Established in 1934, the British Council is the UK’s international cultural relations organisation. Working in the areas of arts and culture, English language, and education we build connections, understanding, and trust between people in the UK and countries.

What is the benefit of internationally connected systems?

Looking at higher education, universities have always benefitted from international connections. Over 800 years ago, the UK welcomed its first international student Emo of Friesland who arrived to study at the University of Oxford around 1190 (University of Oxford 2026). Today, UK higher education hosts over 700,000 globally mobile students (UK Parliament 2025). The UK reaches a further half a million students overseas each year through transnational education (Universities UK 2025). It also co-creates new knowledge with international partners producing half of its research by collaborating internationally. We know, for example, that publications with international co-authorship are more highly cited and have a greater FWCI, which is a proxy measure of quality (Wang et al. 2024; Universities UK 2025).

Internationally connected systems create resilience and opportunity, enabling ideas to spark and fuse. They facilitate knowledge and expertise to be shared and optimised. They widen research networks; strengthen shared capacity to respond to global challenges. They, in other words, set the conditions for more equitable partnerships. Humanities-led approaches are central to international connectivity because they bring tested methods for understanding, culture, language, ethics, and trust, making cross-border collaboration more durable and equitable.

In addition to the individual-level benefits that international education can bestow (including cross-cultural competencies, language proficiencies, global perspectives), international mobility has been shown to reduce poverty in low and middle income countries (University of Oxford 2024). It also has long-term benefits in building trust and understanding between people of different nations, and has a long lasting advocacy effect.

The UK is a small island towards the north of Europe, but through its universities and colleges it reaches people and leaders in all corners of the world, contributing alongside its international partners to solving many of the global challenges we face today.

So, there are many reasons why internationally connected systems are beneficial at an individual level, an institutional level, at a national level, and even at a global level.

From international connections to Knowledge Diplomacy

Over the past decade, British Council research on knowledge diplomacy and cultural relations has shown that international higher education and research partnerships can support dialogue between countries, build trust, and deepen relationships through sustained collaboration. In this work, Knowledge Diplomacy frames international collaboration as a process of co-creation with multiple benefits (British Council 2019).

The work of the British Council can take different forms depending on the thematic area of focus, local context and relationships with various stakeholders and partners. Often our work, especially that in the international higher education, research and innovation space falls squarely in the “Knowledge Diplomacy” bracket. In 2018 and 2019  we published some discussion papers relating to knowledge diplomacy. These papers identified the two-way relationship between the role of these sectors in advancing international relations and, conversely, how diplomacy enhances cross-border collaboration and global scholarly exchange.

Going Global Partnerships: Knowledge Diplomacy in practice

Within the British Council’s portfolio of work, the Going Global Partnerships programme supports universities, colleges and wider education stakeholders around the world to work together towards stronger, equitable, inclusive, more internationally connected higher education, science and TVET (technical and vocational education and training, a twin sector which is central to shaping the future of work, enabling green and digital transitions, and driving inclusive economic growth across the world).

Through international partnerships, system collaborations, and opportunities to connect and share, the British Council enables stronger transnational education, more collaborative research, higher quality delivery, enhanced learner outcomes and stronger, internationalised, equitable, and inclusive systems and institutions.

The aim is that through Going Global Partnerships funding, events, system-to-system work and insight we can foster mutually beneficial higher education and TVET collaborations between the UK and other countries. These partnerships work towards outcomes including:

• Enabling research that addresses local and global challenges and promotes inclusive growth.
• Internationalising systems and institutions to support transnational education and system alignment.
• Strengthening the quality, efficiency and accountability of systems and institutions.
• Supporting enhanced learner outcomes, including soft skills and employability.

Ultimately, this can lead to lasting impact in the form of stronger, more inclusive and globally connected higher education and TVET that can help to address global challenges, championing fairer economic and social growth.

Since 2021, Going Global Partnerships has supported over 900 higher and further education institutional partnerships between the UK and more than 60 countries around the world.

Spotlight: greening skills and growing futures in Nepal

“Enhancing green skills and employability in Nepal” is an example of an activity enabled through Going Global Partnerships which fosters links between a diverse range of public and private sector stakeholders including education providers in the UK and internationally to address global challenges in a specific local context.

Nepal faces a growing demand for green skills—skills linked to renewable energy, sustainability and environmentally responsible industry. At the same time, unemployment (especially youth unemployment) remains high, and there’s a clear disconnect between what employers need and what education systems have historically provided.

This collaboration has already achieved several major milestones:

• Nepal’s first-ever Green Skills Advisory Board, endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
• Three new Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between the UK and Nepal, paving the way for sustainable and renewable practice transitions.
• A high-level Skills Summit showcasing innovative UK private-sector-led training models.
• Strengthened international links and leadership capacity across Nepal’s TVET sector.

This platform is now ready to transform green skills training across Nepal by driving more relevant, sustainable education and supporting inclusive pathways into employment.

The partnership is moreover contributing to SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth by addressing education provision and employer expectations. It embeds a new approach that drives curriculum development and supports inclusive employability and job opportunities, especially in the green skills sector.

Through programmes like Going Global Partnerships, the British Council is using a Knowledge Diplomacy approach to help build stronger, more connected education systems and contribute to a fairer global future.