The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the issue of food insecurity among university students, but even before the pandemic, increasing numbers of students had been reporting food insecurity.

This is largely because of rising tuition and living costs combined with declining state support for students and the privatisation of food provision on campuses.

You don’t have to be an architecture student (or indeed know anything about architecture) to appreciate the beauty of a well-designed or unusual university building. Although university architecture may bring to mind ancient cloisters and dimly lit old libraries, campuses around the world are home to some of the most unique, modern buildings on the planet.

The Saltire Scholarships are a Scottish government funding scheme for international students who wish to pursue a master’s degree in Scotland.

The scheme offers up to 50 awards of up to £8,000 towards tuition fees for any one year of full-time study on a postgraduate master’s programme at any university in Scotland.

The scholarship is open to students from Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Pakistan and the US.

The University of Birmingham in the 2021/22 academic year.

The scholarship is worth £3,000 and will be deducted from the successful candidate’s tuition fees.

In order to be eligible, students must have received admission to a master’s programme at Birmingham for the 2021/2022 academic year, be domiciled in one of the eligible Commonwealth countries, and be classed as an overseas fees payer. 

If you’re applying for an English-speaking university as a non-native speaker, you’ll need to demonstrate your English language proficiency through a test such as the Duolingo English Test.

First introduced in 2016, the Duolingo English Test can be taken online, on demand, with no appointment necessary. It takes one hour to complete, costs $49 (around £36) and results will be sent to you within two days.

The UK government has announced that India will join the Covid-19 red list due to fears of a new virus variant spreading, but there are some exemptions for international students.

The red list details countries from which there are strict restrictions on travel to Britain. From 23 April 2021, no one travelling from India will be granted entry into the UK, unless they have residence rights. Pakistan and Bangladesh are already on the red list.

The UK is a great place to be an international student, but many people are put off by the cost. While you need to consider carefully how you will fund the big costs of your degree, such as tuition fees and rent, there are also a number of “hidden costs” that many students will overlook, such as travel, eating out and taking trips with student societies.

Luckily, there are lots of tips and some great advice out there to help students save as much money as possible while still getting the most out of their study aboard experience.

As we move tentatively into a post-pandemic world, some institutions might be expecting that the days of communicating via Zoom and other similar digital tools will soon be behind them. They are likely to be disappointed.