Letter: Foreign students are key to solving skills shortages

It is incredibly worrying to hear some of our biggest businesses saying they fear for the future of investment in the UK if we continue to make it difficult for overseas students to come here to study (“UK migration policy risks undermining the university sector”, Report, May 15).

This is something we hear regularly at the Institute of Physics and we fear such difficulties risk compounding an already severe skills shortage.

Recent IOP research found that two-thirds of physics-powered businesses have already had to slow down or stop planned R&D investment because of a lack of skills. And, given that universities are struggling with low student numbers, it seems we are at risk of causing real harm to our economy and universities.

Foreign students represent a crucial part of the funding model for UK universities, and this is especially true of physics departments. It’s crucial that we ensure the UK and its universities are a welcoming place for overseas students, who bring huge benefits in terms of skills, life experiences and outlooks. We must not forget that the university sector plays a key role in supporting our ambitions for the UK to be a global leader in science and innovation.

The UK’s skill shortages will continue unless we address these issues, limiting the potential of the transformative social and economic change that science can bring.

Tom Grinyer
Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Physics, London N1, UK