Sunderland gets £153million boost from international students studying at city's university, study shows

A specially commissioned report into the ‘costs and benefits of international higher education students to the UK’ for the academic year 2021/22 showed students from overseas generated £74.3m of economic gain for Sunderland Central, £39.9m for Washington and Sunderland West, and £39.5m for Houghton and Sunderland South.

The city’s university has seen it’s international profile and influence grow in recent years and currently has 7,000 students on transnational education course.

In 2017 the university opened a campus in Hong Kong, where it educates 6,000 students, and currently has has offices and representation in 11 locations around the world including Africa, China, Europe, South Asia, North America, and South East Asia.

The national report, was published by Universities UK International (UUKI), the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Kaplan International Pathways in collaboration with London Economics.

The report shows the economic benefit of international students in the UK rose from £31.3bn to £41.9bn between 2018/19 and 2021/22.

Key findings showed every 11 non-EU students generated £1m worth of net economic impact for the UK economy and on average, each of the 650 parliamentary constituencies in the UK is £58m better off because of international students - equivalent to approximately £560 per citizen.

The cities to economically benefit most from international students were Glasgow, London, Sheffield, Nottingham and Newcastle.

There are currently 18,715 international student studying in the North East and the report highlights the massive economic benefits they bring to the region and city of Sunderland.

Jamie Arrowsmith, Director of Universities UK International, said: “This report further highlights the positive contribution that international students make to the UK. They offer both a cultural and social benefit to our country and make a significant contribution to our economy.

“We should be proud that our universities continue to attract students from all over the world.”

Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, said: “International students underpin the success of universities across the UK. They diversify our campuses, cross-subsidise our research and spend lots of money with UK businesses, before either going home with warm feelings about the UK or staying here and contributing to the UK economy.”