot really generalize as Sam was mentioning I think it depends a lot on the individual uh path of the student the opportunities
That are available uh probably something that you could say to a student that is saying what are the possibilities of staying in the United Kingdom H try to research your possibilities as early as possible don’t wait until you have finalized your studies to actually start looking for job opportunities if you can
Do that probably 3 four months even five months prior to you finish your studies that could potentially give you a better chance to actually get a job or an internship or any kind of any other um work vacancy or anything else that you can stay in the United Kingdom uh and
Again this is depending on Visa regulation so please make sure that for every advice that you give students it’s in line with the ukv and goluk uh updates that we have for Visas so I think that is the most important thing um I think I’m very I
Think I’m very spoiled as well is the um I should add that in my wider team in the international office at at the University of Central lers here I I’m lucky to have a colleague from Brazil Colombia and Argentina so I have three colleagues who all come from Latin
America come to the UK um and are now working you know in an international office environment and as an international student recruiter and regional manager when I travel when I go to various conferences uh when I go overseas or uh to visit schools and so on I am meeting uh colleagues from The
Wider University sector that are from Latin America that have studied in the UK and then have manag you know been successful in in securing jobs in universities because it’s reflective of a skill set you know it’s reflective of their experience I very good uh colleague who uh I met this year in uh
In a tour of Colombia who worked at a university in the UK who was from Venezuela you know so there are opportunities again you’re right it it’s the experience that students will have over here and uh whether they choose to want to stay if they can the regulations
And so on but as I say I’m very I feel very lucky that I have had the opportunity to work very closely with uh people from The Wider South America Latin American region who’ stayed in the UK and and gained employment and are enjoying you know spending time in the
UK and working thank you very much Sam well I want to really thank you for sharing your experience and valuable insights with us today it’s been a reach in reaching experience and I think that we have all gained a deeper understanding of the advantages of disadvantage anes for studying in London
With other cities and regions across the UK so thank you very much uh thank you as well to the counselors and agents that were present uh and I will pass on the mic to Mari Glam from Belta to give our final thank you to you all thank
You on be uh on behalf uh behalf of our uh board of directors and especially our president Alex uh i’ like to thank you uh the great presentations and the all the participation of the these uh agents that is attended this webinar and especially uh uh special thanks to brid
Council to Lind and Patricia for our part partnership all this time thank you very much for coming and stay with us today thank you thank you Mary Glenn and finally before you go I would like to remind all the agents and counselors that are present to please consider
Signing up for our certification program that we have in the bridge Council uh it’s a fantastic opportunity it’s free of charge to further enhance your expertise in higher education adiss processes and obviously to benefit your career and provide you with better and up-to-date information to prospective students and parents thank you very much
Thank you Sam for your time and your expertise and uh we’re going to be seeing each other in the next month we have a series of webinars that you have already signed up for so we will see us again in February thank you very much Sam thank you
Everybody thank you bye-bye and have an excellent day