Study Group welcomes US strategic ambitions for international education
International Education specialist Study Group has warmly welcomed the news that the United States government has indicated it will prioritise international education in its National Export Strategy. This is the first time the US has formally invoiced education in this annual strategy document.
The 2023 National Export Strategy focuses on five key elements:
- Connecting US and international consortia with foreign groups interested in US education.
- Promoting the US as a premium study destination.
- Highlighting the importance of international education as a US export.
- Identifying and promoting global opportunities for US Education.
- Levelling the playing field in export markets.
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reports U.S. exports of education-related travel totalled $37.68 billion, a 17% increase from the previous year and that “education exports also return cross-cutting economic benefits to the nation through workforce development, R&D, and foreign direct investment, which underpin prosperity, economic development, and competitiveness across sectors.”
America also values the non-economic benefits of international education including “strengthened relationships between current and future leaders, which can help facilitate relations between the United States and other countries” as well helping develop global awareness amongst its own citizens “as they are exposed to the ideas, perspectives, cultures, and languages of their international peers.” International education is also praised as playing a key role in supporting research and innovation, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Responding to the inclusion of International Education in the National Export Strategy, Study Group Executive Director, Partner Acquisition and Development July Behl comments:
“It’s tremendously exciting to see the US taking such a positive approach at the level of national strategy to encourage the growth of international education and to articulating its benefits. Having recently visited Study Group partnerships with US universities and met with students who have travelled across the world to pursue their educational dreams in America, I have seen first-hand how a US education transforms lives and benefits communities who become a home from home.
“At Study Group we already have plans to grow our portfolio of US university partners to open up international education, and this new report underlines our optimism about America as an exciting and welcoming study destination for talented young people across the globe.”
Looking to the future, the US Strategy notes it is expected that education will be a $7 trillion industry by 2025, and that a significant element of this industry is travel exports for education purposes, which includes all expenditures by international students who come to the United States for their studies.