Last week, co-founder of The Class Foundation Frank Uffen travelled to Caserta to attend the Vanvitelli/Van Wittel Roundtable, hosted by Antonio Tajani, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Caspar Veldkamp | Minister BZ, his Dutch counterpart. The event, organised by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Italy, brought together Dutch and Italian leaders from politics, business, and academia to discuss shared challenges—among them, access to talent.  

In times of global uncertainty, collaboration across borders becomes not only desirable but necessary. “Europe” is re-emerging as a powerful framework to pursue strategic resilience. As articulated in the Draghi report, Europe’s ‘open strategic autonomy’ depends on competitiveness—and competitiveness requires talent.  

Talent as a Strategic Asset  

Historically, the migration of European talent fuelled the rise of cities like Florence and Amsterdam. Today, Milan and Eindhoven are replicating that story, becoming hubs of innovation thanks to globally mobile knowledge workers. Universities play a crucial role in this ecosystem, acting as magnets for talent and engines of innovation.  

Globally, international student numbers have surged from 2.6 million in 2002 to 6.4 million in 2021. HolonIQ projects that the number of post-secondary graduates will double to 2 billion over the next 30 years—75% from Asia and Africa. These regions, identified by Minister Tajani as Europe’s future trade partners, are also key sources of international talent. With 50% of the world’s top 1,000 universities, Europe is well positioned—if it chooses to act.  

The Netherlands: A Cautionary Shift  

The Netherlands was among the first to embrace internationalisation in higher education, offering English-taught Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes (ETPs) to attract global talent. Since 2006, the number of ETPs has grown to over 2000 according to Studyportals , with international student numbers rising from 31.500 to 123,000—8,000 from Italy alone (Nuffic) .  

This talent pool supports companies like ASML, Adyen, and Booking.com, and fuels innovation in cities like Amsterdam. Each student contributes over €27,600 in local economic activity annually, creating jobs for academics and young professionals alike according to research by Kences, Kenniscentrum Studentenhuisvesting.  Roughly 30 percent of international graduates still live in the Netherlands five years after graduation.

Yet today, this success story is under threat. The proposed Internationalisation in Balance law seeks to curb English-taught programmes, potentially reducing student intake by 25%. Some universities report a 20% drop in international admissions already. Despite Minister Veldkamp’s call for openness, policy is moving in the opposite direction.  

Italy: Untapped Potential  

Italy ranks among Europe’s top three most searched study destinations, yet underperforms in actual enrolments. Despite its cultural appeal and quality of life, only 96,000 international students are currently enrolled—just 2.9% of the total.  

Italian universities offer around 1250 ETP’s—up from 960 in 2019. This increase underscores Italy's commitment to attracting international students by expanding its English-medium offerings. Despite Italy having a growing number of English-taught programmes, the Netherlands outperforms it due to earlier adoption, better English environment, strong global branding, job market access, and efficient visa systems.  

Italy is catching up, but it still has structural and perception hurdles to overcome.  Improving and expanding this offering, coupled with improved visa processes, better job access and start-up funding, could make Italy a prime destination for global talent. Minister Tajani was clear: Europe must look beyond America to secure future growth. Talent attraction must be part of that strategy.  

The Class Foundation is dedicated to advancing internationalisation in higher education across Europe by addressing these systemic challenges. With its ecosystem of 100+ partners; including operators, investors, policymakers, universities, and student organisations, The Class champions Italy’s potential as a hub for innovation, culture, and opportunity.  

By building partnerships with public-private stakeholders and establishing National Action Frameworks in key regions, The Class Foundation advocates for policies that align educational expansion with housing infrastructure. These initiatives are bolstering the Netherlands and Italy’s competitiveness as destinations.

Conclusion: Pragmatism Over Populism  

Support for internationalisation—and migration more broadly—is no longer a political given. But demographic trends are not waiting. Labour shortages are already emerging. To maintain competitiveness and social cohesion, countries like the Netherlands and Italy must act pragmatically.  

Higher education remains one of Europe’s greatest assets. If aligned with smart policy, it can attract the talent we need to build a resilient, autonomous Europe. The time to invest is now.