As with all areas of work we have had to priortise our international activity into those areas where we hope we can make the most impact. Our strategic approach is necessarily long term as developing proactive partnerships at a global level takes time and patience. We have focussed our work on

• Working with the European Students’ Union (ESU) to influence education policy at a European Level through the European Higher Education Area or Bologna Process
• Working with the Commonwealth Students’ Association to support capacity building and in the long term to work together to influence Commonwealth wide education initiatives which may become more important in a post-Brexit environment
• Working with the Association of College Unions International, based in the United States, we have collaborated closely on capacity building, learning and environmental initiatives.
• Working with Global Student Voice to develop informal links between students’ unions across the world especially in the areas of social justice, sustainability, education and
• Working in Partnerships with other international organisations to develop and enhance the student voice wherever decisions are made that impact on student lives.

You can read our long-term strategy as agreed by the NUSUK Trustee Board here.

Our approach makes a clear statement that we can only tackle the problems and challenges of the future through working together and many of the challenges we face as students and citizens do not stop at borders. Helping to create a generation of internationally literate graduates through our work with the International Students Campaign and our international partners aligns us with those working to create a more connected society that can stand against isolationism, racism, xenophobia and the corrosive influence of populist demagogues. You can read more about why international relations are important for students’ and students’ unions here.

You can also read about the progress that has been made so far with the strategy here.