According to spokesperson Koen Augustijn, this follows from the provisional enrollment figures for the academic year 2021/2022.

Outside the eu
Last year around 700 international students from outside the EU enrolled in the university, this year there are expected to be around 800. Augustijn emphasizes that the figures may still change. “Something always changes in the first few weeks,” he says.

It is not yet known exactly where the increase is due. However, it does not cause a change in the proportion of foreign students in the university. The proportions remain the same compared to last year. About 45 percent of registered students come from the Netherlands and 55 percent from abroad.

Brexit
However, there is a visible change in the countries where international students come from, says Augustijn. For example, the records for Germany and Belgium are currently lower. “And the number of UK students has fallen dramatically, as expected after Brexit. For British students, studying in Europe has become considerably more expensive.”

However, the number of applications from other EU countries has increased. For example, more students from southern Europe have applied, especially Spain and Italy. And that could also be attributed to Brexit. “Studying in England has also become considerably more expensive for students from EU countries after Brexit,” explains Augustijn. Therefore, an alternative within the EU can be chosen more quickly.

More students
The total number of registrations this year is slightly higher than last year. “We are expected to reach approximately 22,000 students this academic year. Last year there were still 20,359 unique students registered at UM.” But these are rounded and provisional figures, emphasizes Augustijn. The balance can only be finalized after a few weeks.