Overseas students' £15m boost to Scotland

High street bank Santander found that the 10,025 overseas students at Scottish universities spend an average of 93 a week on shopping, bars, restaurants and travel in local communities.

The study found foreign students provided a "substantial boost" to the local communities in which they study.

Scottish universities agreed that overseas students were a valuable asset and contributed millions.

Their personal spending is in addition to the 105 million in tuition fees that overseas students pay to universities across the UK.

Because international students from outwith the EU do not receive government funding, universities can create extra places for them without reducing the number available for domestic students.

As a result, many have been focusing on overseas recruitment drives as a means of bringing in more income - at a time when universities in Scotland expect budget cuts in the coming years.

St Andrews University has one of the highest proportions of overseas students - about a third of its total roll of 7,400.

Principal Dr Louise Richardson hopes to create an American-style culture at St Andrews in the long term, where alumni contribute financially to their former university later in life.

A spokesman for St Andrews said: "Overseas students are hugely important to all of the UK's leading universities.

"All institutions have been encouraged by the government to development their overseas students numbers, and we do wear out a lot of shoe leather in travelling to face-to-face meetings, and our staff do spend a lot of time doing this."

He said attending education fairs, colleges and schools to promote their institutions was "absolutely integral".

He added while the culture of former students making donations to their university was strong in the United States, it was something that was still in its early stages in Scotland and something "for the future".

Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh is the first Scottish university to have built a campus in Dubai in an indication of its dedication to overseas provision. Some of the money charged to overseas students could eventually help to boost the main campus in Edinburgh.

A spokeswoman said: "We estimate that, apart from fees paid to the university by overseas students studying at our Scottish campuses, the local economy benefits directly financially by about 20m-25m a year from what they pay for staying and living here, as well as visits by family and friends at graduations, etc."The other major local benefit, however, is having students from so many countries around the world living for a few years in our local communities, sharing their expertise, providing a rich cultural mix and taking back positive messages about Scotland when they return home."

Glasgow Caledonian University said the value of teaching and research income from non-UK residents was 9m annually.

Santander's study said the leisure sector received the greatest share of foreign student spend, with 36 per cent spent in bars, clubs and restaurants.

That amounted to annual revenues of 37m across the UK.

The bank said the fall in the value of sterling had also boosted the spending power of foreign students.

Those from the US this year have an extra 25 per cent to spend compared with when they started in 2007, said the bank.

Local retailers have also profited, with 28 per cent of a foreign student's disposable income spent on clothing.

The research also found that female foreign students spent slightly more than males, 95 compared to 91 each week.

Luis Juste, UK director, Santander Universities, said: "The UK is renowned for the quality of its higher education and the number of EU and non-EU students has risen by 5 per cent and 9 per cent respectively in the past year.

"Foreign students should be viewed as an opportunity, and I believe they are a key element in the UK's economic recovery, as well as a key support to our higher education institutions now and in the future."

Numbers continue to rise

INCREASING numbers of students from overseas are applying to Scottish and British universities.

In particular, there has been a large influx from EU countries, as under European law they must be treated the same as domestic students. Those outwith the EU are subject to much higher fees, which provides valuable income for universities looking for ways to offset looming budget cuts.

In 2007 alone, there was a 73.2 per cent leap in Chinese students, the biggest overseas group outside Europe, in Scotland from 314 to 544.

In total, there was a 29.7 per cent increase in the number of students from outwith the European Union, from 2,521 to 3,270.

Applicants from within the EU have also been rising by about 10 per cent a year. Since 2000, there has been an 85 per cent growth in non-EU students in Scotland.