The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has today urged more Indian students to come to the capital and take advantage of some of the best universities and colleges in the world, as he called on Government to protect London’s status as a leading global centre for education.
London has more top ranked universities than any other world city, but the Mayor is concerned newly introduced restrictions on student visas, such as limiting a student's right to work during and after their studies, may be having a damaging impact on the city's reputation and economy.
He has written to Theresa May, the Home Secretary and Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, urging that students are removed from the Government’s net migration target and that new measures are introduced to better protect genuine students if sponsors lose their licences.
The Mayor has also asked the Government to consider setting up an ‘Educational Exports Commission’, which would promote London’s universities abroad and help to secure the future of one of its greatest exports.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "As Mayor I will do all I can to promote London as a place that is open for business and open to the brightest talent in the world. International students not only bring bright ideas that cement the reputations of our leading universities, they have huge spending power that boosts the UK economy. "The Government is right not to open the door to those who will simply be a drain on the state, but it’s crazy that we should be losing India’s top talent and the global leaders of the future to Australia and the United States."
The Mayor, who is visiting India as part of a trade mission to promote London and highlight it as one of the best places to study, visited the Noida campus of Amity University, which also has a UK base at the Amity London Business School in Bloomsbury.
He took a tour of the Amity University site, south of Delhi, where he met with students, telling them that he would continue to lobby the British Government to ensure that London remains open for international students to come to study.
The Mayor also welcomed plans from Amity to further expand the University's London operation.
Atul Chauhan, Chancellor Amity University, said: "At Amity University we are delighted to have Boris Johnson at our campus. His charismatic personality will ignite a spark amongst the hundreds of Amity students who will interact with him personally and the over 100,000 Amity students around the world who will be able to view the interaction live.
"We will always be proud that Amity's first international campus was established in London three years ago. A great city where I have studied and worked for over six years. Located in a beautiful and listed building in Bedford Square in the heart of academic London, it is the only campus in the UK of an Indian education group.
"With the guidance of the Mayor, it is our aim to now establish a full fledged Amity University Campus in London which will be a "Benchmark of Excellence" in education, research and innovation, attracting some of the best faculty, scientists and students from around the world."
Later today the Mayor will attend a reception at the British High Commission alongside representatives from London Universities International Partnership (LUIP), a group of 16 London universities working in partnership with the support of London First and London & Partners. The Mayor will unveil a new web portal as part of a partnership between LUIP and Naukri.com, one of India’s premier online job agencies. The new website will link Indian companies directly with highly skilled graduates who have studied in London. The site will offer graduates crucial advice on how to prepare CVs and interview technique, as well as a job matching service so Indian employers can seek out the talent they are looking for.
Gary Davies, Chair of LUIP, said: "Indian companies tell us that London graduates return home with a global perspective that helps narrow the cultural gap when working within a multi-national company. These returning students also bring a fresh perspective which adds value to their employer’s business as they tend to be more entrepreneurial – a perfect asset as India’s economy grows. The new portal is just the first step in an on-going partnership with Indian employers to provide them with the employees they need."
Notes to editors
- The second leading market for international students in London is India, which makes up 8.5% of the international student population.
About London Universities International Partnership (LUIP)
- LUIP is made up of 16 universities in partnership with London & Partners, the official promotional organisation for London. Since its successful launch at the House of Lords in March 2012 it has already had a major impact with its social media campaigns. 28 million Chinese followers witnessed the ‘This is London Showcase’ on Weibo, as part of a social media campaign in China and over 40 million followers witnessed the event on Tencent (QQ) Weibo. The showcase communicated what London has to offer, both as a world leading study destination and as a global city for tourism and business, In the last five year, student numbers from India have doubled and after China, India is the second largest source of overseas students to London with over 9,000 students from India studying in London in 2010/2011, with Business Studies being the most popular subject area according to the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA).- In 2010-11 there were 418,370 students studying in London’s higher education institutions, according to HESA. Of these, 108,700 are international students and they account for 25% of the total London student population. London has 25% of all international students studying in the UK. The economic impact of international students studying in London is over £2.5 billion per annum, according to PA Consulting for Study London (2011)generated a total following of 104,058 for the official Weibo sites in just 10 days.
- LUIP have just launched a London Ambassadors programme for USA and India.
Members of LUIP:
City University London
Goldsmiths University London
Kings College London
Kingston University
London South Bank University
Queen Mary University London
Royal College of Art
Royal Veterinary College, University of London
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
St George’s, University of London
University of the Arts London
University of East London
University of Roehampton
University of Westminster
The Partnership aims to:
-Showcase London as a world-class study destination and the world’s knowledge capital;
- Establish collaborations, in each key market, with stakeholders, partners and businesses;
- Raise the profile of London’s universities and all their world -class activities and facilities;
- Lobby regionally and nationally to raise issues that affect international students;
- Share resources and research;
- Access a range of key London bodies to work collaboratively to promote London as the best city in the world.
For more information visit
About London & Partners
London & Partners is the official promotional organisation for London. Our company attracts and delivers value to business, students and visitors. London & Partners is a not-for-profit public private partnership, funded by the Mayor of London and a network of commercial partners. Our remit is to drive leisure and business visitors as well as bidding to secure major events in London, to unlock the city for overseas businesses who want to set up or expand in London and to promote the capital’s world class universities to international students. For more information visit
Brunel University
The programme is designed to help the student ambassadors discover the unrivalled opportunities that studying in such a multicultural, vibrant and creative city like London can offer. They will be communicating their experiences to a wider audience in the USA and India, online through their own blogs, tweets and videos. The Ambassador programme and Indian/London portal are part of a wider series of initiatives aimed at promoting the benefits of a London based education.www.luip.co.uk
- The Mayor is on a five day visit to India, accompanied by a delegation of top London business people, to promote London as the destination of choice for investors and international trade. He will be taking part in a series of high-level meetings with Indian business leaders, senior politicians and investors in the key business hubs of Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. - The visit is part of a wider series of trips Boris Johnson is planning to key overseas markets in the next 18 months, including China, Brazil and the Middle East. The aim is to attract foreign investment, promote export, create jobs in the capital and build on the huge exposure London received as a result of hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. - London is the world’s leading destination for international students and has been for the last 8 years. It leads both in quantity of international students (108,000) and quality of its universities, with 7 in the World’s top 200 universities, more than any other city, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings)