It’s autumn. As temperatures plummet and the new academic year gets under way, students and parents across Ukraineare thinking about 2011-2012. So it’s good to welcome to the residence on different nights two bodies promoting British educational excellence. The first is the Edinburgh Business School, whose internationally recognised distance learning MBA programme is one of the largest and most successful in the world. I was pleased to help the EBS launch its MBA programme in Ukraine and meet some prospective students in January. So it’s rewarding to see the enthusiastic second intake starting their programme. All kinds of Ukrainians with an interest in education attend, ranging from employers thinking of sending their staff on an MBA, through business people thinking of taking an MBA themselves, to first and second year students and educationalists.
The second event, organised by the Donstream Education Group, is to mark the visit to Ukraine of James Pitman, director of Study Group. This includes Bellerbys College, which has four sites in theUK inOxford,Cambridge, Brighton andLondon preparing students for entry toUK universities. James gives a presentation aboutBellerbysCollege and announces an A-level scholarship competition. Again, those attending are an inspiring mix of specialists, parents and educational providers, and the networking is immediate.
To show the intensity of educational contacts between the UKand Ukraine, I’m pleased also to trail the third annual “Doing Business in English” fair, organised by Business Link, which the embassy will be helping to open on 20 October. The fair will bring together 23 British educational institutions, including 5 universities and 4 higher education colleges, to meet potential Ukrainian students.
With four British universities in the world top 10 on the latest ranking and a schools system which attracts some of the brightest pupils from around the world, it’s no surprise that the education sector is now one of theUK’s biggest export earners. If the enthusiasm on show at these occasions is anything to go by, that position looks set to strengthen in the years ahead.