The Vice-Chancellors of Keele and Staffordshire Universities have welcomed a new report highlighting the £176m economic benefits that first-year international students bring to the region.

The new report, published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), has outlined the economic benefits that first-year international students bring to the constituencies they study in across the UK.

The data shows that the 1,500 first-year international students in Newcastle-under-Lyme and the three Stoke-on-Trent constituencies bring around £176m of economic impacts to the region, with many of those studying at Keele and Staffordshire Universities.

The data from London Economics, commissioned by HEPI and Kaplan International Pathways, shows - for the first time - the value of international students to the UK economy according to the new parliamentary constituency boundaries.

The benefit to the UK economy as a whole from this group – across all 650 constituencies – is around £41bn, with the benefits across the West Midlands as a whole totaling over three billion (£3,089m).

Professor Trevor McMillan OBE, Vice-Chancellor of Keele University, said: "Not only do international students enrich the university communities they study in, but as this data shows they clearly have a tremendous positive impact on the economy of the local area in which they live. The report highlights to communities and policymakers across the country, the opportunities that are created when we welcome international students to the UK."

Staffordshire University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Martin Jones, said: "International students offer far more than just a financial benefit to the UK, but this research clearly demonstrates how important these students are to our universities and our regional economy. New restrictions on the student visa conditions limit and prevent international students accessing UK higher education and are an act of economic self-harm. We can only hope any new government is able to repair the damage being done to international student recruitment and the UK's reputation for providing a world class student experience."