The universities have committed places through the Mosaik Scholarship, a new initiative providing alternative pathways to UK postgraduate education for students affected by the Home Office’s “visa brake” introduced in March.
It followed rising concerns over asylum claims made by international students, with the government claiming that students from Myanmar, Cameroon, Sudan and Afghanistan were proportionally the worst culprits and pausing study visa applications from these nations.
The policy prevented students from the four countries from accessing UK campus-based scholarships, including the Chevening program, through which around 50 students from these communities previously accessed postgraduate study each year.
So far, 19 funded places have been secured through commitments from King’s College London, the University of London, the University of Leicester, the University of Northampton, the University of St Andrews, Cardiff University, Birkbeck, University of London, the University of Salford and Aberystwyth University, in partnership with Higher Ed Partners UK.
All programs will be delivered through online or transnational education (TNE) routes, currently the only available pathways for new students from the affected countries to gain a UK degree.
The initiative has been coordinated through the Global Response Platform, a sector-wide collaboration led by Mosaik Educationthat connects UK universities with humanitarian networks supporting displaced and crisis-affected students.
Through the platform, universities receive support identifying and selecting students, as well as coordinating with partners in affected regions, including UNHCR India, Prospect Burma and Open Dreams in Cameroon.
Further university commitments are expected later in 2026, with the initiative aiming to support around 50 students overall.
Ben Webster, CEO of Mosaik Education, said the collaboration demonstrated how the sector could respond collectively when traditional routes to education were disrupted.
“For students in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Cameroon, a UK scholarship was one of very few viable ways to continue an education that conflict had already disrupted once,” he said.
“The visa brake closed this route for them. With UK universities teaching over 650,000 students outside the UK, the infrastructure to reach these students has always been there. What was missing was a way for the sector to act on it together.”
With UK universities teaching over 650,000 students outside the UK, the infrastructure to reach these students has always been there. What was missing was a way for the sector to act on it together
Ben Webster, Mosaik Education
Professor Sally Wheeler, vice-chancellor of Birkbeck, University of London, said: the institution was “proud” to offer new routes to students who would otherwise not get access to UK higher education.
The initiative also highlights the growing role of online and TNE in expanding access to UK higher education for students unable to relocate.
Professor Phil Allmendinger, pro vice-chancellor (education) at the University of London, said: “The University of London is proud to support the Mosaik Scholarship and to stand alongside partner institutions in ensuring that talented students affected by conflict, displacement and restrictions on mobility are not excluded from higher education.”
Jo Purves, pro vice-chancellor partnerships and global engagement at the University of Salford, added that the scheme reflected the university’s commitment to ensuring students were not prevented from accessing education because of their location.
“As a University of Sanctuary with a strong history of offering distance learning and transnational education, Salford looks forward to welcoming these students into the global academic community,” she said.
Mosaik Education is now calling on additional UK universities with online or TNE provision to join the initiative and commit further places.
