Author: Admin

How can universities protect their academic travellers?

“Many institutions may be leaving themselves exposed unnecessarily – particularly in a fast-changing and dynamic global environment with new risks and threats”

Randall Gordon-Duff, head of product, corporate travel for Collinson Group, which specialises in global travel assistance, shares some tips on what higher education institutions that send students and academic staff abroad should be looking at when reviewing their duty of care strategies.

The world is seemingly becoming a more dangerous place for many of us. As I write this piece, I recall a BBC article from earlier this year titled: Apocalypse is 30 Seconds Closer, say Doomsday Clock Scientists. The report states that this is the closest the clock has come to midnight since 1953, following hydrogen bomb tests by the US and Russia.
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Corporations need to become part of the study abroad ecosystem

“The link between studying abroad and getting a job is not as strong as it might have been in the past. One reason is that study abroad is not as exclusive as in the past”

Students are growing ever more conscious of the investments they make when it comes to study abroad, and they want to know that the time and money they spend will translate to job opportunities post-graduation. Getting companies on board could help to ensure that’s the case, writes Richie Santosdiaz, study abroad advocate and economic development expert for PA Consulting.

What inspired me to write this was a recent conversation with a friend from the USA whose younger sister was interested in pursuing a master’s degree overseas. The friend gave advice that the younger sister should only study abroad in the UK or on certain programs in Western Europe, Canada, and Australia, because it will be difficult to get a job in the USA afterwards – and that the countries mentioned are home to some of the most recognised universities globally. Naturally, at first I disagreed, but later recanted because in many ways that actually is a true statement.
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You cannot be what you cannot see: we need more female role models in international education

“The most senior positions, especially in the big chain outfits, are filled by men. Older, white, middle class men”

Ella Tyler, managing director of Mountlands Language School in the UK and co-founder of Lead5050, writes about how she was inspired to take action after realising women in leadership aren’t visible enough in the industry.

First of all, let me just say that I absolutely love working in this industry. I mean, come on, where else do you get to travel the world, meet really interesting, funny people and contribute to the future of the globe through education?

But, as in most industries, it does seem to be that the most senior positions, especially in the big chain outfits, are filled by men. Older, white, middle class men.
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What do we mean when we say international experiences develop graduates’ employability?

‘Employability’ is one of the most frequently used buzzwords in international education sector, and underpins a great proportion of the work educators do. But what does it actually mean, and how do we measure it? Stella Williams, a lecturer in psychology and researcher at Newman University Birmingham, has developed a framework to bring some clarity to an often hazily-defined concept.

The term ‘employability’ is often used as a throwaway line: jargon which is chucked into the mix to show the importance or relevance of something, frequently used without clarification of what we mean by it. So it is unsurprising that we can relate it to international experience. But what exactly do we mean when we say international opportunities develop a graduate’s employability?
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We need a genuine global marketplace to share innovations in education

“Great innovations are happening all over the world and the best ones, once validated, could spread fast if we are open to them”

Innovations in education are taking root all over the world – but they don’t always spread, because the education sector remains stubbornly local, argues Saku Tuominen, Creative Director of HundrED, a project to share innovative projects and best practises in K-12 education with the world for free.

The world is global. The world of education is not.

If we agree that the purpose of school is to help kids flourish in life, no matter what happens – or don’t totally disagree with it – we can easily see that there are massive challenges facing our current education system. Possibly the biggest of them all is the increasing amount of uncertainty.
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Treat the Trump phenomenon like a study abroad experience

“We’re international educators, mostly drawn to the field to advance the notion of embracing the ‘other’. In this case, the ‘other’ happens to be a guy with ideas very foreign to our own”

There are many in international education who aren’t delighted at the prospect of Donald Trump becoming president, but the field is all about embracing the ‘other’ – so perhaps we should apply the same approach, argues Cheryl DarrupBoychuck, US director of institutional relations at INTCAS .

Aah, democracy.

Those pendulum swings can be painful but powerful pushes to new perspectives.
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No end in sight for the UK’s Indian slump

“Unless there is a significant shift in UK visa policy or a re-introduction of Post Study Work, it is hard to see how the UK can recover its share of Indian students”

Aaron Porter, director of insights at Hotcourses, delves into the data…

Prime Minister Theresa May finished her first major international visit to India last week, and higher education was high on the agenda for the bilateral talks. Accompanied by Universities Minister Jo Johnson and a number of UK vice chancellors, attempts will surely have been made to arrest the slump in demand from Indian students looking at UK universities. Indian Premier Narandra Modi certainly raised the importance of ensuring the UK was both open and welcoming for Indian students.
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After Trump’s win, there is no use in feeling sorry for ourselves

“The way we can truly make America great again is by thoughtfully addressing this situation, not acting like the sky is falling”

Eddie West, director of international programs at UC Berkeley Extension and former director of international initiatives at NACAC, shares his thoughts on Donald Trump’s shock win in the US presidential election this week.

I am deeply disappointed by the results. But there’s little use in feeling sorry for ourselves. Instead we have to learn from the outcome. Here’s what I think I’ve learned… And I hope you will indulge me.
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Ensuring the health and emotional wellbeing of international students

Mary Memarzia, Director of Student Services at Bellerbys Cambridge, reflects on how institutions can help to care for their international students’ mental health.

A recent report by YouGov states that one in four students in Britain suffer from mental health problems, including anxiety and depression. A major source of stress is their studies, with 71% of those surveyed saying that their university workload is their most pressing concern. 39% are worried about finding a job after university and 35% are concerned about their families.
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After the Language in London closure, what now?

“This type of sudden closure is awful for the whole industry, and at the end of the day it is the students and agents that we need to consider”

The sudden closure of Language in London, one of the three English language schools until recently that made up Language in Group, shocked the UK’s ELT sector last month. Here Margie Barker, director of Language in Totnes and Language in Group, reflects on the closure and the state of the industry.

Recently, yet another London school failed. While all such events are equally sad and distressing, this one hit home even more as it was a school that had belonged to a long term associate of mine. Language in London closed it doors without warning to any of us and staff, students and agents alike were all at once distressed and displaced.

Up until quite recently, my own school in Totnes, along with the Dublin school of Kevin Kheffache and Language In London, had been cooperating and pooling our sales and marketing efforts. This was primarily driven by the hope that that by combining our efforts our three smaller schools may be able to compete better with the big players in what is a very competitive and difficult market. We had recently decided to discontinue with this and return to working completely independently because the costs outweighed the benefits and our experimental cooperative simply didn’t work!
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