The fourth Deep Dialogues event took place in Cardiff, Wales between 25-27 June 2025, with delegates from over 20 countries attending. Participants comprised education policy makers, regulators and quality assurance agencies, sector experts, senior leaders, and academics from higher education institutions.
The theme of this event was ‘Transnational education: exploring glocalisation strategies’ and gave higher education stakeholders from around the world the chance to learn from each other and collaboratively explore strategies to build more equitable, sustainable and scalable models of internationalisation and transnational education (TNE) in the future.
"This event is really helpful to the UK because the British Council has brought together people from different countries and they're able to sit and talk about how to build partnerships. You can't have TNE just one way. It's got to be built on partnerships. So this event is going to be really useful in understanding other countries' perspectives, understanding their agendas, and then working out how we can make each interaction a win-win interaction.” - Sir Steve Smith, International Education Champion, UK Government
Working closely with UK stakeholders including Universities UK International, Universities Wales, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Swansea University and Cardiff University, the British Council developed a programme of speakers and sessions designed to encourage dialogue and collaboration. The programme featured:
Keynote speeches from:
- Scott McDonald, Chief Executive at the British Council
- Sir Steve Smith, International Education Champion, UK Government
- Vikki Howells MS, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Welsh Government.
Panel discussions and interactive sessions on:
- comparative approaches to internationalisation strategies
- roads to sustainable, scalable and equitable transnational education
- the TNE Global Framework and its potential in informing TNE strategies
- how UK TNE can positively impact on the economic, social and sustainable development goals of host countries
- delivering high-quality, agile TNE partnerships in a changing world
- TNE as a part of holistic university internationalisation strategies
- building better global awareness and engagement through partnership working
- learner experiences in TNE
- best practice approaches to enhancing TNE student voice, engagement and belonging.
Visits to:
- The Classroom at Cardiff and Vale College
- Cardiff Metropolitan University’s EUREKA Robotics Centre
- the University of South Wales Cardiff campus.
“Deep Dialogues is an opportunity for a think tank of world practitioners in TNE. It's an opportunity for experts to get together and to find a common way forward.” - Gamindu Hemachandra, Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology, Sri Lanka
Key insights and outcomes
- TNE is shifting from a North-to-South export model to a multi-directional, reciprocal global exchange, supporting knowledge equity and local development.
- Strong emphasis was placed on ‘internationalisation at home’ and intercultural learning to ensure global access despite mobility limitations.
- Delegates advocated for holistic partnerships that integrate teaching, research, employability, and policy alignment.
- Student voice and governance inclusion were deemed essential to building impactful, culturally relevant and resilient TNE ecosystems.
- The forum reaffirmed TNE as a driver of human capital development, innovation, and peacebuilding, with the potential to reshape global education systems.
A full report will be available shortly.
“I think what's been different about Deep Dialogues is rather than some of the standard conferences where you’re talked to, this has really afforded deep engagement opportunities. The clue’s in the title - Deep Dialogues. It really has enabled Welsh and international partners here to sit and have deep discussions.” - Tracey Marenghi, Head of Global Wales, Universities Wales
