The wounds left by Cardiff University’s proposed ‘shell-shocking’ cuts which would see 400 jobs, and multiple departments axed, are still very fresh. One of the reasons given by the university for the drastic change was a lack of international student applications — and I was not surprised.

I was one of the hundreds of thousands of students that chose the United Kingdom as my country of choice for higher education in 2022. In fact, it was the highest number the country had ever seen, according to the Migrant Observatory. So what changed in just two years that has stopped people like me choosing the UK as their destination for higher studies.

Before I start listing out reasons why I believe the number of international students is declining, not just in Wales but throughout the UK, I want to emphasise that I understand the anxious uncertainty faced by both the staff and the students affected by the current cuts, but I also feel that it is crucial to understand why Wales and the UK are losing their allure for international students.

The American dream is a trope that’s talked about a lot — even in the United Kingdom. What’s not talked about, however, is the British dream, and even lesser, the Welsh dream. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here. That dream for me, and for many others like me, was the opportunity to study at one of the best universities in the world — and use those skills to gain practical real world experience in my profession.

There's another part of the dream that I feel was implied, but found out it doesn't necessarily mean it was true: I wanted to be equal. This is what brings me to my first point about why people like me, are not coming to Wales anymore to study:

I have lost count of how many times when I have been scrolling though my social media that I come across a statement made by a politician, or any other prominent personality, about how immigrants are ‘ruining’ the country. I came to Wales along with several others who were driven to the country by its strong commitment to equality and justice. However, as I found out, and so did others, immigrants easily become a scapegoat for systemic failings.

The constant hate and vitriol towards immigrants like me not only in the far confines of social media, but also within mainstream UK politics, has made me feel less than human at times. And it’s not just me, but also several others like me. A friend, who was also an international........

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