Chief Executive comment on events in the Middle East
Nobody who has witnessed the scenes of destruction in the Middle East over recent days can doubt the seriousness of this moment. It is one that personally affects many across international education.
Many of our students from the region are studying away from home, pursuing a longed-for global education opportunity while worrying about loved ones. Others have returned home for Ramadan and are in the region itself, facing along with their families and generations of other people we have taught, insecurity and uncertainty directly. We also have members of our international team — in the Gulf and across our wider network — with immediate personal and professional connections to the Middle East. All are feeling the impact of events deeply.
Our students and colleagues deserve stability, compassion and practical support — and that is exactly what we are focused on providing.
Over the past few days, we have been in regular contact with our teams in the Middle East and with colleagues across our global network who have family and friends affected.
Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of our community. We have activated our regional response protocols, are providing timely advice and guidance, and have increased access to wellbeing and counselling support. We are also working closely with our university partners to ensure academic continuity and appropriate flexibility at what is an exceptionally difficult time.
Global education creates a community that does not stop at national borders. In moments like this, that interconnectedness is felt personally. It stands in stark contrast to conflict and destruction — a very real foundation for mutual understanding and respect.
This Ramadan will be unlike others for many in our community. It is a time that speaks to humility, reflection and responsibility to one another, values that matter even more in times of conflict.
Education cannot prevent every crisis but avoiding cultural misunderstanding, deepening levels of mutual respect, building empathy and enabling better networks embedded a shared global language go a long way towards it . Where crisis do occur, it fulfils a valuable role in informing and shaping how the next generation responds to them. When students from different backgrounds live and learn together, they build understanding that politics alone cannot achieve. That mission feels especially important now.
I am proud of how our colleagues across Study Group have responded — calmly, professionally and with genuine care and compassion.
We will continue to support everyone in our community affected by these events, and we remain committed to providing the stability and opportunity that international education represents.
