Beyond borders: Why student support matters more than ever in transnational education

“Earlier this year, I found myself reflecting on what I could do a little differently on LinkedIn to share some of my experience and observations around transnational education (TNE) and, more broadly, internationalisation, two subjects that for many reasons, are very close to my heart. I started modestly, with two LinkedIn posts exploring aspects of student support in TNE. What surprised me was not only the level of engagement, but also the quality of the conversations these posts sparked behind the scenes and across the sector. Those discussions made one thing very clear to me: While TNE continues to expand globally, there remains a growing appetite to talk more openly and practically about the student experience within international partnerships. That interest has inspired me to develop a short mini-series focusing on student support in TNE. At about the same time, ICEF Monitor invited me to create a series of slightly more detailed reflections and articles, so here I am! TNE as a core pillar of internationalisation The timing of the series feels particularly relevant. Earlier this year, the UK government published a revised International Education Strategy (IES), reaffirming TNE as a central pillar of the UK’s global education ambitions. TNE is no longer viewed as a complementary activity sitting alongside international student recruitment; rather, it is increasingly recognised as a strategic mechanism for extending educational access, strengthening international partnerships, supporting skills development, and building long-term global influence across different levels and subsectors of education. For me personally, this evolution has been especially interesting to observe. I was fortunate to be involved in several revisions and iterations of the IES following its original publication in 2019, during my time with the UK Department for Business and Trade. Over the years, it has been fascinating to see how the conversation around TNE has matured, from something often discussed primarily in commercial terms, to a much broader recognition of its role in diplomacy, skills development, capacity building, research collaboration, and student opportunity. The scale of global international education continues to grow at pace. UNESCO estimates that globally mobile students now number more than 7.3 million worldwide, up from around 2 million in 2000, with demand projected to continue increasing significantly over the next decade . Alongside this mobility growth, TNE itself has expanded dramatically. According to the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), in 2024/25 there were 669,950 students studying for UK qualifications through TNE programmes overseas, an +8% increase on the previous year and a whopping rise of +37% since 2020/21 . Given the drop in direct student recruitment, this figure is expected to exceed the number of international students physically studying in the UK at many institutions. Key markets for UK TNE continue to include China, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Egypt, Hong Kong, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and increasingly countries across Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia. We are also seeing growing interest and expansion in regions where demographic growth, skills demand, and pressure on domestic higher education systems are creating significant opportunities for international partnerships. Competition intensifying At the same time, competition is becoming far more diverse and sophisticated. While the traditional Big Four destinations (Australia, Canada, the UK, and US) remain highly influential, countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, the UAE, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and even emerging regional education hubs in Central Asia and the wider Gulf are investing heavily in internationalisation and TNE capacity. In many ways, TNE is becoming one of the defining features of global higher education internationalisation. Multifaceted potential Institutions engage in TNE for many different reasons, and while financial sustainability undoubtedly remains important, I like to think that the motivations today are often considerably broader and more strategic. For universities, TNE can: Create a springboard for multilevel strategic engagement in priority markets; Extend institutional reach and global visibility; Support international research and innovation partnerships; Diversify student pipelines and international engagement; Strengthen alumni networks in strategic regions; Enhance institutional resilience against geopolitical or recruitment volatility; Contribute to civic and diplomatic objectives; Create opportunities for curriculum innovation, intercultural learning, and employability. As such, for many institutions, successful TNE partnerships are now viewed as long-term strategic relationships rather than purely recruitment channels. Equally important are the reasons that host governments, local providers, employers, students, and families choose to engage with TNE. Host nations increasingly view TNE as an important strategic tool for supporting national development ambitions and expanding access to high-quality higher education opportunities. In many countries, growing youth populations and rising demand for tertiary education are placing significant pressure on domestic education systems. TNE partnerships can help address this challenge by increasing capacity, broadening programme availability and enabling students to access internationally recognised qualifications without necessarily needing to leave their home country. At the same time, governments often see TNE as a mechanism for supporting national workforce development and skills priorities, particularly in sectors linked to economic transformation, innovation, healthcare, technology, engineering and business. TNE can also help reduce outbound brain drain and the associated economic leakage that occurs when large numbers of students study overseas. By retaining students domestically, countries are often able to keep talent, investment and graduate outcomes within local economies while still benefiting from international expertise and academic collaboration. Beyond student access, many host nations and local institutions value TNE partnerships for the opportunities they create around knowledge exchange, curriculum development, staff training, research collaboration and the strengthening of local higher education capacity. In this sense, well-designed TNE partnerships are increasingly seen not simply as education delivery models, but as long-term contributors to economic development, institutional enhancement and international collaboration. Local institutional partners may benefit through curriculum enhancement, staff development, quality assurance practices, research collaboration and international reputation. Employers frequently value TNE graduates because they bring internationally benchmarked qualifications alongside local cultural and market understanding. Students and parents may gain access to globally recognised degrees at a significantly lower cost than studying overseas, while avoiding visa, travel and living expenses. At a macro-economic level, well-designed TNE ecosystems can support productivity, innovation, human capital development, and regional competitiveness. In short, the value proposition of TNE is increasingly multi-dimensional. But what about student supports? Yet as TNE partnerships continue to grow globally, institutions are increasingly asking an important question: how can we ensure students studying in different locations feel equally supported, connected, and able to succeed? This question sits at the heart of many conversations I have had over recent years. We have spent considerable time across the sector discussing quality assurance frameworks, regulatory structures, market entry strategies, and partnership models. All of these are relevant. But sometimes, the lived student experience, particularly in distributed or partnership-delivery models, receives less attention than it deserves. The reality is that students studying through TNE may face very different challenges depending on geography, language, local infrastructure, cultural context, digital access, teaching models, and expectations around support. A student enrolled on the same UK degree in different countries may experience that programme in very different ways. And while many partnerships deliver exceptional student support, others continue to wrestle with questions around consistency, communication, ownership, and integration. As we pilot this series of articles over the next few editions, I plan to reflect on and explore practical considerations around several areas of student support in TNE, including: Academic support and learning resources Language and communication Well-being and pastoral care Administrative clarity Student voice and engagement Employability and career development Partnership working in student support Rather than to present definitive answers, my aim is to encourage discussion, share observations from across the sector, and highlight examples of thoughtful practice. TNE is now firmly embedded within the future of international higher education. But if partnerships are to remain sustainable, credible, and genuinely student-centred, the student experience must remain central to how we design, manage, and evaluate international provision. I hope these musings spark further conversation and exchange of practice across the sector. If you are currently working in TNE, or thinking about developing provision, I would genuinely welcome your perspectives . – Dr Suzanna Tomassi is Executive Director of External Affairs at NCUK, a leading UK pathway provider, and Founder of CoachEd Global, a consultancy specialising in executive coaching and global education advisory. She is a highly experienced strategic leader and board member with over 20 years’ expertise across UK Government and higher education. Her work focuses on internationalisation, governance, risk oversight, commercial growth, and organisational transformation. Suzanna’s career spans the UK Department for Business and Trade and four major UK universities, where she has shaped national policy, strengthened regulatory and quality frameworks, and led large-scale international expansion initiatives. An expert in transnational education and global operations, Suzanna has driven multi-country growth strategies, co-authored accreditation guidelines, and facilitated major international investments in UK higher education. The post Beyond borders: Why student support matters more than ever in transnational education appeared first on ICEF Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment .

Summary generated from the RSS feed of ICEF Monitor. All article rights belong to the original publisher. Click through to read the full piece on monitor.icef.com.