Today I have had the unusual pleasure of taking part in a 'management' meeting that relates very closely to one of my own areas of research expertise.  Over the years I have written extensively on international migration, and indeed my first book was on that topic.  I have also acted as an adviser to the Home Office and to the Department of Health.  Today I saw a different facet to the topic when I was one of a small group of PVCs from the Russell Group who met the current Conservative party spokesman on immigration, Damian Green M.P., to discsus how current government policies are affecting the recruitment of international students, and to sound Green out on whether his party would bring in major changes to regulations if they are elected to office on 6 May.  We met in Portcullis House on the Victoria Embankment in London.

The introduction of the new points-based system by the UK Borders Agency has been beset by significant misunderstandings of universities' activities by the Agency.  It was always likely that this would happen.  I was having breakfast on an early-morning train to London about 18 months ago when the woman sitting next to me revealed that she worked for the Home Office and was one of the team bringing in the new system, and needed advice from universities about it.  I'm not sure that enough advice was received - or if it was it wasn't listened to.  There have certainly been some recent improvements, but what concerned our small group of PVCs today was the reputation that the UK is quickly acquiring abroad of not offering a welcome to overseas stduents. Instead of being regarded as important business and educational opportunities for us, and for the internationalisation of life in our universities, the operation of the regulations on visas has created the impression that the UK regards all applicants as suspicious.  Green listened carefully to our arguments, and was obviously well briefed on key aspects of the topic.  Whether he actually takes on the immigration portfolio in May, if the Conservatives form the next administration, remains to be seen.  He has held the shadow brief for several years now.  Possibly he understands it too well to be asked to take it on in government - or is that a too cynical notion of the fit of expertise to portfolios in the chpice of ministers?