Labor’s plan to dramatically raise the number of Australians with tertiary qualifications is “exceedingly ambitious”, says one of the United Kingdom’s leading educators.

Addressing The Financial Review Higher Education Summit, King’s College London vice chancellor Shijit Kapur said the Albanese government’s target of ensuring 55 per cent of young Australians have a university degree was formidable given the slower rate of economic growth and lower government expenditure on universities.