Here we present Top 10 Reasons for exploring Educational Opportunities in United Kingdom (UK) in the words of James Bevan, UK High Commissioner to India. It has been taken from his Speech made at Delhi University on January 9.
- Quality. UK education is the best in the world. The UK has 4 of the top 10 universities in the world, according to the latest rankings of global universities carried out by the QS organization (Cambridge, Oxford, UCL, Imperial). And out of the top 100 universities in the world, no less than 18 are in the UK.
- Choice. In the UK you can study anything, anywhere. We have over 300 institutes of higher learning. They offer thousands of different courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level: engineering, digital media, animation, business, bioscience, cyber security, sports management, fashion, politics, environmental policy, international development, psychology, marketing – the list is almost infinite. If you can’t study it in the UK, you can’t study it anywhere.
- Recognition. A UK qualification is known throughout the world. It confirms that the holder has had a first class education. It is the passport to the global success that every aspirational young Indian wants.
- Value for money. Studying in the UK is not cheap. But in life, you get what you pay for: quality costs money. And the cost of a UK education is possibly the best single investment you can make in your own future. Research shows that foreign students who have been educated in the UK get significantly higher salaries than those who have been educated exclusively at home. And compared with other countries with first class educational institutions, the UK is not an expensive place to study. It is actually cheaper than the US in terms of university fees.
- Your career. A recent survey of employers from all over the world found that graduates from UK universities are among the most desirable for employers from both the private and the public sector. Indeed five of the world’s top ten universities for employability are in the UK. Think for a minute about what employers look for. They want people with excellent English, good interpersonal skills, an international outlook and cultural awareness. They want people who are good at time-management and self-organisation, with a positive attitude and willingness to learn. And they want people who have the ability to respond well to challenges, who are able to come up with new ideas, and are creative in solving problems. Those skills are precisely what studying in the UK will give you.
- Because the UK is a global centre. The UK is one of the most diverse countries in the world. We have students from every country: 500, 000 of them in the UK at any time. In fact a quarter of all the students in the UK are from other countries. Like their Indian fellow students, they are usually the best and brightest in the world. Indians are great networkers. Network with the best!
- Because we speak English. Which means that you can concentrate on the studying not on the language. And that your chances of a successful career are higher. Research shows that people who speak excellent English – which is another of the major benefits of studying in the UK – have substantially higher salaries and reach more senior positions than those who don’t.
- Because the UK has strong ties to home. There are over 1.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK. Almost every Indian coming to the UK will have friends and family there. And there are more Indian students in the UK than any other foreign nationality except Chinese. So wherever you go in the UK, it feels like coming home.
- Lifestyle. The UK is just a great place to live. We have beautiful countryside, historic palaces, exciting cities, vibrant culture. It is a very safe place to live,– a point that as a parent I know matters to all Indian parents. And it’s an exciting place to live. Britain recently topped the latest global “soft power†list as the country which is most attractive to others. Factors which won us that accolade include our pop music (British acts account for more than 10% of total world music sales), computer games (the world’s best-selling game, Grand Theft Auto V, which I have been known to play myself when I need some violent therapy, was made in the UK), film (James Bond), the number of foreign students, the quality of life, and even (yes) our cuisine. Although some of that cuisine is yours: Camellia Punjabi, who introduced regional Indian cuisine to the UK, said recently that the best Indian food in the world is now served in London. And don’t forget sport: the UK is home to three of India’s favourite sports – cricket, golf and football. Although I probably shouldn’t claim cricket for my country: as the Indian writer Asish Nandy has pointed out, cricket is an Indian game accidentally discovered by the British.
- We want you. We in the UK want the world’s best and brightest to come and study in our country: the talent that you have is good for our education, for our economy and for our place in the world. There’s a global competition for the best and brightest and  you students here are in that category.