UK falls further behind the US in number of world leaders educated at its universities – iNews

The UK has slipped further behind the US in the number of serving world leaders who have been educated at its universities, according to an annual soft power league table.

In 2021, 65servingworld leaderswere educated inAmerica compared to 57 in Britain, according to the Higher Education Policy Institute think tank.

In 2017 the UK was narrowlyin front,but inevery year since the US has pulled further ahead.

France is in a distant third place, having educated 30, while Russia and Australia have both taught 10 apiece.

UK-educated world leaders who have taken office in the last yearinclude LuisArce, President of Bolivia (Warwick University), Bisher Al-Khasawneh, Prime Minister of Jordan(School of Oriental and African Studies, London School ofEconomics), WavelRamkalawan, President of the Seychelles(BirminghamUniversity), and SamiaSuluhuHassan, President of Tanzania(Manchester University).

HEPI director Nick Hillmansaid:When we started doing this, the UK was at the head of the pack, just pipping the United States to the post. In each year since, the UK has continued to perform well but the US has gradually built up a commanding lead that is coming to look unbeatable, at least in the short term.

He said that the decision to allow international students to workfor two years in the UK after graduation wouldimprove the attractiveness of British universities, but further action might be needed to boost overseas applications.

Long may that continue but, given the competitive and ever-changing environment for international student recruitment, no one should take it for granted, he added.

Elsewhere on Thursday, the University of Oxford was rated the top university in the world for a record sixth year in a row.

In theTimes Higher Education world rankings, Oxford beat California Institute of Technology and Harvard, which both took second place.

US universities dominated the top 10 in the rankings, claiming eight places for the second year in a row.

Stanford University in the US came fourth, while the University of Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) both took fifth place.

Imperial College London came 12th, compared to 11th last year, while University College London (UCL) fell from 16th to joint 18th place.

Also making it into the top 50 were the London School of Economics and Political Science (27th), University of Edinburgh (30th), Kings College London (35th) and University of Manchester (50th).

Overall, the UK has 28 universities in the top 200, down from 29 last year.

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UK falls further behind the US in number of world leaders educated at its universities - iNews