Going Global: Speakers set out challenges for international education from "populism and polarisation"

Speakers at the British Council's Going Global event taking place in London on 28/10/25 highlighted the threats that international education is facing in an increasing hostile political environment.

Maddalaine Ansell, Director of Education at the British Council, said that the internationalisation of education was threatened by growing geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty that had led to populism and polarisation within societies.

Speaking at the same panel, Michael Ignatieff, Professor of the Central European University (CEU), expressed concern that the attacks on academic freedom in the U.S. launched by the Trump administration could affect European universities.

Ignatieff, who was rector of the CEU until it was forced to move from Budapest to Vienna, said: "How long will it be before the storm hits us?"

The professor said that universities' reliance on state funding made them vulnerable to political attack. He called for stronger protections of academic freedom and criticised European governments for a "lack of action" to defend the CEU when it was under threat.

Stella…