How can academic ties between Italy and UK be strengthened?

Over the past months, I have engaged with a range of higher education stakeholders in the United Kingdom and in Italy as part of a British Council study on academic cooperation between Italy and the United Kingdom. The findings of that study have now been published.

This study is a follow-up to previous research that examined Italian universities’ perspectives on post-Brexit collaborations with UK institutions.

It expands on that research by incorporating the viewpoints of UK higher education providers and focusing more specifically on academic cooperation through double degrees and transnational education (TNE) partnerships. It also addresses related topics, such as student mobility and research collaboration.

The final report provides an overview of UK-Italy higher education cooperation, focusing on student mobility, TNE, and research, along with the policy environment for inbound TNE in Italy.

It presents findings from surveys, interviews and a workshop at the Italy-UK Pontignano Conference 2024. It includes recommendations for policy measures to strengthen academic cooperation. It also includes lists of existing UK TNE partnerships and UK-Italy double degree programmes as well as case studies of UK validation and franchise partnerships in Italy.

Importantly, the report includes several policy recommendations aimed at strengthening bilateral academic ties. One such recommendation urges the UK government to pursue post-Brexit agreements with EU member states to facilitate reciprocal student mobility.

The recent announcement of a new UK-EU agreement, which includes plans for deeper collaboration through a “youth mobility scheme” and raises the prospect of the UK rejoining the Erasmus+ programme, is a particularly encouraging development for the future of UK-Italy academic cooperation.

UK-Italy academic cooperation

Student mobility:
There has been a significant decline in Italian students enrolling in UK higher education since the UK’s departure from the European Union, with a 51% drop overall and a 57.8% decrease in first-year enrolments between the 2020 to 2021 and 2023 to 24 academic years.

However, most of the decline occurred in the first few years, and mobility from Italy has since stabilised. This mirrors broader trends with EU student mobility to the UK.

Interestingly, in the same period, there has been a 15.3% increase in UK students enrolling in Italian universities, with Italy representing the fourth most popular country under the Turing outward mobility programme.

Despite these trends, the UK remains a popular destination for Italian students, and there is still a significant difference in student flows between the two countries.

Transnational education:
In 2023 to 2024, there were 2,885 students enrolled in UK TNE programmes in Italy, making Italy the 10th largest destination for UK TNE in the EU. This represents a 19% growth since 2018 to 2019, before COVID-19 and the UK’s departure from the EU.

Just over 50% of UK TNE in Italy is offered through distance learning, the remaining through validation and franchise partnerships with local institutions, often in niche subject areas.

Based on a comprehensive review of Italian and UK universities’ websites, there are currently just over 60 known double degree programmes between UK and Italian universities, with the UK ranking fifth among countries with such agreements with Italy. Italy, in turn, is the fourth-largest partner country for double degree agreements with UK universities.

Research:
Italy is a key research partner for the UK, with Italian academics forming one of the largest foreign communities in the UK higher education sector.

This significant presence of Italian academics in the UK has been crucial in maintaining strong academic ties between the two countries. However, recent trends show a decline in the number of Italian academic staff in the UK.

Despite concerns surrounding the impact of Brexit, Italian researchers remain keen to continue collaborating with the UK. European funding has traditionally supported most research collaboration between the two countries.

The UK’s quick re-entry into Horizon Europe is therefore regarded as crucial for preserving and strengthening ongoing research collaboration.

The Italian policy landscape for TNE:
The Italian policy landscape for inbound TNE distinguishes between two main types of foreign higher education presence: branch campuses and subsidiaries (filiazioni).

Branch campuses allow foreign institutions to offer study programmes and award degrees recognised in Italy. Currently, only one branch campus, the French ESCP Business School, operates in Italy.

Subsidiaries, on the other hand, enable foreign institutions to decentralise part of their academic programmes in Italy, primarily for study-abroad purposes. There are over 130 subsidiaries (or study abroad centres) in Italy, all operated by US universities.

There are legal constraints regarding the decentralisation of full degree programmes, particularly in regulated fields such as medicine, to avoid an oversupply of graduates in these regulated professions.

Recognition of TNE qualifications in Italy requires compliance with strict quality and equivalence criteria, including institutional recognition, scientific relevance, adequate facilities and faculty qualifications.

Qualifications from validated or franchised partnerships are not recognised in Italy due to quality and quality assurance concerns. There might be potential to overcome these recognition barriers through improved cooperation in quality assurance between Italian and UK regulatory and quality assurance bodies.