Graduate visa is helping attract the best talent to the UK, says provost of University of Birmingham

The graduate visa, which was introduced in 2021 and gives international students permission to stay in the UK for at least two years after successfully completing a course in the country, is proving to be attractive for Indian students.
“We have had a political transition last year from one government to another in the UK and that has made a significant difference. Our current government have been very clear about the importance of post-study work visas for the students that come to the UK. One of the first announcements that the new government made was reassurance on this visa policy,” Dr Stephen Jarvis, provost and vice-principal at the University of Birmingham (UOB), told the Times of India during his recent visit to Goa.
“For students who are contemplating where to go in the world if they do want to study overseas, the UK is in a good position now. I think that we’ve got this post-study work visa in place,” Dr Jarvis added. And with the current UK government likely to be in power for at least one term of five years, there is stability around this policy issue, he feels.
An international student on a Tier 4 (General) student visa, who has studied a UK bachelor’s degree or postgraduate degree, is eligible to stay in the UK on the graduate visa for two years. For PhD and doctoral qualifications, the visa lasts for three years. From the graduate visa, students can switch to the skilled worker visa, if they get a job.
“One of the reasons that we put a post-study work visa in place is because we are very interested in trying to attract the best talent into the country in areas including technology, engineering, biomedical sciences, and similar areas. We are trying to build the UK economy and we need to attract, and in some cases, retain the best possible talent,” Dr Jarvis said.
Top universities in the UK, including UOB, under the Russell Group of 24 public research universities, are now strongly focussed on the connection between study and employment. “And the graduate visa is part of that and is important to us. We are working with companies to reflect on curriculum development; to make sure that we are training students with the right skills, including communication, and the right ways to use emerging technologies such as AI in the workplace,” Dr Jarvis said.
The UOB is a popular destination for Indian students with an intake of around 2500 in the past three years. On an average, annually there have been 60 enrolments of undergraduate Indian students and 1000 post-graduate students. There has also been a steady increase in the number of postgraduate research students from India. The university has also emerged a top institution for graduate employment. “The city of Birmingham is young, cosmopolitan and vibrant and a great place to study and work. Many companies are moving out of London to relocate in Birmingham and there are loads of opportunities for students who come to join our programmes, not just in the areas of technology, but also in areas such as sports management and creative industries,” Dr Jarvis said.
While the increase in the salary threshold for skilled worker visas in the UK is cause of concern for Indian professionals and international students; prominent universities don’t see any reason for worry for their students. “Statistics show that this is not a problem for us at all. Our graduating students are getting good jobs with pretty good salaries compared to the industry median figures. And we are, in fact, ranked number one in a recent survey on employment,” Dr Jarvis said. He however added that Indian students should continue to be discerning and choose the right universities in the UK for both postgraduate and undergraduate courses. “The good universities will continue to attract bright students, train them well, and give them fantastic opportunities and send them on to work with great prospects. But, of course, there are other universities where that’s not quite the case.”
As in most international universities, UOB is also seeing a change in the courses that Indian students prefer to join. “There has been a shift. When 20 years ago we came to the British Council fairs, we were answering questions about MBAs and computer science disciplines. Now we are seeing a much broader take up of programmes including courses related to sustainability, climate change, renewable energy, material science and aerospace. There’s quite a good mixture now and all of these are disciplines which have got good connectivity to work placements and work experience after that,” Dr Jarvis said adding that the courses of choice are not always STEM related. “We have seen a big rise in interest in sports management and creative fields among international students. These have become very attractive areas to work in,” he said.
UOB offers a platform to support students with entrepreneurial skills and ideas called UOB Elevate, which is popular among Indian students. “It is a platform that provides professional support for them to be able to take their work forward and think about how they might develop it in terms of startups. Our former chancellor Lord Karan Bilimoria was passionate about entrepreneurship among students and had set up several schemes for startups,” Dr Jarvis said.
UOB is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and has invested a lot of money in scholarships which are available for Indian students. “This year is probably one of the best, to try and apply to Birmingham, particularly for a supported place,” Dr Jarvis said.