Transnational education is a key part of how higher education institutions advance knowledge, broaden opportunity, and contribute to shared global futures.
At a time when global challenges — from climate change to public health, digital inequality to political instability — are increasingly complex, the role of universities has never been more vital. As these challenges transcend national borders, so must our educational ecosystems.
Transnational education (TNE) is no longer a strategic add-on to universities’ activities but an essential part of how higher education institutions advance knowledge, broaden opportunity, and contribute to shared global futures.
The question before us is clear: How can universities work with partners across continents to build TNE models that transform lives? For too long, TNE has been dominated by the idea of exporting education — shipping curricula, expertise, and credentials from the Global North to Global South. That model is outdated and hugely problematic; today’s world demands a more equitable, collaborative way of working.
Meaningful international partnership is not simply about institutional presence abroad; it is about shared purpose, mutual investment, and long-term commitment. Whether in Dubai, Singapore, or India, the University of Birmingham’s most successful collaborations begin with a clear alignment of values and commitment to co-creation.
My own university’s experience shows that meaningful international partnership is not simply about institutional presence abroad; it is about shared purpose, mutual investment, and long-term commitment. Whether in Dubai, Singapore, or India, the University of Birmingham’s most successful collaborations begin with a clear alignment of values and commitment to co-creation. In 1900 we were founded on the vision of Joseph Chamberlain to offer equality of opportunity for all. We work hard on expanding access to worldclass education, advancing research that responds to local and global needs, and strengthening talent pathways that benefit all partners.
The University of Birmingham has now signed a new agreement with the University of Lagos to explore the expansion of high-quality TNE and research collaboration in Nigeria. We are looking forward to working closely with Nigeria’s Ministry of Education to develop fully scoped proposals for a Transnational Education Unit, based in Lagos.
This shift — from transactional to transformational partnership — is where TNE becomes a genuine force for societal progress and where universities can make a positive difference as transnational actors.
The most impactful partnerships are co-created. Universities should not arrive with ready-made programmes and expect them to fit diverse local contexts. Instead, we must ask: What does the region need? What do students aspire to? How can local expertise shape global knowledge?
Nigeria offers a powerful example. With one of the youngest populations in the world and a rapidly expanding demand for higher education, Nigerian universities and policymakers are actively seeking innovative models that combine academic excellence with employability, digital capability, and local relevance. Partnerships here must build on local curriculum strengths — combining UK pedagogical methods with Nigerian professional expertise.
Co-created programmes — whether in engineering, public health, environmental sciences, or business — ensure quality and academic integrity while addressing local realities. They produce graduates whose mindsets and skillsets are globally orientated yet regionally grounded.
Research collaboration is where universities can have the greatest long-term impact. When institutions bring together scientists, social researchers, and practitioners from multiple continents, they expand the scale and ambition of what is possible. Joint research centres focusing on climate resilience, infectious disease management, sustainable cities, AI governance, energy transition, and advanced manufacturing can generate knowledge that benefits both the UK and partner countries such as China, India, Brazil, and Nigeria. These collaborations accelerate innovation, attract international funding, and create training environments where students participate directly in world changing research.
Employers operate in global markets and expect graduates with intercultural fluency, personal resilience, digital literacy, and the ability to work across disciplines and geographies. TNE — done well — develops these attributes. Through joint work experience frameworks, international mobility programmes, industry partnerships, and global virtual exchange, universities can offer students in Lagos the same exposure to international professional environments as students in Birmingham or Dubai.
This is not simply about preparing students for today’s jobs. It is about equipping them to lead industries and public sectors that do not yet exist. It is about empowering future leaders.
Digital platforms have expanded what is possible in TNE, enabling hybrid degrees, shared classrooms, and remote research collaboration, but technology must serve the student. The most effective partnerships leverage digital tools to connect faculty across continents and deliver jointly taught modules. Technology can help to widen access to specialist courses, whilst supporting research supervision and creating global learning communities.
However, every technological development in education must remain anchored in human connection: academic mentorship, cultural exchange, and shared intellectual discovery. With the advent of AI, human skills – communication, diversity awareness, and emotional intelligence – will be even more decisive.
TNE should expand opportunity, not reinforce global disparities. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that their programmes are accessible, affordable, and responsive to the needs of learners. This can be through scholarship schemes, flexible learning routes, locally delivered pathways, and transparent quality assurance frameworks. Such responsibility also means that partnerships must contribute to local capacity-building — supporting faculty development, strengthening research infrastructure, and investing in communities.
The future of TNE should not be defined by geography but by authentic and enduring connections between students and ideas, researchers and industry, local challenges, and global solutions. These transnational connections are ever more important in a world increasingly characterised by border closures and resurgent nationalisms.
The power of partnership across continents can effect transformational change. The University of Birmingham’s collaborations with institutions around the world — including our deepening engagement in Nigeria — demonstrate that when universities work together with humility, ambition, and shared purpose, the results change lives for the better.
Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams, Provost and Vice-Principal - University of Birmingham
Provost and Vice-Principal
Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams FAcSS is Provost and Vice-Principal at the University of Birmingham.
