Flipping the script: Facilitating Gen Z student success and post-pandemic recovery in international education

“In short, Gen Z perceives overseas study as more than getting an outstanding degree”

The Covid-19 catastrophe has led every sector in every corner of the globe to rethink its modus operandi. In the context of international education, that means considering more carefully the changing expectations and motivations of the rising generation of international students, using them as guiding principles around which to imagine new modes of recruitment and teaching, writes Vice President, Market Research and Insight at INTO University Partnerships, Parves Khan.

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How to encourage a more optimistic outlook for career progression

“Students tell us that they are nervous about what will happen after they graduate”

For university students and young people generally, the usual worries and concerns about the future have skyrocketed, and inevitably many students are anxious for what the future holds in terms of career opportunities and progression. Isabelle Bristow, Managing Director of Studiosity, Europe, explains what can be done.

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The changing role of the education agent

“We will be increasing, not decreasing, our webinar and online training for agents post pandemic”

 Prior to Covid-19 Agents prided themselves on the face to face relationships they built with both families and boarding schools but the pandemic has forced a rethink and required both agents and schools to pivot significant marketing and recruitment activity online. Pat Moores of UK Education Guide explains.

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Challenges ahead for displaced Afghan students

“As a volunteer mentor for students affected by the Syrian civil war, I’ve seen first-hand how displacement disrupts tertiary education”

One of the many developing tragedies of the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan is the loss of access to tertiary education for students displaced by the conflict, writes Boston area higher ed administrator and volunteer mentor for conflict-affected students, Abby Kawola.

Mass displacement of Afghan students – not to mention a potential return to education restrictions for women seen during Taliban rule of the 1990s – threaten to derail the dreams of the nearly 400,000 Afghans enrolled in tertiary education institutions across the country as of 2018. Like the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Venezuela, the current situation in Afghanistan highlights the need for the development of proactive rather than reactive support systems for tertiary education students impacted by displacement.

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Why social media needs to be part of risk strategy

“Whether we agree or disagree philosophically is unimportant. The idea of a social network powered by the internet is here to stay.”

Social media has become a critical tool for the modern age. Everyone from retirees to teenagers are a part of a larger network where sharing life updates and communicating is easier than ever.

The usefulness of social media has been utilised for years by global education programs in recruiting practices but is it possible to use the powers of social media to help us with our risk management? Bradley Adams, a managing director at Aerogami, explains.

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Action on the data skills gap can’t wait until next term

“Data is often spoken of as the new water, so to effectively tap it we need to develop a generation of data prospectors”

As thoughts inevitably turn to summer vacations (global pandemic allowing, of course), the data skills gap might not be something keeping UK university professionals and leaders awake at night.

But with a still box-fresh National Data Strategy (NDS) in place and the government signalling an ambition for data to drive “anew era of growth”, it’s an issue that shouldn’t simply be pushed to the new term’s ‘to do’ list.

There’s a growing concern that a data ‘skills gap’ could turn into a ‘skills crisis’, both for the UK but also globally.

And with universities operating in a competitive international market, the provision of data skills modules within degree courses will increasingly inform decision-making of overseas students – and their parents and sponsors. Or Lenchner, CEO of Bright Data, explains.

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Ready to rebound: the enduring enthusiasm for exchange and employability

“While crises like the pandemic erect barriers to international student mobility, they do not quash demand”

The international education sector is no stranger to shocks to student mobility. In INTO’s 15-year history alone, global crises – ranging from the Great Recession of 2008 to the 2012 MERS outbreak to the 2014/15 drop in oil prices – have all affected mobility patterns.

However, market conditions have rebounded after each of these challenges, driven by study abroad aspirants’ enduring enthusiasm for cultural exploration, for personal and professional development; in short, for life-changing educational experiences. Parves Khan of INTO University Partnerships explains.

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Higher education needs to play the long game with tech after Covid-19

“Leaders in higher education are still working to refine the solutions they implemented during the pandemic, despite a disruptive year and overwhelmed IT teams, there’s reason for optimism”

Tech leaders in higher education spent the better part of 2020 learning lessons of their own. Shifting abruptly to remote learning, keeping students healthy and consistently circulating accurate information were just a few of the efforts IT leaders were tasked to help facilitate.

Like peers in most other industries, leaders in higher education are still working to refine the solutions they implemented during the pandemic. But despite a disruptive year and overwhelmed IT teams, there’s reason for optimism: the pandemic accelerated digital transformation in higher education.

The improvements that were made to campus content services platforms and legacy systems during the pandemic laid the groundwork for a better student experience for years to come.

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Why “when it’s safe to do so” is a catalyst for negative reactions

“For students, and for the Australian public, the question becomes personal – who are we being kept safe from?”

Since the start of the pandemic international students stuck offshore have been given repeated promises of being permitted to return to Australia “when it’s safe to do so”.

Eighteen months since Australia’s border closed, many once-patient and understanding students are  turning to social media to voice their frustration with Australia’s ever-changing timeline and ambiguity around the prospect of returning to Australia.

Over the last four months, The Lygon Group has been monitoring social media to get a closer understanding of international students’ sentiment about Australia’s border closures and Covid-19 response. Varsha Balakrishnan explains what they’ve found.

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