Celebrating International Students’ Day at the University of Brighton

International Students’ Day is an annual celebration on 17 November that honours our global student community in higher education.

This year we’ll be sharing some of our international student stories on our social media channels, and current students will be marking the day on campus with our International Student Advice team.

The history of International Students’ Day

While current celebrations reflect passion, hope and diversity within the international student community, the history of this day sadly originates from tragedy.

In 1939, during the Nazi occupation of (former) Czechoslovakia, student protests were met with violence. This sparked outrage and was the beginning of unlawful executions and imprisonment.

In turn, all Czech universities were shut down and the date evolved over the years into a worldwide observance of the student movement and the fight against oppression.

Celebrating International Students’ Day in 2025

86 years later, International Students’ Day has become a celebration of international study and the courage it takes to study in a new country.

We want to celebrate the significant contributions that international students bring to the University of Brighton.

We asked some of our new international students why they chose to study with us.

We love hearing why students choose to study at Brighton, and we’re lucky to welcome a friendly and diverse international student community each year.

If you’re thinking about applying, here are our top reasons to study at Brighton:

1. High-quality, career-focused, research-informed teaching – with outstanding results. 

•  Our TEF Silver Award demonstrates the quality of our teaching and our student outcomes, Teaching Excellence Framework 2023
• 9 out of 10 of our graduates are working or studying just 15 months after finishing their course, Graduate Outcomes 2025

2. An exciting and creative beachside city that students love – just one hour from London.

• Brighton is a global top 100 student city and ranked in the world top 25 for student views on quality of life, QS Best Student Cities 2026

• Brighton is the sunniest city in the UK, The Independent 2024

3. A welcoming international community – where students are supported to succeed.

• We are in the top 4.3% of institutions globally, Center for World University Rankings 2025

• Brighton is the joint 3rd most diverse and inclusive city in the world, Time Out 2025

How we’re celebrating

On campus, our International Student Advice team will be chatting to students about what International Students’ Day means to them, and creating a reflection board of student comments.

Students will also be able to find out more about the support available to them and meet Captain, our university wellbeing dog.

Follow our @uniofbrighton Instagram account to see more of our international student voices. You can also share what International Students’ Day means to you and tag us.