Lord Bilimoria was today announced as the 7th Chancellor of the University of Birmingham. He follows in the footsteps of Chancellors including Joseph Chamberlain and Anthony Eden, the Earl of Avon, and succeeds Sir Dominic Cadbury, who stepped down last December after 11 years in the role.
Speaking in a debate concerning higher education in the United Kingdom, Lord Bilimoria spoke out against a number of restrictions on student numbers, especially those concerning the fall in student numbers as a consequence of immigration policy. He noted the increased competition that British universities face from foreign competitors, as well as the need for the government to increase spending on research and development in order to bring the United Kingdom closer to the OECD average.