Scotland may be separated from Shanghai by 5,000 miles but this has not prevented the nation’s universities from emerging as a favoured destination for Chinese post-graduate students. Already some 5,000 Chinese students are studying at Scotland’s 14 universities and the numbers are expected to increase further following the launch in April of 50 Saltire scholarships by the Scottish government.

When matched with scholarships and bursaries from the universities themselves, the £2,000 ($3,278) grants will enable postgraduate students from the Peoples’ Republic to undertake one-year masters degrees in Scotland. Launching the initiative in Beijing, Fiona Hyslop, education secretary, said: “We want to create a self-confident, outward-looking nation and as part of that we want to encourage the brightest and the best students to come and study here.”