As early summer approaches, many individuals and families will soon find themselves swept up in the joy and emotion of commencement and graduation ceremonies at universities and colleges across Scotland. Behind many of those celebrations will be stories of international journeys and life‑changing adventures, with students travelling from overseas to experience Scottish higher education and Scottish students venturing outward to study and grow across the world.

These individual stories are always inspiring and, when assembled together, they create a beam of optimism that should spur hope for the future. Scottish higher education has for centuries been at the forefront of embracing its place in the world, training students, welcoming international faculty, shaping global partnerships, and producing research with global impact.

Here in America, if we assembled a list of people who have studied at a Scottish university, that list would number in the hundreds of thousands. This represents an extraordinarily powerful global network of scholars and professionals with deep connections to Scotland. It is a community that could be further engaged and mobilised to encourage investment into Scotland, strengthen international partnerships, and enhance engagement across sectors, including support for the........

© Herald Scotland