Queen’s University Belfast to Invest £100 Million for Student Accommodation

UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak recently announced that “immigration is too high” in the UK and claimed that their government is taking radical action to bring it down. While the PM has decided to ban overseas students from bringing their families to the UK (unless they are on postgraduate research degrees), some universities are taking measures to welcome international students.

A member of the elite Russell Group of UK universities known for their emphasis on research, Queen’s University, Belfast, has announced that, as part of a larger plan to help meet an unprecedented surge in demand for housing for international students in Belfast, the university will invest up to £100 million over the next four years.

55,465 Indian students were in the UK in 2022 with a student visa, according to figures from the UK government. Furthermore, the Indian government, through the Home Office, reported in June 2023 that 142,848 student visas were issued to Indian nationals.

According to information gathered by Queen’s University, there are now 45,000 full-time students enrolled in third-level programs in Belfast. According to projections, Queen’s University students alone will require an additional 3,000 rooms in Belfast over the course of the next five years due to rising demand from students who choose to reside in superior dorms. The university is currently looking to provide a few extra beds for overseas students in.

In order to achieve this, the university has purchased three more locations in Belfast—on Dublin Road, Laganbank, and Brunswick Street—as part of its strategy for expanding its housing stock, which is a component of the Queen’s ambitious Strategy 2030. The university also intends to renovate the city center and generate up to 225 jobs through this.