|
Nearly 80,000 post-secondary students were enrolled in Canadian institutions last year, according to the latest information published by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). This figure represents a significant jump of close to 15,000 from the 64,636 post-secondary students recorded in 2007 – industry commentators are highlighting the improved migration pathways and promotional efforts overseas as conducive to the student inundation.
The new branding, “Imagine Education in Canada”, has also been attributed with some of the success. The branding is backed up with a website detailing study opportunities available in the country. However Jennifer Humphries, Vice-President at Canadian Bureau for International Education, said it was imperative that individual universities and colleges are able to use the brand too, rather than only on a national scale. “Countries are becoming more competitive and Canada needs to reinforce its visibility,” she said. Language teaching institutions are also being refrained from using the brand currently (see LTM, April 2009, page 6).
The immigration reforms heralded as a success include widened opportunities for off-campus study (for students at just over 200 institutions) and the Canadian Experience Class visa stream, which allows foreign graduates of Canadian institutions with at least one year of work experience the right to apply for permanent migration. Citizenship and Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, said, “We think [this route] offers huge potential to increase significantly the number of foreign students studying here.”
In a further move to appeal to international students, Kenney announced in April that international students can now apply online to extend their original study permit. “Our new e-services are yet another way our government is working towards attracting and retaining international students,” he said. The service, which has been extended for use at over 200 institutions, can also be used by students to confirm their right-to-work.
Germany and Netherlands gaining UK student share
A report by the UK Higher Education Europe Unit has indicated that Germany and the Netherlands are two keen competitors to the UK, gaining market share in terms of international student intake. It highlighted multilingual degrees and joint-degrees in partnership with overseas institutions as factors helping the appeal of degrees available in these countries, as well as internships and work experience required as part of many degree programmes, which is not so often the case in the UK.
The report, to which The Guardian gained access, also signalled that Sweden and Switzerland were countries to watch too. Author Robin Middlehurst said these countries “are developing collabroative partnerships within and outside Europe that are based on mutual gain rather than financial returns”. She highlighted Germany in particular as a “current and future competitive threat”.
US Graduate school intake up
International student intake at graduate schools in the USA remains on the increase, but behind a four per cent rise in enrolments for 2009 lies the fact that growth is slowing compared with previous years, and that most of the growth charted is being seen only at institutions that already have sizable international populations.
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) undertook the report and Nathan Bell, Director of Research and Policy Analysis, warned that of the three largest student source markets for US graduate schools, enrolments were actually declining from two of them – India and Korea. While Chinese applications were up by 16 per cent, Indian applications were down by nine per cent and Korean by seven per cent.
“China, India and South Korea send the most graduate students to the United States,” said Bell. “They’re the three largest sending countries and the fact that two of those countries had declines is something we really need to watch carefully and see if this is the beginning of a new trend.” In better news, other findings included the fact that applications from Turkey and the Middle East were up by 20 per cent.
In 2008, 2007 and 2006, growth rates of six per cent, nine per cent and 12 per cent were recorded, respectively, indicating that the US is losing market share year on year. A total of 245 institutions took part in the survey, including 88 of the 100 largest. CGS indicated that this was important, since “collectively, the 100 largest institutions enroll about 60 per cent of the total international graduate student population in the United States”.
News in brief
India courting international students
Urgent visa clearance for research scholars, online admissions and ease of access to national bank accounts are among the provisions being adopted to encourage international students to study in India. The Economic Times in the country reports that an inter-ministerial committee set up by Prime Minister Mammohan Singh has had its recommendations approved.
Although no timeline has been announced for the implementation of promotional measures, other suggestions made include promoting Indian culture and its educational system overseas.
Making friends difficult in Denmark
An I-graduate/Cirius survey of 3,500 international students studying in Denmark has indicated that befriending locals is considered fairly difficult in the country, given that 50 per cent of students polled said they were dissatisfied with their ability to make friends with Danes. Denmark is prioritising its international student intake, and latest figures available indicate that there were 14,500 such students in the country in 2006/2007.
Schools connect via videoconferencing
Two US-based videoconferencing companies, Polycom and Twice, sponsored an international event in March called Read Around the Planet. Designed to promote reading and the opportunities for classroom collaboration in education, the event saw 52,000 students and 1,750 classes interact across five countries via video link.
Ohio State in bid to double numbers
Ohio State University in the USA wants to internationalise its campus, doubling the number of international students enrolling on to its programmes and pushing all its US undergraduates to have a passport. Currently, three per cent of the student body hails from overseas.
|
|
