Latest news with #UCAS
Medscape
4 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Nursing Course Applications Hit Record Low, UCAS Reveals
Applications to study nursing in the UK have slumped to their lowest level since records began, prompting renewed warnings over NHS staffing. The most recent figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show 37,170 applications to study nursing in 2025 – a 30% drop compared with 2021, when figures peaked at 53,280. The data to the end of June showed a continued downward trend since the current collection methods began in 2019. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) described the figures as 'devastating news for the 10-Year Health Plan' and urged the government to 'get a grip' on the staffing crisis. 'New Deal' for Students Needed Nicola Ranger 'Students can see that nursing is one of the most undervalued professions in the NHS,' said Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary and chief executive. 'Those pursuing the career face poverty during study and sky-high debt on graduation, only to endure low pay and a lack of career progression once they start work. This cannot go on.' Ranger called for 'a new deal for nursing students' to tackle the crisis. This should include 'loan forgiveness for those who commit to working in the NHS and public services, alongside universal, uplifted maintenance grants, and guaranteed jobs after graduation.' The RCN is currently consulting its 345,000 members on whether this year's 3.6% pay award is sufficient, with the ballot due to close this weekend. The college recently published an analysis showing that starting salaries for nurses are now £8000 lower than they would be if wages had kept pace with inflation since 2010. Challenging Stereotypes The University of East Anglia (UEA) is hoping to increase the appeal of a career in nursing for young people through its This Nurse Can campaign. The initiative highlights the breadth of nursing careers on offer and challenges stereotypes about the profession. It features nurses working in diverse roles, including air ambulance services, cruise ships, and ophthalmology. Simon Rose Simon Rose, a paramedic and UEA's director of admissions and recruitment, launched the campaign after becoming concerned by the year-on-year decline in applications to study nursing, as well as regional figures showing a sharper drop than the national trend. While working as a paramedic, he quickly discovered 'there are quite fixed views of what a paramedic and what a nurse is,' he told Medscape News UK . 'Nurses are often seen as working on a ward or in a hospital and while that can be true, careers in nursing have really expanded. I don't think people are necessarily aware of the diverse range of employment options there is.' UEA has already seen higher engagement at open days, although Rose said it was too early to judge whether applications would rise. 'What we have had over the last 3 or 4 years is year-on-year decreases and failing to hit our targets,' he added. 'Sometimes, when you're in a year-on-year deficit, just to hit target is a result and we're forecasting for this at the minute. But if you have a year where there is an issue with A-level grades, for example, that can change everything. Admissions is quite a difficult one to predict at this stage.' Early Engagement Matters Lorna Mayles Lorna Mayles, the RCN's professional lead for students, described the decline in applications as 'really disheartening'. She said that student members enjoy working alongside registered nurses and appreciate the variety of placements on offer, ranging from residential care and schools to hospitals and GP practices. 'Nursing is such an incredible career, and it offers many opportunities,' Mayles said. 'It's important we break down some of those stereotypes that exist in the media that can portray nurses as being women in uniform.' She added: 'Anyone can be a nurse. You can come from a diverse background or enter nursing as a second career. It's a career that is open to everyone.' Mayles thinks more should be done to promote nursing to children – even in primary schools. 'We need to get people thinking much earlier that nursing is a potential career opportunity,' she said. 'It's spreading the word on that positivity much earlier than we currently are.' Calls for Financial Support One possible solution could be a scheme similar to the NHS Wales Bursary, which offers financial support for tuition fees. It also provides a contribution towards living costs for UK students who enrol in an eligible healthcare course, such as nursing in Wales. Students must commit in advance to work in the NHS in Wales for 2 years (for degree students) or 18 months (for diploma students) after they qualify. 'I don't necessarily see a situation where our current government would return to fully funding courses in England,' said Rose. 'Yet, if the NHS could offer a similar initiative to NHS Wales — where nurses would be coming into the NHS for a guaranteed number of years — this would surely be an investment worth supporting.'
Forbes
21-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Record Numbers Of U.S. Students Are Applying To Colleges In The U.K.
The University of St Andrews in Scotland is one of the most popular destinations for U.S. ... More undergraduates studying in the U.K. A record number of American students are applying to colleges in the United Kindgom, this year, according to new data released last week. That surge in interest comes as the Trump administration continues its highly publicized campaign against many aspects of higher education in this country, including attacks on international students, cutbacks in research funding, pressure on university presidents, crackdowns on elite institutions, and challenges to various components of the curricula – particularly those having to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. One apparent effect of these tactics is a marked increase in the number of American undergraduate students looking to U.K. institutions to continue their post-secondary education. New figures from the Universities and Colleges Admission Service show that by the June 30 deadline, 7,930 applications had been received from American students for the fall 2025 semester. That represents an almost 14% increase over the previous year, and it's the highest total since these data began to be collected in 2006. The UCAS is a shared or unified admissions system employed in the U.K. Similar to the Common App in the United States, it's used by many — but not all — American students applying to British and other U.K. institutions so it likely underestimates the total number of applicants from the U.S. In addition, because it deals only with undergraduate admissions, it does not capture the outflow of U.S. graduate students that also appears to be underway. The number of international students applying for undergraduate studies at U.K. universities and colleges through UCAS increased overall by 2.2%. The increase was driven by a record number of applicants from China, up 10%, in addition to year-over-year increases in applicants from Ireland (+15%), Nigeria (+23%) and the U.S.(+14%). Not only did applications increase, the number of offers made by U.K. institutions to international students also saw a substantial jump — up more than 9% over the prior year. Meanwhile, U.S. institutions are expecting international student enrollment to decrease this year. As examples: In the 2023-24 academic year, more than 1.1 million international college students were enrolled in the U.S, according to the Institute of International Education's Open Doors report. That number marked an all-time high, representing about 6% of all college students in the nation. Since the pandemic in 2020-21, when the number of international students declined by a record 15%, enrollments have increased by a total of 200,000 students over the past three years. However, the tide appears to be turning against the U.S. as a preferred destination for international students in the Trump era, and institutions in Europe, Australia and Asia are taking advantage and gaining market share. That shift is now being accompanied by an increasing number of American students deciding to look abroad to continue their education, with the U.K. becoming a major beneficiary of these decisions.
Forbes
20-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Burgeoning Hedge Strategy Amplifies Commercial Technology In Defense
ATLANTIC OCEAN - MAY 14: In this handout released by the U.S. Navy, An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air ... More System (UCAS) demonstrator launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) May 14, 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean. George H.W. Bush is the first aircraft carrier to sucessfully catapult-launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. The Navy plans to have unmanned aircraft on each of its carriers to be used for surveillance and be armed and used in combat roles. (Photo by U.S. Navy via Getty Images)Advancing the Mix of Defense Capabilities The President's defense budget, released in June, embraces a vision of balancing traditional platforms with new digital technologies—a 'Hedge Strategy'—at a pivotal moment for military modernization. This "high/low" approach, enables the U.S. military to complement its arsenal of (high) expensive defense platforms of ships, tanks and planes with new capabilities such as small, inexpensive, AI-enabled and upgradeable unmanned systems (low). Hedge Strategy is a term coined by Rear Admiral (retired) Lorin Selby and me in a paper we co-authored in 2022. Later that year, Rep. Ken Calvert, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee—Defense (HAC-D), called for adopting new technologies—predominantly commercial technologies—as a hedge strategy and provided increased funding for the concept. Today, the vision is becoming a reality on a much larger scale. America's military arsenal now includes an increasing inventory of unmanned systems across air, sea, and ground, along with a proliferated constellation of small satellites. Harnessing leading commercial technologies, these capabilities weren't mature enough to be on the battlefield a decade ago but have proven instrumental in Ukraine and other recent conflicts. In fact, in describing the War in Ukraine a few weeks ago, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Colin Kahl, observed that this war is a surprising mix of the trenches and artillery shells of World War I with World War III. We haven't left the industrial age of armaments behind, but armaments are now complemented by drones and emerging digital technologies which, in combination, are game-changing capabilities a modern military cannot live without. This photograph shows the first batch of Ukrainian made drone missiles "Peklo" (Hell) delivered to ... More the Defence Forces of Ukraine in Kyiv on December 6, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. December 6, 2024 marks the 33th anniversary of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP) (Photo by GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images) Recognizing this, Congress has strongly supported the organizations within the Defense Department which focus on commercial capabilities such as the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), whose budget has increased ten-fold in the last three years to $2 billion for FY26, and the Office of Strategic Capital, which now can offer up to $4 billion in loans for component technologies like batteries and rare-earth magnets that are critical for defense. The Defense Department must pivot quickly to adopt new capabilities to augment what's in place and do so with more cost-effective technologies. In other words, our military must shift from expending the U.S. Navy's multi-million dollar missiles to neutralize Houthi low-cost drone attacks. Additionally, we must embrace more nimble and asymmetric warfare like Ukraine's recent Operation Spider's Web. Systems that provide low-cost, attritable mass, better tactical situational awareness, and optimized decision-making by fusing multi-modal data in real-time all reinforce the mix shift towards new capabilities. Traditional primes like Lockheed Martin and L3Harris, along with emerging primes like Anduril, are advancing lower-cost, mass produced munitions to improve defense-offense cost ratios. SANA'A, YEMEN - NOVEMBER 13: Mock drones and missiles are displayed at an exhibition on November 13, ... More 2024, in Sana'a, Yemen. Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis announced on Tuesday that they launched a significant attack by drone and ballistic and cruise missiles on US Navy vessels, while they were navigating at the Bab al-Mandeb strait off the Yemeni coast. (Photo by)$1 Trillion for Defense The appropriations landscape today is multifaceted. For the current fiscal year—FY25–Congress did not pass a defense budget, so the Defense Department operates under a Continuing Resolution which is less efficient than an on-time budget since a CR usually means no annual spending increases (regardless of inflation) and no new program starts. For next fiscal year—FY26, which begins this October—the President submitted his budget four months late which puts a burden on Congress to appropriate funds on time. The FY26 budget request at $831.5 billion is only slightly larger than last year's $825 billion. WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 03: Members of the House walk up the steps outside the U.S. Capitol during the ... More procedural vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), President Donald Trump and other Republicans are scrambling to gather enough support to begin debate on Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill. (Photo by) However, Congress recently passed the Big Beautiful Bill (or Reconciliation) which includes $150 billion of additional and multi-year defense spending for the next five fiscal years with $133 billion planned in FY26. Defense spending in FY26 might include the regular appropriation of $831.5 billion plus $133 billion plus around $40 billion for nuclear refurbishment executed by the Department of Energy. This combination pushes top-line defense spending to a record $1 trillion. However, this level of spending, as a percentage of U.S. GDP (estimated at $30 trillion for 2026), is only 3.4% of the economy. Historically, the U.S. has spent much more on defense: 6% in the Reagan build-up, 9% in the Vietnam War and routinely 8-10% in the 1950s. The cost of fighting (and potentially losing) a major war with China is far more costly than what the U.S. spends on defense. With a nod to Ronald Reagan, President Trump's 'Peace through strength' policy means the U.S. must continue to invest to deter adversaries from initiating future wars. A $1 Trillion defense budget is likely to become the norm as geopolitical tensions suggest we will be in a great power competition with multiple capable adversaries for years to come. Our adversaries, especially China, recognize that new technologies can deliver battlefield advantage and our adversaries are sharing military technology and strengthening each other's supply chains. As a result, the race is on to invest in new capabilities and adopt them rapidly to yield a military edge. In addition, the U.S. must rebuild with its allies the ability to sustain manufacturing for the materiel needed in a conflict. Golden Dome, All Types of Unmanned Systems, and AI HawkEye 360 satellites gather signals intelligence data to provide governments with better ... More understanding of activity in regions such as the South China Sea. HAWKEYE 360, HERNDON, VIRGINIA Specifically, there are several initiatives fueling large spending increases that should benefit commercial technology vendors. Perhaps most visible is the President's Golden Dome estimated at three years and $175 billion or more to develop. The FY26 down payment on this initiative is $25 billion with two-thirds for more and better sensors from space that could detect enemy missiles, improvements in standardized satellite manufacturing, and better ways to search and process the increasing amount of space-based imagery. DoD will heavily leverage commercial solutions in delivering Golden Dome. Rendering of Albedo's Clarity-1 in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) capturing exquisite imagery For the first-time, there are large, dedicated budget lines for aerial, ground-based, maritime surface and underwater autonomous systems, totaling $16 billion including AI-based software to control them. A partial list includes $1.4 billion for small unmanned aerial vehicles like the first-person view drones in Ukraine, $2 billion for medium maritime surface autonomy, $.7 billion for underwater autonomy, $1 billion for one-way aerial attack drones, and $3 billion for systems to counter drones. Lightfish Security ASV features a small solid state radar and a high resolution day/night camera to ... More detect and identify vessels within a few miles and transmit the radar image and video real time to the user. Designed to be used in a constellation of multiple vessels to counter Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, monitor protected marine areas, secure our maritime borders and maintain overwatch on critical maritime infrastructure In AI-based software, spending will increase 50% from $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion according to defense data provider, Obviant. This should significantly expand the military's adoption of AI-based commercial applications such as modeling and simulation for logistics, analyzing the electromagnetic spectrum, code generation and modernization, and other AI-native applications like agentic workflows. The Pentagon's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office recently awarded four contracts (each worth up to $200 million) to the leading large language model providers so that, analogous to the Department's multi-cloud strategy, the Pentagon can make use of multiple models for better decision What? The upshot of this shifting mix of capabilities is a much more favorable environment for commercial technology adoption with opportunities for new vendors. The defense primes have consolidated 90% over the last 30 years to only five companies. While there are only one to three primes competing for major weapon systems, there are dozens of companies producing unmanned systems, software. and space solutions. As the Department buys these new capabilities, there is a much-needed opportunity to expand the supply base. In addition, both the Congress and the Administration have been rapidly ordering changes to streamline the requirements, budget and acquisition processes that underlie the historically long timeframes to deliver new warfighter capabilities. The SPEED Act and FoRGED Act will include some of the biggest reforms in decades much of which will be incorporated in this year's National Defense Authorization Act. The President has already issued six Executive Orders to modernize defense acquisition, realize American drone dominance and rapidly increase shipbuilding capacity. The process changes incorporated in these Orders reinforce existing law that the military should buy commercial first wherever possible (rather than unique military items) and emphasize commercial methods of procurement (leveraging Other Transaction Authority vs. Federal Acquisition Regulations). Additionally, the Department should use a modular open-systems approach when designing large platforms that allows for substituting more capable subsystems on a faster cycle (rather than buying a set specification from a single vendor for decades). These changes create an inflection point for commercial technology adoption. UNITED STATES - MAY 06: Full committee hearing on the "Department of Defense at High Risk: The ... More Chief Management Office's Recommendations for Acquisition Reform and Related High Risk Areas." Witnesses: Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn testifies Location: 2118 Rayburn House Office Building. May 6, 2009. (Photo By Douglas Graham/) In an increasingly dangerous world, we are entering a new era of record defense spending and the adoption of commercial technologies to augment current capabilities. The Trump Administration is striving for real reform in what's being bought and how it's being bought—doubling down on acquisition tradecraft pioneered by the Defense Innovation Unit as described in the book Unit X. Consequently, these process simplifications make it more attractive for venture-backed companies to develop a defense business. Hedging existing military capabilities with solutions from defense tech vendors not only complements what defense primes can do with large platforms (ships, planes and tanks) but also brings more competition to defense procurement with companies that can ramp manufacturing quickly. Today's arsenal of democracy needs to not only be better stocked but also stocked with more modern capabilities. Additionally, the arsenal should include companies that can iterate capabilities with warfighter feedback since improvements on the battlefield now happen in hours not years. Ukraine demonstrates that wars are never won as rapidly as aggressors imagine before the conflict. Consequently, success requires new capabilities that evolve rapidly plus sufficient industrial capacity to sustain a war effort for years. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) ... More weather satellite Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U (GOES-U) lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, June 25, 2024. The United States on June 25 launched a new satellite expected to significantly improve forecasts of solar flares and coronal mass ejections — huge plasma bubbles that can crash into Earth, disrupting power grids and communications. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the satellite into orbit took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:26 pm (2126 GMT), the US space agency announced. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images)
The Independent
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Record 8,000 US students have applied to UK universities amid Trump's college crackdown
American students are applying for U.K. universities in record numbers amid Donald Trump 's college crackdown during his first few months in office. The Trump administration has intervened in higher education, pressuring states, colleges, and universities to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion programs while attempting to dictate curriculum. The president has also launched high-profile battles against institutions such as Harvard University, freezing billions of dollars in federal funding over alleged liberal bias and antisemitism and threatening their tax-exempt status. All of that appears to be driving American students across the Atlantic, with new figures from the U.K.'s university admissions service, UCAS, showing 7,930 applications from American students for the fall 2025 semester. It marks a nearly 14 percent rise on the previous year and the highest total since records began in 2006. The total number of U.S. students paying deposits to secure places on UK courses is up 19 percent compared to this time last year, according to Enroly. St Andrew's University is home to around ten percent of Americans studying at UK institutions. The prestigious university, which has educated the Prince and Princess of Wales, reported a 14 percent increase in applications, according to the Financial Times. Cara Skikne of Studyportals, a higher education data provider, said increased concern over campus freedoms had pushed more U.S. students to consider degrees abroad. 'Global universities are increasingly competing to attract students who feel unwelcome in the US, and at the moment that includes many of its domestic students,' she told the FT. Studyportals analysed student searches on its website to highlight another concerning trend: U.S. universities are losing their appeal to international students. Research published in June showed that pageviews for U.S. courses fell by 50 percent in the first quarter of the year, marking a post-Covid-19 pandemic low. Despite Trump's more restrictive approach to student visas and immigration policies, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the U.S. remains a welcoming place for British students. Last month, McMahon told The Times that she would like to continue 'to encourage' British students 'to come here and study'.
Business Insider
17-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
American students are applying for British universities in record numbers after Trump's college crackdown
A record number of American students are turning to British universities amid mounting political pressure on higher education in the US. New figures released Thursday by UCAS, the UK's university admission service, show that 7,930 students from the US applied for UK undergraduate courses for fall 2025 — a 13.9% increase from the previous year and the highest total since records began in 2006. The rise comes as UK universities experience a broad surge in applications, with this year's total number of applicants reaching 665,070, up 1.3% year-on-year, with UK 18-year-olds also hitting a record high of 328,390 applicants. International applications rose 2.2% overall, with significant increases from China, Nigeria, Ireland, and, notably, the US. The jump in American interest coincides with a growing sense of instability in US higher education. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented crackdown on universities, freezing billions in federal funding and threatening elite institutions like Harvard and Columbia with sweeping restrictions. His administration has cited concerns over antisemitism, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and campus activism. Harvard alone has sued the federal government after $8.9 billion in grants and contracts were frozen when it refused Trump's demands, including scaling back DEI initiatives and limiting admissions of international students. The White House has also threatened to revoke the school's tax-exempt status and launched reviews into dozens of other universities, including Princeton, Columbia, and Cornell. While some universities, like Columbia, have conceded to Trump's conditions to restore funding, others, including Harvard, have opted to fight back in court. Some international universities have seized the moment by launching fast-track admissions, extending application deadlines, and dangling "unconditional offers" — even promoting proximity to tropical getaways — in a bid to lure US and international students away from American institutions.
