During a speech at the British Council's 'Going Global' conference in Berlin on 13 May, the UK government’s Universities Minister Chris Skidmore MP cited Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS) as a model of European collaboration.
In a speech to leaders and representatives of international education from around the world, the Minster shared his vision for ‘the UK’s approach to “going global” in higher education‘ and said that ‘when it comes to higher education and research, the UK is most certainly open‘.
He went on to cite BSIS as an example of an established institution that delivers a transnational education (TNE) and ‘enables(s) the UK’s Higher Education sector to maximise and benefit from the full range of international opportunities and interconnectedness‘.
Kent’s Dean for Europe, Professor Jeremy Carrette, said: ‘This acknowledgement by the Minister of State for Universities that BSIS is an example of the ‘core principle’ of ‘international opportunity and interconnectedness’ for UK higher education and part of the government vision for the future of global education is a tremendous endorsement of the University of Kent and its engagement in Europe. It shows the importance of our European relationships for the future and the success of our specialized postgraduate work in Politics, International Relations and Law.
‘It is also a signal of the importance of investing in our new developments in Brussels for Global Health and Diplomacy going forward. I think this is above all a message of congratulations to all our colleagues working in Brussels and across Europe.’
Prof Jeremy Carrette
In 2018, BSIS was named in a Universities UK International report on TNE as an institution that ‘enriches the higher education provision in Belgium, and Brussels in particular’ and ‘a unique example of branch campus-type provision where the location is not selected on the basis of local demand but as a way of enriching the student experience and employability of graduates‘.
A 2017 report by the Observatory on Borderless Education highlighted the School as an example of how international branch campuses should operate. The report noted BSIS does not simply transplant courses from the UK, but offers distinct programmes that provide enhanced value to students because they are based in Brussels.
The full transcript of the Universities Minister’s Berlin speech is available here.