Nine British universities have joined forces with the charity Mosaik Education to create the ‘Mosaik Scholarship’—a programme that funds remote master’s degrees for students from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Cameroon who were barred from obtaining UK study visas in March. The emergency ‘visa brake’, imposed after a surge in asylum claims, effectively shut down on-campus opportunities for more than 4,000 prospective students. In response, institutions including King’s College London, St Andrews and Cardiff will provide at least 19 fully-funded places delivered either online or through transnational education hubs. University leaders say the scheme preserves the UK’s global academic reach without breaching Home Office restrictions. Because the courses are delivered overseas, students do not require entry clearance; yet they still earn a UK-awarded qualification. The move highlights how immigration policy shocks can ripple through higher-education recruitment and alumni pipelines. Corporate sponsors that fund employee scholarships should note that distance programmes may now be the only viable pathway for staff from the four affected countries. Sector experts see the collaboration as a template for crisis response—leveraging the UK’s 650,000-strong offshore student body to keep talent engaged until political conditions allow in-country study to resume.
Source: Times Higher Education
