Page 6 – Industry insight from professionals in international education

Mediation skills in the English language classroom

“If teachers are teaching real-life communication skills in the classroom, they’re probably already covering mediation skills”

We all have to take information, understand it, and then explain it to others. Although it may be second nature to many, it takes a unique set of skills to pull this off successfully.

Perhaps you’re at university and your lecturer has asked you to look at an English research paper and summarise it to your study group in your home language. Or maybe you’re at work and you have taken a detailed safety brief that you have to relay back to colleagues. Other common examples that require these skills include explaining a timetable to a new class or just passing on the latest gossip!

“While interest in UK higher education remains strong, the move away from international quality standards in English regulation poses significant risks”

Though it may not come to mind as an export in quite the same way as cars, oil or whisky, education contributes significantly to the UK’s international trade economy with higher education contributing 70% of the country’s total education revenue in 2019. The global reach of higher education yields numerous additional benefits including staff and student mobility, research collaboration and knowledge exchange. The UK Government’s latest international education strategy sets an ambitious target to increase the value of education exports to £35 billion per year by 2030. The UK’s ability to meet this target will rely heavily on the global confidence currently enjoyed by UK higher education.

Reputation is not built overnight and the significant trust placed in the quality of UK higher education has been the result of a concerted effort by the sector over many decades, supported by a shared vision of what high-quality teaching and learning looks like.

November 14, 2022
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Europe, Higher education, Transnational education

EdTech still going strong with £3m investment in UK HE skills training platform Aptem

“The world is rapidly changing, with globalisation giving way to protectionism”

Aptem (MWS Technology Ltd), the market-leading SaaS software provider for apprenticeships, vocational training and employability, has secured £3 additional funding at a valuation of £33 million from long-term investors 24Haymarket and Guinness Ventures. Despite UK crises and talk of funding cuts, alongside a level of disenchantment with online learning in HE, EdTech is still seen as a good bet.

It is no exaggeration to say that the UK is in a political and economic crisis. With a new government (albeit the same political party) every two years and three different education secretaries in 2022 alone, the impact on education has been stark. Reliant on stability and continuity, particularly in an era of funding constraints, the sector is struggling to deliver the skills the UK needs.

“One by one each had their moment and their selfie with New Zealand’s prime minister”

In New Zealand, manaakitanga means to show respect, hospitality, care, generosity, and care for others. Not only the people themselves but also their stories. That is what the warm welcome to international students’ event symbolised and demonstrated on September 2 when New Zealand’s Prime Minister and Minister of Education attended an event in Auckland.

Hosted in the University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau Unleash Space, first opened by the Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern in 2018, this space is predominantly a student co-working space nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit. Government and Education leaders came together to honour and celebrate the return of international students to New Zealand.

October 18, 2022
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Higher education, New Zealand, Study abroad

AIEC gathers to “respond to challenges and continue to diversify education”

“AIEC is an opportunity for us all to join together as a global community, and ensure international students are supported in all aspects as we reunite beyond borders”

The global international education sector is gathering this week for the first time in three years for the Australian International Education Conference – AIEC – in Australia.

From October 18–21, the event on the Gold Coast and online will attract more than 1,600 delegates, where stakeholders will regroup and refocus in a bid to create sustainable and accessible global education opportunities.

“English-language tests – the first step of the overseas education journey – remain out of reach for many”

In education, we use the word “access” a lot. But not everyone understands it in the same way. My own definition is simple – anybody who would like to get an education can get one. That’s what access means.

Without access to education, the world is missing out on a lot. By lowering barriers, we might find the next Einstein in Cambodia, but without access those minds might be missed.

We should also be able to provide the brightest minds the education they need to thrive.

October 17, 2022
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Edtech, Language travel, Study abroad, Testing

Is mental health support & healthcare provision the new differentiator in the UK education market?

“We don’t see mental health being able to be dealt with by one person or one department”

In a crowded competitive market looking to attract both domestic and international students, UK Boarding Schools & Universities are always looking for a competitive edge.

Pre Covid, pastoral care was an issue that families who came to UK Education Guide for independent support were increasingly asking about, we could already see this issue rising up the list of questions particularly from parents selecting Boarding schools for their children.

A review of a new book by Marian Salzman, The New Megatrends, presents a “2038 futurein which the pandemic has never gone away and in which we live with a parade of ever-mutating variants. In that world, protection against disease is a luxury good. Universities that wish to position themselves to thrive in that imagined future may want to invest in campus health as a core capability, right up there with teaching and research excellence.”

“In sub-Saharan Africa only 10% can read a simple sentence at the age of 10. Hundreds of millions of children are in school, but not learning”

Teaching is the most important job in the world. The quality of any nation’s education cannot exceed the quality of its educators.

Yet, in many low and middle income countries the profession is in a critical condition. UNESCO estimates a shortfall in teachers in sub-Saharan Africa alone of 15 million.

Worse, teachers struggling to help students have little or no support.

“Many teachers do not have access to quality training and continuous professional development,” says UNESCO.

Compounding this is the sad truth that many teachers themselves often struggle with the content they are teaching. Literacy and numeracy can be a challenge.

Nearly 90% of children around the world go to primary school. But only about 35% can read a simple sentence at the age of 10. In sub-Saharan Africa only 10% can. Hundreds of millions of children are in school, but not learning.

“AI can recommend content and the most efficient learning path for each individual learner”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if teachers had superpowers? With all the demands made of them – keeping track of slow learners, paying attention to gifted students, checking homework, grading tests, no wonder they struggle. But we can enable educators with superpowers today using artificial intelligence, the perfect solution for learners.

No, institutions don’t have to start hiring data scientists to build complex algorithms. Edtech companies have done all the work. All it takes is an IT manager to plug the AI brain into whatever learning management system an institution has adopted with something called an Application Programming Interface, or API.

APIs are like pipes that connect one software system to another. Suddenly, the LMS that instructors use to assign homework or grade tests has a brain of its own.

“More must be done to enable people whose first language isn’t English to access the truth”

More than a quarter of the internet is written (and spoken) in English making it one of the most popular languages online. And, given that 94% of the world does not speak English as a first language, it also means that reading English is often the first step to accessing robust, trusted information in a digital first society.

Our recent report, The Matter of Fact, revealed that two thirds of people (67%) globally turn to Google and other search engines when looking for factual information, while 37% turn to social media – rising to 44% of Mexicans, 43% of South Africans and 54% of Indians.

With our devices at our fingertips, we instinctively turn to the web, whether that’s to quickly fact check something we’ve read or to support our studies.