While the latest twist in the Brexit saga may have thrown up lots of questions about Britain's constitutional monarchy, Alan Tower, national director of Friends International is concerned about something else: the impact leaving the EU will have on the thousands of foreign students who study in the UK.
Friends International has, for many years, been working with churches and on university campuses to be a place of support and friendship for the many foreign students who call the UK home.
He speaks to Christian Today about how Brexit is likely to affect these students and what Christians can do to make sure they continue to feel welcome.
CT: Has Brexit had any impact on new or returning students?
Alan: We're seeing increasing numbers of students so it's not immediately affected the numbers but I think it will shift the balance going forward. The biggest concern for us, though, is that Brexit gives the impression that the UK is not a welcoming place and that's likely to have an effect across the board. I think that's a very sad thing and as churches we want to counter that view by showing that we can be welcoming.
In terms of practical issues, Brexit will of course only affect European Union students and one area where they might be particularly hit is in funding. If they are EU funded, they may not be given funding to come and study in the UK.
As far as we understand it, it's not immediately a problem because those already here can continue coming, probably until the end of their studies, but it may affect the awarding of new grants. So it's possible we are going to see the number of EU students go down with time.
The UK may also be a less secure place to look for employment because if the economy struggles after Brexit, we may have fewer jobs available. The good news is that the UK Government recently announced that international students are to be offered a two-year work visa after they graduate. That's very positive and looks like, as a country, we are trying to make it more possible for people to stay on and contribute to our employment scene.
It was only changed in 2012, when it was cut down to four months. There was a conflicting narrative because Theresa May, serving as Home Secretary at the time, saw international students as an immigration issue whereas other people saw them as a growing economy issue because they bring funds to study and they are highly skilled so they can work and make tax contributions. By increasing the graduate work visa to two years, we're being more welcoming again and that, for me, is a good thing.
CT: How does Friends International work with students and churches to ensure the students get the support they need?
Alan: We work with Christian Unions and other Christian groups as well as churches. We want to help churches be welcoming and understanding towards international students. On campus, we work with student groups, but there's so much churches can do in terms of hospitality and welcome. They can help with transport and arrange day trips, or host international cafés and cultural nights, and offer help with language practice. But also, importantly, they can offer conversation, friendship and welcome alongside the cultural studies.
Ultimately, what can churches offer? It's about welcome, fellowship, inviting people to come along to Sunday services and investigate what the Christian faith is all about.
We give a welcome and that starts with a cup of tea. Everyone can offer a cup of tea. And from there, our hope is that people will make friends because international students may need that initial helping hand into friendships locally. From there, it can develop into church community and all sorts of things.
CT: Leaving studies aside, coming to a foreign country is such a big change. What are some of the things international students need to be supported in?
Alan: For some of the European students, they hardly feel abroad and they're very ok with coming to London and the rest of the UK so it's maybe not such a big issue for a lot of them, but for those who come from further afield, there can be a sense that Britain is an alien country and we may not be very welcoming. In some ways, we're not that good at showing a welcome at the door.
That's why this month, we have been running a Meet and Greet group at Heathrow Terminal 3. Very early in the morning, we've been waiting for international students coming off their long haul flights to show them a welcome and offer assistance. That can be pointing them to the right bus or later offering to help them set up a bank account or show them where their accommodation is.
Just having a first friend is a very important thing for students coming from abroad. And churches can fill in a lot of these gaps.
The international offices in universities are much better organised now than they were before because obviously they see international students as a big part of their mission. It's how they make their money and universities are having to recruit from abroad to meet their targets. So we work closely with the universities' international offices to make a positive contribution to the support available for the international students.
But there's so much more that churches can offer because they are more than just a service, they are about friendship and practical expressions of faith.
CT: So universities are prepared to work with faith groups? There is a good relationship with them?
Alan: Yes, they are prepared to work with faith groups. They'll want to know that we're not forcing anything on anybody but we wouldn't want to do that anyway. My local university officer contacted me to ask me if we had any activities planned for Easter and Christmas because there was nothing going on at all elsewhere around campus. So we pointed them towards carol services, mince pies, and at Easter we could offer events around the Easter story. All the events were very appropriate.
We've found that the universities are very happy that we're doing things that involve friendship and care. We have staff in 30 cities, and in 11 of those our staff act as chaplains in the universities as well, so we can link in at the counsel and care level too. You need to be careful to be welcoming those of all faiths and none, and when you're working with the universities, your understanding has to be not only about your Christian faith but about more generally looking after the international students.
But there's openness on the part of the universities and we're clear about what we're doing. If we're offering a social evening, then we say that; if we are offering a café with cultural studies and an optional Bible study, then we say that.
CT: Sometimes universities have a reputation for being just secular institutions. But it seems like it's more nuanced than that?
Alan: Yes, it is much more nuanced. There can be a few occasions where they don't want a faith activity taking place on campus, in which case, we can use churches off campus, but on the whole, the universities are very happy to know where you're coming from and work with that.
CT: Thinking about Christian students, it's a concern of many churches that when their youngsters go off to university, they may lose their faith.
Alan: In general, university students and particularly those going to other countries are open to investigating new things. That in itself is a very positive thing because for some students those 'new things' can include investigating more about the Christian faith. So as Christians, we have lots to offer in that respect for international students coming to this country for the first time.
For the Christian students, yes, there is a chance they can be led off the path. Britain is a wild and wacky place at times so if you had a carefully controlled Christian upbringing it might be very challenging having many more options. What we want to do is offer Christians a framework and introduce them to a local church. We can show them that there are responsible Christians around making sensible decisions and that Christianity is not something to avoid on campus, but that campus is a place where we can be confidently sharing what we believe and give reasons for that belief.
We always want to help students coming from other countries to thrive in a British university and there's a framework to do that. At Friends International, we want to be not only reaching out to those who investigate the faith but help to disciple those who are already Christians.
Find out more about Friends International at www.friendsinternational.uk
