More than UK universities will be taking part in the British Council’s ‘Study UK’ event to promote the benefits of studying in the UK to prospective students across Europe.

Undergraduate and postgraduate students will be able to hold one-to-one online conversations with representatives from leading universities; at least 13,000 students from Europe are expected to join the education event in October and November.

The platform is part of the British Council’s Study UK campaign in Europe, working with university partners to promote study in the UK and provide students with clear, reliable information and one-to-one contact with universities.

The platform is free for students to join. There will be two sessions: one for students from EU countries, which opens for registrations on 23 September, with the event running from 19 October-13 November; and a second session for students from Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which will run from 1-30 November.

Each programme will feature live and recorded online talks, where students can learn about how to apply to study in the UK, career opportunities, fees and scholarships, and learn about the most important points in planning their studies – including, for EU students, new processes for applying for applying for visas from January 2021.

British Council insight from early 2020 showed that students from EU countries value the UK highly for its education quality but were finding planning their UK studies difficult due to lack of clarity around changes once the UK leaves the European Union.

UCAS data for 2020 shows that while university acceptances from non-EU international students to study in the UK are at record levels, EU applications have significantly decreased.

This event will give students direct contact with leading UK universities, which they cited as the most influential source for making their study abroad decisions.

Maddalaine Ansell, Director of Education at the British Council, said: ‘Our research shows that European students view the UK as the most attractive overseas study destination for teaching quality and employability. However, misconceptions about the application process, fees and requirements – particularly after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU – may be discouraging some from applying.  Study UK Europe: Gateway to the UK aims to address this through a unique mix of information sessions and one-to-one conversations with higher education institutions.  We will enable UK universities to reach European students directly – and to provide them with the information they need to start what we hope will be a life changing UK study journey.’