(Bonus points for anyone who manages to spot all the references to Beatles song titles throughout! The total will be revealed at the end!)
Liverpool – home of The Beatles and, last month, host to thousands of Labour Party Conference-goers eager to come together to hear what plans the new government has in store for the nation.
While it was less a case of here comes the sun and more of need for a yellow submarine to help delegates shelter from the heavy downpours, energy remained high among attendees from the higher education sector, all keen to show Sir Keir Stamer’s cabinet that they want to hold [its] hand in delivering its five key missions.
The university-bashing of yesterday at least appeared to be behind us. New skills minister Jacqui Smith spoke at several higher education fringe events about the value of England’s universities and her understanding of the sector’s financial difficulties.
While she clearly wants to show she loves you, universities, she was careful not to give away any detail on how Labour proposes to remedy the situation. This suggests the government is probably going to let it be for the short-term while it takes time to develop a more conclusive plan.
Nevertheless, the main ask from every higher education policy discussion I attended was money (that’s what I want) – whether it be for university leaders to stabilise their institutional finances or for students to enable them to meet their rising costs of living and lessen their dependence on part-time work.
It therefore seems the government is going to have its work cut out working eight days a week back in Whitehall fixing a hole in the sector’s finances.
The skills minister did at least offer some hope for those of us interested in the future of international education when speaking on a panel organised by King’s College London.
Signalling a recognition of the immense value international students bring to universities and the towns and cities around them, Baroness Smith of Malvern stressed the need for a new international education strategy, which will hopefully help keep students coming to UK universities from here, there and everywhere for a long time yet.
As co-author of the UK’s first regional international education strategy for London and member of the International Higher Education Commission working on a blueprint for what this new UK international education strategy could look like, I sincerely hope we can work it out.
Securing prospective international students a ticket to ride to the UK for a world-leading higher education will help maintain our global competitiveness, especially at a time when other major study destinations begin to impose caps on international admissions. After all, all you need is love… and a competitive graduate visa policy!
Before my magical mystery tour around the conference fringe came to an end, I also heard firsthand what can be achieved with a little help from [our] friends. At a London Councils event, for example, universities were lauded for their potential to boost growth and prosperity in the regions, with council leaders and the Greater London Authority appearing keen to work with higher education institutions to help the economy get back on track and input into the London Growth Plan.
We may well need the help! of our regional partners soon though, as the Prime Minister’s announcement at the conference of changes to apprenticeships could mean that some Level 7 degree apprenticeships will become ineligible for funding.
It is likely that the impacts of this decision will be felt hardest by the public sector, small businesses and charities, all reliant on the apprenticeship levy to reskill and upskill their staff. It therefore looks like we’re going to face a hard day’s night making the case for the value of these high-level degree apprenticeship routes to the government once again.
As I headed back on the train to London, I realised the university sector has a big task on its hands navigating the long and winding road ahead. While we can twist and shout all we want about our own sector’s asks, we’ve probably got a long way to go until we can breathe a sigh of relief and say, I feel fine.
So, for higher education sector leaders like myself, the job continues to support institutions and make the case why universities and their regional, national and international influence matters.
We may have a new government in Westminster, but without promise of policy changes soon, for England’s universities, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, life goes on…
(…and if you’ve got a beady eye, you should have spotted 23 Beatles songs referenced!)
