APPENDIX 3: CALL FOR EVIDENCE
16 January 2014
The House of Lords Science and Technology
Select Committee, under the Chairmanship of Lord Krebs, is conducting
a short inquiry into the effect on international science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) students of immigration policy.
The Committee invites interested individuals and organisations
to submit written evidence as part of the inquiry.
Scope
The inquiry follows the report[195]
of the Committee on higher education in STEM subjects in July
2012 (2nd Report of Session 2012-13) and the Government response[196]
published in November 2012. This short inquiry will, however,
focus very specifically on immigration policy and international
students (paragraphs 215-39 of the Committee's July 2012 report).
While the Committee's focus is on international STEM students,
in order to provide a sense of context and comparison, the Committee
would welcome brief comparative comment from respondents about
their experience of the issues in other disciplines. The deadline
for written evidence submissions is Thursday, 20 February 2014.
Questions:
The Committee invites written submissions
on the following questions. Please only answer the questions of
relevance to you. Please also do draw the Committee's attention
to any relevant issues not captured in the specific questions
below:
· How have the numbers and
demographics of international STEM students in the UK changed
since the introduction of policy reforms on immigration in this
Parliament?
· What is the evidence currently
available of an adverse effect of the changes to immigration rules
on prospective international STEM students choosing to study in
the UK?
· Which UK immigration policies
are affecting international STEM students and what issues are
they causing?
· What impact might the provisions
in the Immigration Bill currently before Parliament have on international
STEM students?
· How are the impacts of immigration
policies on STEM students monitored, both by organisations and
nationally? Is there sufficient collection and analysis of data
to enable links between cause and effect to be understood?
· Do reforms to immigration
policy since 2010 limit the competiveness of UK higher education
institutions in attracting international STEM students?
· Do higher education institutions
and the Government have effective mechanisms in place for communicating
the rules arising from immigration policy to prospective international
students?
· Are international STEM graduates
finding it difficult to pursue employment in the UK after completing
their studies at higher education institutions?
· Are immigration policies
and rules jeopardising the provision of particular STEM taught
masters or other postgraduate courses at your institution?
· Do you consider the sustainability
of the current business model at your, or all, UK higher education
institutions at risk from falling international student numbers?
195 House of Lords, Select Committee on Science and
Technology (2012) Higher Education in Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics (STEM) subjects: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201213/ldselect/ldsctech/37/37.pdf. Back
196
Government Response (2012) to the House of Lords Select Committee
on Science and Technology Report: Higher Education in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Subjects: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/science-technology/STEMsubjects/GovtresponseHEinSTEMreportupdate.pdf. Back
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