Transnational Education at Essex

Transnational Education (TNE) is a form of education where degrees are delivered across international boundaries. This can be education delivered in a country other than the country in which the awarding institution is based, and where the student is awarded credits transnationally. This innovative approach to learning holds numerous merits that extend beyond geographical confines, offering students and institutions a host of advantages.

Transnational education stands at the forefront of a transformative era in learning, offering students an array of advantages that extend beyond conventional educational boundaries. We are excited to see Essex move to the front of this work in the UK.

In an increasingly interconnected world, it is becoming more usual for international students to look for options to attain a UK degree whilst remaining in their home country. TNE breaks down previous barriers to education, providing accessibility to learners who might face geographical, financial, or time constraints. Through online courses, collaborative programmes, franchised curricula, and validation arrangements, transnational education facilitates learning opportunities for individuals who may not have access to traditional educational avenues.

At Essex, we already provide a wide range of TNE activity through a variety of international partnerships and collaborations. These take the form of academic partnership arrangements: where students are enrolled at either a partner institution, at the University of Essex, or both, and receive an Essex award when they complete their course.

These programmes help us create and maintain long-standing and reciprocally beneficial partnerships with other universities all over the world, but they also mean that we can offer more flexible, more affordable, and more accessible teaching arrangements for students who may not otherwise be able to travel to the UK for study.

TNE encourages collaboration between institutions across geographical borders, fostering diverse partnerships of that extend beyond the classroom. This not only enriches the academic experience but also creates opportunities for collaborative research and development, contributing to the global pool of knowledge and innovation.

You can find out more about the different types of TNE partnership provision at Essex on our Partnerships webpages, alongside information about all the other types of partnership arrangements we’re involved in.

Finding new partnership opportunities

The TNE Taskforce has been set out to drive new partnership opportunities for the University, with agility, responsiveness and a “no stone unturned” ethos. The TNE Taskforce project team is project managed by myself, Allie Gibson, led by Dr Annecy Lax, and supported by David Briggs and Professional Services colleagues.

Phase 1 of our work has focused on a number of key strategic areas: developing business relationships with identified partners, building new partnerships in targeted countries, increasing business with current University partners. We are accelerating our work in Egypt and the Middle East, in India and Sri Lanka, in Pakistan and South East Asia, and new developments for Europe.

As we move into 2024, we’ll continue to focus on these initial priorities, but the new year will also bring about new objectives and initiatives. We are looking towards product and programme innovation, offering contemporary and creative solutions to provide world-leading partners with a compelling offer.

Critically, we are also streamlining and updating our internal processes to identify where new ways of working can accelerate new areas of business with our partners. Part of this is around locating partnership students within their home department to increase their sense of belonging and affiliation to Essex. Other internal process work will be ongoing over the Spring term, including a refresh of the Partnerships webpages and building an information resource that can be shared throughout the University.

If you have any questions around the TNE Taskforce and its work, please do reach out to me.