Memorandum submitted by Professor Alison
Richard, Vice-Chancellor, the University of Cambridge
This written evidence is submitted in support
of oral evidence to be given on the 4th July, 2007. The focus,
as requested, is on the internationalisation of higher education.
I bring to this debate the perspective of someone who has worked
in the US higher education system for more than 30 years, latterly
as Provost of Yale, and since 2003 as Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge.
1. CAMBRIDGE
1.1 The University of Cambridge is a British
university with global reach. Its Mission Statement is: "to
contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning,
and research at the highest international levels of excellence."
1.2 Students from over 120 different countries
make up almost one in five of the student population. Cambridge
has just under 12,000 undergraduates of which 15% are from outside
the UK. It has almost 6,000 postgraduates of which more than 50%
are non-UK.
1.3 A number of high profile scholarship
schemes support our international students, particularly those
provided through the Cambridge Gates Scholarship Programme, and
the Commonwealth, European and Overseas Trusts. Half of all international
students receive some level of financial support from the University:
in 2005-06, the total expenditure of the Cambridge Trusts on student
awards amounted to just under £15 million. International
joint funding schemes are in place with institutions in Australia,
China, India, Singapore, and the US.
1.4 A quarter of the University's 1,600
academic staff are from outside the UK. If contract research staff
are included, this percentage rises to 40%.
1.5 The activities of individual staff,
Faculties, Departments and Colleges have created an extensive
network of links with overseas universities and other organizations
in most countries of the world. Cambridge University Press has
offices in 40 countries and 65% of its author base is outside
the UK. Cambridge Assessment, a department of the University that
develops and delivers training and educational assessment, is
active in 160 countries. In China, for example, Cambridge Assessment
is a preferred partner of Beijing Municipal Government in the
"Beijing Speaks English" programme, in preparation for
the 2008 Olympic Games.
1.6 Cambridge also has a growing number
of institutional partnerships with overseas institutions, primarily
in East Asia and the US, and participates in a small number of
European and international university alliances.
1.7 One indication of the University's international
research standing is provided by the results of the Research Assessment
Exercise. In the 2001 RAE, 95% of submissions were graded at 5*
or 5.
1.8 This strong research base helps push
Cambridge to the top of international league tables. For example,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities
2006 placed Cambridge second globally, after Harvard.
2. INTERNATIONALISATION-A
UK/US PERSPECTIVE
2.1 In 2004-05 two University working parties
considered Cambridge's international position. One looked at international
student recruitment, selection and support, the other at international
academic relations. In the light of their findings and my own
experiences I have four observations.
2.2 Quality: Efforts must focus on maintaining
high quality throughout the healthily diverse UK university system,
which has a deservedly high reputation. Just six countries host
67% of the world's foreign or mobile students: 23% in the US,
followed by 12% in the UK.
2.3 Pricing: The pricing of University courses
must be internationally competitive. Particularly in postgraduate
research courses, international competition for talent is intense,
and is driving increased investment in the financial support of
students.
2.4 Partnerships: International partnerships
are an important dimension of the emerging global network of universities.
They facilitate a healthy exchange of students and staff, and
encourage the scaled-up international research collaborations
increasingly needed to confront global challenges. They also provide
a way for UK universities to help build critically needed capacity
in the developing world.
2.5 Positioning: There is good reason to
be proud of the performance and contributions of UK universities.
We must get better at saying so and explaining why if we are to
expect the world's most able students to continue to choose the
UK for their studies.
3. THE STRATEGIC
IMPORTANCE OF
INTERNATIONALISATION
3.1 The international activities of the
University of Cambridge are vital to its continued excellence
in education and research, and they add a new dimension to the
ways in which Cambridge contributes to UK society and beyond.
3.2 The international activities of the
UK university system contribute importantly to the UK economy.
Equally or more important, a direct or indirect consequence of
these activities is that they increase the impact, influence and
alliances of the UK around the world.
3.3 The world will benefit greatly from
a global network of universities, competing and collaborating
together in education and research. The UK is a hub of excellence
in this emerging network.
July 2007
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