President Donald Trump’s attacks on US universities have opened up a rare opportunity for European business schools to attract talent once bound for elite American campuses.
The continent is drawing students and faculty from around the world who are unsettled by political turbulence in the US and the Trump administration’s policies, deans say. Washington has cut research funding and tightened student and work visa rules, while proposing limits on diversity programmes and international enrolments.
A “Trump bump” has been felt from Barcelona to Berlin. Reasons vary but overall applications to European business schools excluding the UK rose 11 per cent this year, while those to US programmes slipped by 1 per cent, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). UK schools have seen a sharp slowdown in international enrolments after the British government introduced visa changes.