The IC Global Insights

NCUK’s report, ‘The Power and Impact of Pathways’, was co-authored with Nous Group and in partnership with The IC Global.

The report explores the benefits of pathways to students and universities, and analyses how pathway providers can help universities mitigate some of the risks emerging from uncertain political environments, changes in study visa regulations and increased competition.

This report aims to provide an in-depth review of TNE in Nepal.

The report contains both an overview and an analysis of the current climate of TNE activity; the underpinning framework and policies; student motivation and study patterns; delivery modes, both current and areas for future development; and the impact of TNE to Nepal.

The report discusses challenges and opportunities and identifies the areas for ongoing discussion and development.

Insights into the motivations and aspirations of international pathway students.

This report explores the latest findings from nearly 1,000 international students across 88 countries whose views are shaping the future of global higher education. NCUK’s Transforming Student Futures 2 report reveals what drives students to choose pathway programmes, how policy changes influence their decisions, and what their post-study ambitions look like.

The IC Global collaborated with NCUK on this report by providing data analysis, market context and definition of messages. This is NCUK’s second report into the motivations and destination choices of international students, the first of which was also published in collaboration with The IC Global in 2024.

This is primary research based on 138 UK HEIs. It examines whether national regulations and frameworks are needed for internationalisation and global engagement, especially timely with the ambitious UK’s International Education Strategy and the challenges the education sector faces post-coronavirus pandemic.

The report also looks at how the PVC-I role is viewed in institutions, the profile of a PVC-I and the absence of a mapped career path for this position.  In order for PVC-Is to progress to the top of an institution, their skills and attributes as well as synergies across PVC roles need to be understood more widely. Additionally, the report considers how the role of the PVC-I will look in a post-coronavirus pandemic environment.

The undergraduate international student recruitment ecosystem is crowded and complex, with many potential and overlapping pathways for overseas students to enter UK higher education. The diversity of channels can create confusion for students, looking to source trustworthy information, and uncertainty for institutions, seeking to invest limited resources.

To address this knowledge gap, the British Council commissioned the first comprehensive review of ‘Recruitment channels and pathways to undergraduate study in the UK’, with an emphasis on mapping out and quantifying the evolving ecosystem.