View Point
As the number of students choosing to study overseas continues to grow, the global tug-of-war for international students looks set to welcome a fresh challenger from Asia and the Antipodes. With the main student markets for mainstream education on their doorstep, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore are waking up to the opportunities available to them.
International student numbers have been increasing rapidly in New Zealand over the past few years - mainly with the boost in student numbers from China - and this looks set to continue with the launch of a New Zealand branding strategy (page 18). So far, New Zealand has played a relatively small part in the global battle for international students but education consultants worldwide have reported that its safe image and lower costs have been attracting many more enquiries over the last year.
Australia too has introduced a number of changes to its international student policies over the last two years in an effort to streamline common procedures and make full use of the technology available through the Internet. This includes a complete overhaul of the student visa process (page 19) and the piloting of a scheme that enables students from some countries to apply for student visas over the Internet in their home countries. At least one advantage of the changes is that the whole visa application process has become more transparent for international students and overseas education consultants, although concern has been raised over the high Ielts score required by some nationalities prior to applying for a visa.
While New Zealand and Australia are keen to assert their positions as key education destinations, some Asian countries are also joining the fray. Singapore and Malaysia, in particular, are promoting themselves as quality education providers in a bid to fill the niche created by the desirability of a Western education for Asian students in today's world, set against the difficulties and restrictions involved in studying abroad (page 8). The tables may be turning on some traditional overseas education providers as institutions in Asia become keen to capitalise on their own financial and cultural advantages.
As the variety of courses and destinations on offer for education travel increases year by year, students wanting to study overseas need the help and advice of a quality education consultant as never before. Norway has seen a rise in the number of students choosing to study overseas in the last few years, mainly due to an increase in the participation of overseas institutions in education fairs in the country as well as encouragement from the government in the form of grants and loans (page 19). This has led to an increase in the number of education agents working in Norway as students and their parents need their advice and skills to guide them through the decision-making process.
However, despite the obvious need for skilled education consultants to navigate the fast-changing education travel market, some institutions are still dragging their feet when it comes to making use of the services available to them. Our feature on Canadian institutions and their use of education consultants (page 4) highlights some of the barriers which still need to be tackled. More encouragingly, the feature also shows some of the successful relationships that have been built up between institutions in Canada and consultants and highlights some of the ways in which the two parties can ensure a fruitful working partnership.
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