Kenyan scholars keeping UK universities international

I have thought a great deal about UK
universities over the last two years. With
two teenagers coming to the end of High
School, hardly a day goes by in the
Bradshaw household without uttering the
words, “which university?”
Last year I spent a week with my older
son touring the length and breadth of
Britain, attending university open days in
a quest to help him find a course.
We visited the campuses and colleges of a
range of quality establishments, from
Lancaster in the north to Exeter in the
south.
A common experience was the presence
of many overseas students. We expected
internationalism, but were surprised and
delighted by the diversity of the student
bodies. My son feels more at home in
international settings, thanks to our
globe-trotting lifestyle, so this was right
up his street. With so much higher
educational choice as the UK offers,
choosing the right university requires a
system.
Otherwise it’s as random as picking
deodorant in a supermarket (well for me
anyway!).
I advised my son to start by studying the
league tables. I am not talking English
Premier League tables on a Saturday
afternoon here. I mean the Times,
Guardian, and Complete University
Guides, all of which are analysed by bright
and ambitious students and their equally
keen parents every year.
The really big and truly international one
is the QS World University Ranking, which
this year again confirmed the UK’s place
as a higher education model.
The QS rates four of the UK’s universities
as among the top six in the world.
Cambridge, University College London,
Imperial College London, and Oxford are,
according to this survey, our best
universities. There are 14 others in the
top 100. Graduates from Oxford and
Cambridge were rated as the world’s
most employable.
The number of recognised universities and
other higher education institutions in the
UK is more than 160. Almost all of them
have a good body of students and alumni
from Kenya, and Kenyans continue to pick
the UK as one of their most popular
higher education destinations.
Many Kenyan students have recently
been enjoying their last few days of home
comforts before heading off to a UK
university for the 2013/14 term.
I know this because I have witnessed
dedicated visa department colleagues
covered in beads of sweat marching out at
the end of each day having cleared
another enormous batch of student
applications. Not just student visas for
Kenyans but also applications from the
other 11 countries who have their visas
processed through our Nairobi hub.
I also know that some of the students
from Kenya have gone on scholarship
programmes. Last month we had a
reception for the latest Kenyan recipients
of Foreign & Commonwealth Office-
funded Chevening scholarships, awarded
to potential future leaders, decision-
makers and opinion formers. Following a
rigorous application and interview process
we selected nine incredible Kenyans to
study Masters courses at various UK
universities.
Our Guest of Honour that evening, Sports,
Culture and Art Cabinet Secretary Dr
Hassan Wario was himself a Chevening
alumnus, studying at UEA. The application
window for Chevening 2014 closes next

The standard

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