The Market Monitor Digest (week 05/2026)
We're glad to bring you the key highlights from this week’s industry news. Thanks to the research from the BONARD Market Monitor team, you’re always in step with the latest market trends.
International Education
Canada & India: Canada extends hand of friendship for talented Indians amid US headwind
By The Economic Times, Jan 23, 2026
Amid headwinds faced by Indians seeking research and higher education opportunities in the USA, Canada is stepping in, proposing research collaborations and academic exchange programmes with Indian institutions.
US: Sector backs Harvard int’l students in Trump legal fight
By The PIE News, Jan 23, 2026
Nearly two dozen sector associations have backed Harvard in its ongoing court case challenging Trump’s efforts to bar international students from attending the university.
UK: UK universities face rising deficits as levy looms
By The PIE News, Jan 26, 2026
As a third of UK universities face financial deficits, experts are concerned about a growing number of institutions at risk of exiting the market, with the incoming international student levy set to make matters worse.
Sweden: Academics demand coordinated approach to migration policy
By University World News, Jan 23, 2026
Sweden’s university teachers and researchers have publicly called for the government to take a more coordinated and evidence-based approach to the issue of migration so as not to contradict its own stated ambition of raising Sweden’s attractiveness to foreign researchers and international talent.
Australia: More stability beckons for Australian international education
By Times Higher Education, Jan 26, 2026
Analyst predicts end to enrolment uncertainty despite pressure on South Asia, onshore demand and postgraduate programmes. Growth in Oz international ed now back in undergrad after several years of postgrad surge. Unis need to change their overseas marketing strategies as a result.
Ireland: Ireland to offer €10,000 scholarships for international students from January 29
By The Economic Times, Jan 27, 2026
The Government of Ireland has announced that applications for the 2026 Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship programme will open on January 29, 2026. The programme will offer 60 scholarships to international students for one year of full-time postgraduate study, providing a €10,000 stipend along with a full tuition fee waiver from host institutions.
UK: New data highlights shifting patterns in UK higher education enrolments
By National Centre for Universities and Business, Jan 27, 2026
Total enrolments fell by 1% in 2024/25, but this masks diverging trends: first-degree enrolments grew by 2%, while postgraduate research numbers rose sharply by 11%. At the same time, postgraduate taught entrants declined by 5%, driven largely by a significant drop in international students, including a 10% fall in non-EU entrants.
UK & Asia: Asian stakeholders see fresh opportunities in UK’s new IES
By The PIE News, Jan 28, 2026
Representatives closely working on UK-Asia higher education links see the new international education strategy (IES) as a key pathway to expanding partnerships between the UK and Asian countries. While not explicitly named as a priority market in the strategy, Sri Lanka is expected to play a key role in the IES, with the country widely seen as one of the largest hosts of UK TNE students.
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